[43.0%・5 Years Old・Bottled in 2017・Official Bottling・Cask No. OHD-0100・Single Cask Release of 147 Bottles]
Nose:
Dark berries and stewed fruits drenched in chocolate sauce, the oak draws out the typical creaminess one would expect to find in a red wine cask. The wee malt influence includes a hint of burnt toast, with some cured lemons and sugary strawberry jam in the background, young and on the unpolished side but quite pleasing.
Palate & Finish:
The palate is led by strawberry chewing gum and syrup from the maraschino cherry jar, with a slight burst of acidity. The red wine influence is present but fizzles out somewhat prematurely as the creaminess swiftly gives way to the oak bitterness that has been sprinkled with light cinnamon spices giving it a bit of a bite.
Hints of liquorice, menthol, strawberry cream and cola in the finish.
Thoughts:
This feels somewhat like a prototype rather than a special cask release. It’s experimental in nature, Mr. Overeem and Co. probably did not envision that this release would generate as much social media hype as it did.
There are some details that could certainly use some fine-tuning, but what this shows is that there is absolutely no reason why Overeem shouldn’t do more red wine casks in the future and indeed in that sense this is a milestone release I suppose.
-Nicholas
WhiskNick 