This Campbeltown whisky was matured in a 1st fill Bourbon Hogshead for 6 years. Distilled: 03/2016 and bottled: 08/2022. One of only 262 bottles produced.
Appearance: Light gold/white dessert wine (1-5). A thin to medium swirl line forms quickly and then begins to morph into a series of teardrops and beads. After a time some medium trails form within the viscous film.
Nose: Big hit from the ABV, unsurprisingly. Once acclimatised, there’s honey, toffee apple, popcorn and straw. Summer hedgerows and red berries also swirl into the mix. A nice balance of aromas, nothing dominates. Even the high ABV allows those notes to show themselves. After a time, the toffee notes increase along with subtle confectionary sugar and foam mushrooms. There’s faint cracked black pepper now too.
Palate: A lovely mouthfeel and an immediate sweetness, followed by a pleasingly mild(ish) spice heat and tingle. Lemon pepper, fruit salad syrup and mild chilli hit first. A slight cloying but nothing offputting, possibly the effects of the high ABV. The syrup turns more red-berry-like with more sips, super-strong raspberry ripple vanilla ice cream and a dusting of black pepper. A subtle salinity and almost minty fresh side add another layer to this already multi-layered dram. A big hit of liquorice on the very last taste.
Finish: Medium to long. Sweet sugary notes along with the lemon and black pepper. A little chilli tingle and minty freshness too.
Overall: A very inviting and ever-explorable nose with great balance. The ABV is reassuringly high but doesn’t interfere. The palate doesn’t disappoint with plenty going on and not too spicy, again, a nice balance and multi-layered.
