[58.5%・13-14 Years Old・Distilled in 2000・Bottled in 2014・Ichiro’s Malt Bottling・Cask No. 531・Single Cask Release]
Nose:
The dram starts off with a white grape acidity that’s rather prominent, hint of Sauternes with a slight spirit sharpness at first that opens up to some lovely jammy aromas in time. The Weetbix-esque malt sinks into a certain earthiness and seamlessly brings out a brush of syrupy sweetness within new oak.
Palate & Finish:
Malt and grapes arriving in quite an intense manner, citrus, honey and cereal overlaid with a fine layer of cucumber freshness. A tease of acidity from the grapes as a milder dose of oak runs underneath.
Gentle finish stretching those malty and earthy tones, spearmint with some traces of cured bacon for some reasons, crisp white grapes resurfacing much later on..
Thoughts:
A Cognac cask finish would mostly be perceived as being rather experimental, and as far as exotic casks go this is not as remarkable as some of Hanyu’s finest works. Still, I found myself very much enjoying the dram, the finishing particularly fascinates..
☆ [Recommended]
-Nicholas
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