Picked up from the recent Campbeltown malt festival. This bottle is hand filled from a ‘demi john’. Once emptied these are refilled using undisclosed barrels from the distillery.
Appearance: Light gold/white wine. A pleasing oily film coats the glass. Many medium slow-moving legs form. After a time the ride mark breaks into many teardrops.
Nose: The ABV is immediately obvious but not overbearing. A lovely sweet BBQ smoke and smoked meats, berry and tropical fruit sweetness, green apple skin and honey-soaked mango. It’s one hell of a nose and not for the faint-hearted! I love it!
Palate: A very pleasant mouthfeel. Not hugely oily but a definite viscosity. Huge ABV spice hit, almost fizzy. The tropical fruits persist from the nose, along with BBQ, white pepper, a bitterness that I’m not fond of and sweet pastries.
Once I’ve acclimated to the ABV spices, there’s a more buttery element, which is reassuring., more fruit pie and custard (albeit it spiked with spices and smoked).
Finish: Medium to long. Those tropical fruits, spices and some chilli heat. The last element to fade completely is the fruits.
Overall: It’s a lovely dram but does feel a little confused. The flavours, although lovely individually, don’t really marry or go well together. Very interesting though!
A huge ‘thanks’ to @ScotchJak over on Twitter for his efforts in getting me this bottle from the recent Campbeltown Malts Festival!!
Follow @scotchjak
