Aged for 8 years in oak casks, it has then spent 4 months in Octave cask #10530304. Only 65 bottles came from this cask when it was bottled in 2021.
Appearance: Summer honey gold, nice and oily, creates a good film on the glass, along with medium legs and a solid tide mark.
Nose: Big ABV, apricots, grilled pineapple and icing sugar. There are some smouldering log aromas, like a campfire in the morning, after rain. A funk appears after a time, musty and a tad blue cheesy.
Palate: Good mouthfeel, fairly viscous. Butter, floater coffee and bitter chocolate. Immediate spice and cinnamon heat, it’s a real spicy meatball this one. Drying and peppery prickle.
Finish: Spicy and fruity, like peppered blackberries. Quite drying though. The smooth chocolate elements prevail though, which is nice.
Overall: I like the chocolate and fruity elements, not so much the hot spice and drying.