[55.9%・ 20 Years Old・Distilled in 1997・Bottled in 2018・SMWS Bottling・Single Cask Release of 564 Bottles]
Nose:
The nose is surprisingly and rather incredibly meaty with some burnt and deeply roasted barley notes lurking, perhaps living on the edge of sulfur street.. The obligatory deep, dark Sherry inspired dried fruits are there and are gorgeous. Running parallel with the fruits are generous doses of toffee and vanilla. In time there are more notes of toffee and creamy coffee made with dark roasted coffee beans, still somewhat feisty.
Palate & Finish:
Loads of rich dried fruits, milk chocolate and toffee cream, it is a big Sherried dram with the wood influence swirling with dark fruits, figs and nuts. Excellent, luscious mouthfeel with the vanilla being quite accommodating before notes of burnt cocoa, leather, mahogany and bitter smoke arriving..
Tannins and other earthy notes in the finish, hints of dried muscat grapes, and traces of charred toast.
Thoughts:
This is quite a challenging dram in a technical sense, it does take some getting used to.
Immense wood influence and incredibly Sherried.
In time though, as my experience indicated one would be convinced that the experience was one of joyous..
☆ [Recommended]
-Nicholas
WhiskNick 