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Swiss Whisky Festival Baden, 24-25 October, Switzerland

https://whisky-festival.ch

My photo gallery, click here

After an intense week, It was time to take the train to Baden for a new edition of the Swiss Whisky Festival. I was in such a rush, that I realised that I had left my camera at home, therefore all the photographs taken during the event were taken using my mobile phone.

As always, the tasting notes mentioned below are the impression made during the event and most of the whiskies will be tasted again in normal conditions.

 

A very good Caol Ila from The Whisky Chamber at Awico trading.

Conveniently located within a short walking distance from the train station, the signs indicating the event were most discreet. The Trafo is a spacious building, and after paying the entrance fee (18 CHF, with no glasses), my first stop was at Awico trading to taste the new Whisky Chamber (TWC) expressions, starting with a nice, mellow, rich, slightly spicy Mea Culpa, a blended from Edrington containing Highland Park and Glenrothes whisky, with lots of dried fruits, grapes, sultanas and leather. A very nice start of the event. The Fettercairn 2011 was a sherry bomb, with lots of spices, dried fruits, rubber, cinnamon, cloves and light floral flavours. Too rubbery to my liking. The Ben Nevis 2012 12 YO had a thick and intense sherry influence, on toffee, fudge, exotic fruits, some ripe orchards fruits and berries. A good whisky, with thick, intense fruity flavours (fresh and dried). The Blair Athol 2014 was another sherry bomb, in the style of the Fettercairn, slightly heavier, more on dark chocolate and with some hops. Finally, the Hogmanay was a 2017 Caol Ila, very peaty, intense, maritime, on air-dried bacon, seaweeds and dried fruits. Very good.

The new Springbank 5 YO at lateltin.

At Lateltin,I tried the new Springbank 5 YO 100° Proof, a very young, smooth, light whisky, with little wood influence and a touch of sea brine. Rather simple.

An old Bowmore 2000 the Sovereign at Whiskyneumakrt.

At Whiskyneumarkt, I started with the Scarabus 30 YO, a rather thin, salty, moderately maritime and peated whisky. A good whisky, but the flavour intensity is rather weak. From Glasgow 1770 I tasted the Lightly Peated Calvados cask finish, a light and smooth whisky, with some spices, a nice light peat smoked and freshly pressed pears, before the peat gained in intensity. The Glendullan 13 Douglas of Drumlanring was light, fresh, fruity, on pineapples, some lychees and melon. A good and pleasant aperitif whisky. The Bowmore 2000 Sovereign was a dry and smoky expression of Bowmore, pleasantly dirty, on damp warehouse aromas, dried leather and fruits, as well as some light meaty flavours. A good old style Bowmore, with a strong personality.

An exclusive Teeling Chestnut cask for Glenfahrn

Glenfahrn is now the exclusive importer for Switzerland of Method and Madness, a nice experimental range from Midleton distillery in Ireland. The Single Grain finished in Virgin Spanish oak cask was a lovely whisky, with a fragrant nose, round, on cooked cereals, nice vanilla flavours, some cinnamon and nutmeg, with a round body and a good flavour intensity. Very nice. The Teeling Single cask for Glenfahrn was matured in a chestnut cask was light, very smooth, with mild aromas of chestnut puree, wood spices and some orchards fruits. A unique whiskey. The Teeling 21 YO White Wine Cask is Teeling from the old Cooley stocks, with a final maturation in ex-white Port Cask, mellow, complex, with a light sweetness and good complexity. From Claxton’s, I tasted the 17 YO Invergordon, round, on porridge, some orange, dried fruits, light floral flavours, and nutmeg. A nice one. The 27 YO Ben Nevis was a fruit bomb, grassy, with a mixture of exotic fruits, ripe orchards fruits and some vanilla. A very good Ben Nevis, with a pleasant intensity.

