12.64 Oh-so-orange (Vaults Collection)

Description

We’ve had a solid string of seriously impressive older (and younger) offerings from Distillery 12 lately. Most of them from ex-sherry casks that have slumbered away giving the spirit a rich and toffee note of Christmas cakes and raisins. Lovely stuff, but it’s very uncommon to see a 31yo matured entirely in an ex-bourbon cask from this marvellous distillate. Upon first nosing, it’s like a gentle potpourri of delicate flowers that have been spritzed with orange oil. Orange maple, cinnamon cookies, and wonderfully chewy marshmallows. A natural cask strength of 43.4% after 31 years, and only 112 bottles of this produced worldwide. A rare treat for August.

We all got, in one way or another, the scent of orange; orange sherbet, orange grove, confit of orange filled with orange sorbet and boozy blood orange trifle next to maple syrup, candle wax and cinnamon coconut cookies. On the palate, thick, luscious, creamy and wonderfully chewy like chocolate-covered marshmallow kisses with a maraschino cherry on top as well as a Fish House Punch – orange pekoe tea, dark rum, cognac, peach brandy and lemon juice. With water we had a picture of rolling cigars in an old factory in Cuba as the newspaper was read to us while to taste, juicy and incredibly soft like honey orange macarons.