Description
Cask 50.120 Dawn’s embrace
From the quaint kitchen of a country house, fabulous smells arose. Delicious sponge cake with a layer of strawberry jam was drizzled with elderflower syrup, while pineapple chunks were steeped in calvados and honeysuckle petals rested on a gooseberry fool. Warm custard tarts were topped with nutmeg as battenberg cake was prepared on a sideboard. A little water delivered camomile tea, before homemade cloudy lemonade was served with fresh peaches and apricots. Finally, the creamy textures of porridge merged with more custard as brown sugar melted on top and the fine tannins of black tea lingered in the background. At 28 years of age, we combined selected casks from the same distillery. We then returned the single malt into a variety of different casks to develop further. This is one of those casks.
Cask 94.51 Verdant reawakening
In a cocktail bar in Havana, a beeswax-polished walnut fruit bowl was piled high with pineapples, nectarines and mangoes. The smell of pipe tobacco mingled happily with heady rum vapours. Taking a sip, the sweet oils of hazelnut and coconut coated the palate, while layers of praline, cereals and black treacle rolled into dark chocolate toffee. With a little water the juicy fruit became cooked in apricot jam, stewed in rhubarb crumble, and mixed into a creamy mango lassi. Delightful notes of toasted brioche merged with fragrant sandalwood, before a tart and tangy finish introduced fresh pineapple and lemons with a sprinkle of cinnamon spice.
Cask 72.125 Blossom reverie
A heavenly mix of golden syrup, honeycomb, and milk chocolate biscuits arrived aside a juicy procession of apricot jam, apple sauce and chargrilled pineapples. Tangy marmalade on brioche followed behind, encouraging the inclusion of dried apricots coated with yoghurt, peaches and just a hint of tobacco. Wildflowers and blossom emerged with water, blending with fragrant honey and lemon curd on toast. A sprinkle of brown sugar tantalised the tongue, with a squeeze of lime and chamomile petals in milk. So, what is the mystery? This beautiful cask of whisky arrived with us as an enigma. We knew little of its history other than the whisky had been removed from the cask before being filled back into the original wood. A riddle in a glass.
Cask 105.55 Crepuscular complexity
Unmistakable age elevated the nose – old riesling, calvados, and peaches and cream in a cricket pavilion; amarena cherry ice cream, green apple shisha tobacco, vanilla fudge and caramel-flavoured chocolate. The palate was delicate but stimulating – candied lemon peel and spiced oranges in syrup, tinned pears, rhubarb rock and apricot flan – before a warm, dry finish of liquorice, nasturtium flowers, leather and wood. The reduced nose combined blueberry muffins and clover honey with flower meadows and oiled oak. A slightly astringent lift arrived on the reduced palate, delivering cranberry cereal bars, balsamic, fennel and grapefruit, but remaining summery, sweet, gently spiced and deserving respect.
