Aged 12 years in ex-bourbon casks and finished in an Israeli winery, Flam (Jerusalem foothills), cask, also certified as Kosher.
Appearance: Sunset gold (25-30). A substantial tide mark forms when swirled with a few medium trails seeping down the glass. After a while the swirl mark morphs into many teardrops.
Nose: A pleasant alcohol level. Toffee apples ablaze, blueberry BBQ sauce, caramelised steak and Duck a l’orange. More caramel and an almost jammy fruit sweetness increase in presence as the dram matures. I like this nose, it’s very nice. A smouldering freshly drilled wood note appears after a time.
Palate: Ooh, unusual. There’s a spicy, almost chilli heat along with white pepper tingle and a mineral note, like hot stones or granite. The smoke note isn’t as obvious on the palate, it’s now very subdued. Red liquorice, strawberries and vanilla ice cream and maybe floral edible flower element too.
Finish: The red liquorice and sweet aniseed last a decent amount of time. There’s also the strawberry jam and black pepper too. The after-finish taste is almost buttery and aniseed twist sweets.
Overall: I like it. With time it opens up a bit and becomes a more jam/boiled sweet fruitiness. The spice is well-balanced and it drinks higher than the 46% stated. Recommended.
