Edradour No.2 Inaugural 7yo
Signatory Vintage | 57.1% ABV
Score:
8/10
Something special.
TL;DR
A laudable “inaugural”. Unique and lovely. Well worth the price paid
The Butterfly Effect
A few weeks ago, we were with family reminiscing on the past and I recounted a story about the sequence of events that brought me out of my hometown of Seattle, Washington twenty years ago.
I eventually moved to the Golden State of California, where I’ve settled into the current life I lead. Being in my early 20’s I was adrift. Having just lost my first real job and broken up with my first real girlfriend, I was looking for something else to feel anchored.
The band I was with after high school had slumped into a bit of a lull. We had members leave, weren’t really catching on locally, and the drummer and I, the only original members, were starting to feel “over it.” We were going through the motions but didn’t give it the necessary attention toward songwriting and booking shows. Schedules and competing visions for what different members wanted led to internal friction and a loss of interest. Personally, I’d been wanting to move on for a while but didn’t want to be the guy to “end it.”
What I really wanted was to switch focus, change careers, and become a firefighter or a paramedic. Coming from a background of nurses and healthcare workers in the family gave me a foundational compassion to help others. I didn’t want to work in a hospital, so a first responder seemed a better career fit. Plus I knew, even back then, a job with a pension is always the way to go.
The day I lost my job I registered for classes at a local vocational school to become a registered EMT (Emergency Medical Technician), a basic license every firefighter needed and hopefully the first step on my way to an eventual career.
I threw myself into my studies. In addition, I began the physical training necessary for such a grueling job: daily jogs and workouts, even dabbing in veganism for its health benefits. Since I didn’t attend college after high school these were the first serious classes I had taken in years. It was difficult to get into the rhythm of lectures, reading, and exams, but I kept at it, absorbing the new knowledge and embracing the challenges of the field.
I enjoyed it. I learned a lot and eventually passed two different four-hour exams on my way to a new career path.
Everything in the medical field is high-demand and there’s high turnover among EMT’s, so I was pleased to be offered an immediate job interview a week later with an ambulance company. The pay was low, but it was a first rung on a “pay-my-dues” ladder upward to my eventual goals. Fresh off the classes I was extremely knowledgeable, clearly eager, and offered a job right away. I filled out the new hire paperwork that afternoon.
The next fifteen minutes altered the course of my life forever. At the time I had no idea the magnitude by just how much. Following the interview and after handing in my packet, the managing paramedic shook my hand and said:
“This is all great. Since you’ll be primarily driving an ambulance, we just have to run a background check on your driving record for our insurance company. It’s just a formality, once that clears, we’ll get you set.”
Me: “Umm...”
Him: “What’s wrong?”
Me: “Will a speeding ticket count against that?”
In the back of my head I knew I didn’t have a clean driving record. I wasn’t a reckless driver by any means, but Washington State Patrol were notoriously overeager about delivering speeding tickets and I was thinking about the previous Summer, driving back from a music festival, pulled over for going 75 in a 65 (miles per hour not kilometers.) On the freeway. Seriously.
The manager could see I was despondent at the prospect and knew I was eager for the job. He said to stay put and that he’d run the check and make a call to the insurance company on my behalf. He came back a couple minutes later. Shaking his head.
“Yeah, insurance won’t cover you. Sorry.”
I asked if any insurance company would cover an ambulance driver with such a “blemish.”
“I can’t speak for the others, but most want a perfect driving record.”
And that was that.
I can honestly think of only a handful of moments in my entire life where I’ve been more disappointed. All for nothing. Further, I was seething. At no point had anyone said: “By the way, in case you’re bright eyed and earnest about a career change and a desire to do good in this world, make sure you have a perfect driving record or all these classes, field work, and tests will be a complete waste of time.”
What a crock. It’s still upsetting as I write this. But that was the moment the path split.
The course for my timeline was set. The first thing I did following that disastrous interview was call a band meeting. I was ready to commit to the band full time and would help with songwriting, book our shows and tours, and purchase a van and trailer using the leftover 401k payout from my previous job. The dream was dead, long live the dream.
“The Butterfly Effect” is a phenomenon within chaos theory that considers the tiniest of events, such as a butterfly flapping its wings in one location, potentially triggering unpredictable chain reactions that cause deadly tornadoes or storms hundreds of miles away. It’s also a common euphemism for the vast unpredictability of life.
If I wasn’t pulled over for that speeding ticket over a year before, creating a stain on my driving record, I would’ve been hired by that ambulance company, leading into a rewarding career as a paramedic and perhaps a firefighter. Maybe not. Who knows.
Instead, I joined a carnival of touring musicians which eventually landed me in California. The band broke up, but roots were put down. And here I sit, a dram of whisky and a notebook to my left, a sleepy puppy on the right, laptop screen dead ahead, and a keyboard under my fingers instead of the steering wheel of a fire engine.
