Distilled at Inchgower, this single malt is part of the Cask Craft collection from Murray McDavid. The malt initially rested in oak casks, before finishing its maturation in Madeira wine barriques
Appearance: Pale gold (5-10). A substantial, albeit jagged, swirling, plenty of thick syrupy legs and a pleasingly oily film.
Plenty of randomly-sized droplets and teardrops form after a while too.
Nose: Quite light where the alcohol is concerned. Honey, cereal, hazelnuts, some green apple skin and hay barn air.
Oddly, ethanol grows fairly significantly over time which, in my opinion, can only be a good thing. Sweet pastries, stewed red berries and a subtle lemon zing.
There’s a touch of confectionary sugar and an earthy element towards the end.
Palate: A pleasant mouthfeel and immediate greeting on the palate of honey and sweet spices (particularly cinnamon), ginger and black pepper.
Further sips reveal some sweeter elements including honey, vanilla and toffee apple, all underpinned by a subtle preserved lemon bitter edge, damp bark and leaf litter.
A nice chest warming builds throughout, slowly and steadily. Some digestive biscuit appears later on in the dram the spice remains constant throughout too.
Finish: Medium in length. The cereal and digestive elements quickly fade. The lemon pepper, honey and slight bitterness linger for a while.
Overall: For £32 it’s another pretty impressive release from Murray McDavid. A pleasant nose, friendly aromas and flavours and the cereal/wheat note is lovely. If anything it’s a tad spicy.
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