Crafted in 5.14m high stills and released after 10 years in American oak casks.
Appearance: Golden, a fair few medium quick-forming legs and teardrops. Decent swirl mark.
Nose: Ash, toffee, butterscotch angel delight, red apple and icing sugar. Foam shrimp and bananas. It’s a very friendly and inviting nose, nothing off-putting or challenging. No real ABV hum to speak of (it’s 40% ABV). After some time there’s also a damp cellar aroma.
Palate: A pleasant mix of confectionary sweetness and subtle spices, including black pepper, cinnamon and lemon pepper. Some bitter orange citrus notes. For a 40% whisky it actually packs a good deal of flavour. I’m not a fan of 40 % whiskies usually but this one is a pleasant surprise.
Finish: Short to medium. Sweet icing sugar, cinnamon and black pepper. The bitter note is less noticeable now.
Overall: I’m not a fan of 40% whiskies, that said, for sub £30 this is a no-brainer. It has plenty of flavour, is well-balanced and offers lots of individual characteristics to maintain interest.