Review
Edradour No.2 Inaugural Release, 200th Anniversary of Edradour Edition, 7yo, first-fill oloroso butts, 57.1% ABV
USD$56 paid (£45) still some availability
Ensuring I don’t overpay when sourcing bottles online means using only a handful of retailers I trust. Excellent value. Low shipping. As close as possible to MSRP. To me, online whisky websites are like car mechanics. One that’s honest, quick, and dependable is good as gold and foment great customer loyalty. A dependable “go-to” helps when FOMO creeps in, but other sites are charging a fortune. The outright horrors of secondary market pricing are the “Scared Straight” of bottle accumulation.
The Edradour under consideration today was an accident of similar occurrences -- a butterfly flapped its wings -- although hardly life-changing, it led to a marvelous result: not only a surprise from this bottle, but similar rabbit-holes toward more releases from “Scotland’s Little Gem.”
One of my reliable retailers has very fair pricing and shipping, but tends to carry lower stock than others, meaning bottles become available then sell out quickly. A good ol’ fashioned punter chase. I was sourcing a bottle (not this one) for a tasting when the “one still available” that flashed at me caused the impulse triggers in my brain to place that bottle in the cart - but I hesitated at the point of purchase. I’d heard good things and believed my tasting regulars would enjoy it but the price was a little steep. By the time I mulled it over, the item was gone. I refreshed the page: “sold out.” It wasn’t meant to be.
For half the price, this Edradour 7 stared at me. At that point, the only expression I had tried was the “Caledonia”, a 12 year old which I very much enjoyed, but other bottles were out of reach. This was before the updated 10 year was released to widespread acclaim. I took a punt. And here we are. It’s delicious. A wonderful young “inaugural” release.
For what it’s worth, enjoying this bottle caused me to source more Edradour (still hunting for that updated 10 year) including the Ballechin 10, recently reviewed by Ainsley. I shared that bottle with my tasting group a few months ago. It was one of their favorites to date.
Honestly, I can’t even remember the name of the other one I was looking at and failed to purchase.
Score: 8/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
A laudable “inaugural”. Unique and lovely. Well worth the price paid
Nose
Very pleasant. At first, red fruits. Ripe strawberries, red delicious apples, and tart cranberries. Swiss-Miss cocoa powder. Cherry cordials. There’s also a sugary-sweet, rich decadence by which I was surprised. Black forest gateau. Cinnamon spice. Cola caramel concentrate.
Coming back there’s a slight earthiness like forest floor and pine needles, but also deck lumber and treated wood. Cocoa-dusted almonds. Cloves. It takes water well, which brings brighter fruits, more red apples, dark cherries, strawberry jam, and old leather without losing that characteristic warm spiciness. Peanut brittle. Gingerbread. Heering Cherry Liquer. Better with water.
Palate
A little sharp at first and quite powerful, but with time it unfolds into gorgeous ginger snaps with molasses. There’s more cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Thick, viscous, and syrupy mouthfeel. Behind that it’s big, sweet, and fruity with candied orange, red velvet cake, raisins, and red licorice. Glove leather. Water brings Heath Bars, peppermint, toffee bark, peanut clusters, and those hints of wood once again.
There’s some pipe tobacco on the finish, which lingers delightfully along with more old leather and dark chocolate cherries. Very mouth coating. There’s definite heat without a little water on the finish. Water opens this up on both nose and palate, I prefer a few drops, it elevates the dram considerably. Bravo.
The Dregs
Shout it from the rafters: “Young. Age. Statements. Don’t. Matter!”
I’ll admit I peeked at other reviews, which I typically don’t do, especially while writing. As Bill Murray stated iconically in the movie Ghostbusters: “I looked in the trap Ray.”
It’s a polarizing dram within the community. Complaints about astringency and sulfur and plenty of discussion over the heat, sharpness, and youth of this bottle.
Personally, I didn’t find any off-notes or sulfur, even off the neck pour. To me it retained the best of Edradour’s uniqueness, and this batch was well-suited to the first-fill sherry butts used for maturation. Especially with water. I’m a firm believer in adding tiny amounts of water, even for lower ABV whiskies. With time and a few drops I believe not only does this dram open up, it sings wonderfully. I’ll stand by my high score. Perhaps other Dramface writers or those in the Whiskyverse will have differing assessments to share in the comments.
There may be a “young whisky” bias going on with others, but I’ll never tell anyone else they’re incorrect. This is a realm of opinions and senses. There’s not a wrong one to be found. I trust my own here and I find this to be a cracking young Edradour. There’s also a spicy uniqueness here that keeps it from becoming too much of a “sherry bomb."
And for just $56, Signatory Vintage continues to show its deftness on price and appreciation for the wallets of the punting masses.
There are thousands of moments within life that have consequences beyond our control or anticipated in the moment. We do our best. I’m grateful to have landed this bottle. Who knows if I would have found the whisky community in another life.
Also, let’s be honest, being a firefighter sounds hard.
Score: 8/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. AD
-
Dramface is free.
Its fierce independence and community-focused content is funded by that same community. We don’t do ads, sponsorships or paid-for content. If you like what we do you can support us by becoming a Dramface member for the price of a magazine.
However, if you’ve found a particular article valuable, you also have the option to make a direct donation to the writer, here: buy me a dram - you’d make their day. Thank you.
For more on Dramface and our funding read our about page here.
Other opinions on this:
The Whiskey Novice
The Whisky Friend
Whiskybase
Got a link to a reliable review? Tell us.
