Chapter 7

A while ago we came in contact with Selim Evin from Chapter 7. We talked about, off course…, whisky and our passion in sharing our journey with others. We found out that we had a similar mindset about things, so when Selim asked us to try and explore some of his releases we couldn’t resist!
We did tell him we’re an independent and unbiased blog, so we’d write our honest and unfiltered opinion when we review whisky’s. Luckily he wouldn’t want it any other way. Maybe because he’s that confident about their cask picks and the price/quality they deliver? We’ll find out soon when we’ll dive into some releases…

But first we’d like to give you some background info about Chapter 7:

Started as an Independent Bottler in 2013 and bottled their first release in 2014;
Selim Evin earned the nickname ‘Malt Chaser’;
They love bourbon cask aged whiskies most;
Monologue Series – a Single Cask release;
Anecdote Series – a Small Batch / Blend release;
Chronicle Series – a Small Batch release with an evolving sequence;
PASSION. CURIOSITY. DISCOVERY. is how they describe Chapter 7.

Let’s explore some whiskies and find out if this would be a new “go to” bottler for us Dutch Whisky Brothers:

Auchentoshan 1998 – 22yo @ 51.8% ABV

Nose: crispy red apples, honey, caramel, fresh cut grass, citrus zest.
Palate: candy red apples, vanilla custard, caramel, wild peaches.
Finish: cinnamon, honey, white pepper, raisins.

Score: 86 / 100

Nose: typical Auchentoshan, fruity, floral with a hint of citrus and slight buttery.
Palate: fresh cut grass, vanilla, honey licorice, some wood notes and a slight sour note.
Finish: a very pleasant medium finish.

Score: 85 / 100

Mannochmore 2008 – 11yo @ 52.5% ABV

Nose: creme brûlée, floral, sweet stone fruits, jelly beans.
Palate: Tutti Frutti, peaches, nectarines.
Finish: caramel, vanilla, spices and malty.

Score: 86 / 100

Nose: ripe peaches, old grass, vanilla sticks and a hint of NMS. This smells good!
Palate: a good balance with notes of vanilla, caramel. It’s sweet and fresh and got’s a tasty mouthfeel.
Finish: a bit funky, but a tasty medium finish.

Score: 86 / 100

Imperial 1998 – 22yo @ 52.1% ABV

Nose: loral, sweet, buttery vanilla, melon (galia), peaches, hay and cotton candy.
Palate: cotton candy, peaches, vanilla, cream fudge.
Finish: short, slight herbal spices, oaky, vanilla, coconut water.

Score: 88 / 100

Nose: (over)ripe pears, marzipan, hay and some lemon.
Palate: musty and old, banana, chocolate. A superb and tasty mouthfeel.
Finish: long and lingering.. yummy!

Score: 88 / 100

Caol Ila 2011 – 9yo @ 52.2% ABV

Nose: citrus, brine, seabrees. Typical coastal Coal Ila notes, seaweed, vanilla and sweet red apples.
Palate: fruity, smoky ashes from a sweet bbq bonfire, lemon and grassy.
Finish: pepper, citrus zest, brine, dry ash.

Score: 87 / 100

Nose: campfire and grilled bacon. Later some fruits and vanilla.
Palate: light peat smoke, a hint of lemon, old leather, pepper and slight medicinal.
Finish: a medium/long finish.

Score: 86 / 100

Williamson 2010 – 9yo @ 53.9% ABV

Nose: creamy (whip cream), malty, musty mushrooms, and a whiff of smoke (old bonfire).
Palate: ashy, brine, earthy and vegetation.
Finish: ashes, tar and vanilla custard.

Score: 84 / 100

Nose: candy, iodine, bandaid and marzipan.
Palate: leather, peat smoke, old bonfire ashes.
Finish: a bit short…

Score: 85 / 100

Overall thoughts:

We understand why Selim earned his nickname ‘Malt Chaser’ 🥃😉 We also like the fact that the label is clean and gives us all the info we want as a whisky enthousiast. And we must say, we’re surprised by some of these drams. And we mean that in a good way! For example the Caol Ila was sweeter and fruitier like you’d normally expect from this Distillery. Because of that, it’s different and interesting and we like that. These days anybody can bottle a Caol Ila and that’s not bad at all, because Caol Ila is a safe pick in our opinion. But to get a different and still very tasty flavor profile tingles our senses and wan’t us to discover more…
The different and more tame profile of the Williamson also surprised us. I, Whiskypeater, am a big Laphroaig fan like you’d probably know by now, and I didn’t expect this tame version of a Laphroaig. It wouldn’t be my pick, but it’s a great addition to all te standard Laphroaig power drams. I, Dramtastic.86, digged te Williamson more (although I scored it less 😅). I liked the fact the peat was subdued and allowed those creamy notes to come forward.
We both had a clear winner from this line-up… the Imperial 1998 🥃🤤, what a delicious dram! Funny that we had a different experience with the finish. While I, Whiskypeater, had a long and lingering finish, I, Dramtastic.86, had a short finish. If the finish was longer, the Imperial would got a 89, or a 90 score for sure!

We’re convinced by this “New” Independent Bottler are would like to thank Selim Evin to share his passion for whisky with us 🥃🙏.
It’s highly recommended that you guys explore Chapter 7 yourself. We’re lucky to have another whisky from Chapter 7 to explore, but we’ll do a separate review of that soon.
Also… we might already have our eyes on a bottle of their latest releases and it would be something from the Anecdote Series!

Slàinte 🥃

Dutch Whisky Brothers