A teaspooned cask strength malt from a famous distillery in Campbeltown, distilled in April 2014 and matured in American oak then transferred and given extra ageing in a cask that previously held Sauternes wine. 378 bottles filled from cask #127 in 2021, bottled at 55% vol.
Appearance: Gold/apple juice. A swirl line encrusted with many small beads. A few medium legs form and quickly run down the glass. With further swirls, a corrugated effect appears in the coating on the glass.
Nose: Super-heady ABV waft, with dark fruits and blackberries. Some tropical fruit aromas in the form of pineapple and melon. Cereal, honey and a zesty champagne twang, a little like a lemon syllabub.
Palate: The palate is much sweeter than I expected. The Sauternes cask seems to have imparted a lovely mix of fruit flavours including apricots and orange. There’s a subtle clawing, but nothing off-putting at all.
After the first few sips, the apricot/peach flavour grows, building to a schnapps-like experience.
The palate carried the ABV very well. It’s definitely evident, but just provides a nice background hum and slight spice to proceedings.
There are some wood spice notes from the American oak that add a degree of balance to the sweet elements.
Finish: The fruity cocktail flavours morph into more creamy and subtle flavours. There’s still an ABV spice tingle too, from the ABV. Very pleasant.
Overall: I really like this one. It’s a lovely strength and the fruit burst on the palate marries well with the wood spice. Bang on!