A new Swiss whisky distillery, the Matte in Bern

At Whiskybibliothek, I tried first the Matte whisky, a Swiss whisky distilled in Bern, that just came of age, at 3 years old. Made with locally sourced malted barley and matured in quarter casks, the whisky is distilled is double distilled in the same still and the produce is very nice, on juniper berries, with a nice rich body, grassy flavours, some vanilla, oak spices, with a good balance and a rather impressive maturity for just being 3 years old. The Barrel IPA is a spirit drink, as the distillate was matured over 1 year in an ex-bourbon cask. The flavour profile was close to the Quarter cask, smoother, lighter, with more yeasty flavours and some hops. Matte distillery is producing not only whisky, but also gin and a variety of liquors and cordials. From Decadent drink, the Cragganmore 1986 Whiskysponge has a lovely rich and complex nose, on leather, nuts, dried fruits, orange and some lacquer, becoming astringent to very astringent on the palate. The Glencadam 13 YO was very elegant, with malty notes, light floral flavours, some hops, vanilla, and ripe apples. The 1997 Deanston was very fruity, on ripe exotic fruits, vanilla and bananas, as well as some grassy flavours. Very good. The Old Pulteney 2013 has an excellent, rich and fruity nose, with lots of ripe exotic fruits, vanilla, melon, and some sea brine, becoming slightly salty on the palate. With some water, the maritime side of the Old Pulteney is more pronounced. A particularly round and fruity expression of this distillery. Very good. It was followed by an excellent bottling for the 5th anniversary of Whisky Bibliothek, a very peaty, clean and intense single malt distilled at the “Williamson” distillery, on bacon, seaweeds, sultanas, figs, orange, and a lovely complex peat smoke. Probably the best whisky tasted during the event.

The new exclusive bottling for Whisky Bibliothek by Decadent drinks

The Mannochmore 15 YO Equinoxe and Solstice was a very good expression from the distillery, with a very fruity note, round floral flavours, some quince and Mirabelle. Very good. The Bunnahabhain  2013 was very round, with intense sherry flavours, some treacle, figs, dates, orange and sea brine. The sherry is rather dominant. Finally, the Caol Ila 2012 was an intense, peaty, maritime Islay whisky, on seaweeds, dirty sherry, some dry and smoked meat, leather and dried fruits. Very nice.

The 1oth Anniversary bottling of the Whisky Cask Company from the Echlinville distillery in Ireland

At The Whisky Cask Company, I could try the Irish single Malt Echlinville, the first independent bottling from this distillery, the whisky was smooth (new make like), slightly yeasty, with some vanilla, hops and light floral flavours. Although it was 10 years old, it seemed rather immature and very light.

The new Swiss whisky Allaine, produced in the Swiss Jura.

I moved then to Allaine Whisky, another new Swiss whisky produced in the Swiss Jura using Swiss oak casks and the wash produced by the BFM, la Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes, who won several years ago the title of the best beer in the New York Times. The wash is distilled in a Holstein still and the owners decided to bottle the whisky once it has reached 10 years. They are filling between 2 and 4 casks per year, as a hobby, and they intend to release each year a slightly older version until it reaches 15 years. The Single Malt 10 years old was very good, rich, with a nice grassy body, on vanilla, vanilla custard, ripe and dried pears, some nice round malty flavours. Very pleasant to drink, smooth and elegant. The Sauternes cask finish is a rather misleading term, as I was matured in ex-virgin oak casks for 2 years, before it was moved for 8 years in ex-Sauternes casks. The Sauternes expression was heavier, sweeter, more sugary, with well-integrated winey flavours. A very good expression, with a rather different profile. Personally, I enjoyed better the other expression, as it was more subtle. A matter of personal taste.

The Loch Lomond 2002 Open Course

At another stand, I tasted the 2002 Loch Lomond The Open Course collection in Spanish oak casks, a nice malty and mellow whisky, moderately spicy, with some dried and yellow fruits. A pleasant whisky.

The Macallan at the SMWS

At the SMWS, I tasted the Macallan 24.192, a nice, rich, complex whisky, with lots of soft spices, cinnamon, berries, leather, sultanas and dark chocolate. Very nice, but I wondered why they transferred the whisky from an Oloroso to a PX cask for the finish? As this finish created a slight imbalance between the two types of sherry casks.

The Stand of Diwisa, with their Goldwaescher hidden on the right corner.

A Diwisa, I tasted their Goldwaescher Pure Malted Rye single cask, a very nice Rye whisky, with an initial peppery kick, before moving to nice round spicy rye flavours, some vanilla and cinnamon. The use of the malted rye give a smoother and more malty flavours to this whisky, markedly smoother and less dry than most US rye whiskies.

Finally, before they shut down the door, I could taste the new Wolfburn 12 YO, made with a a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks and some lightly peated whisky, a very good whisky, rich, slightly maritime and dirty, with some light aromatic peat smoke, sultanas, leather and dried fruits. The sherry influence is mild and very pleasant. A complex and balanced whisky. Very good.

With the security pushing me out of the hall, it was time to go home.
As I have been chatting too much as some stands, I could not visit all the retailers. The event was nicely organised, with a fair amount of whiskies available and plenty of space to move around.

Slainte
Patrick, 25th October 2025