Tastes

I’ve tried - and rated - over 600 drams over the last five years, and this is the best. The nose is filled with dark fruit and cinnamon. Coffee and toffee. Chestnuts roasting over a fire. A welcoming, lived-in wood cabin in winter. Palate: Dense, rich fig and honey. Spiced raisin cake. Cherry and plum with an almost savory quality. Deep oak and a touch of leather and tobacco. There’s surprisingly a delicious whisper of herbal, almost grassy malt that has held on through the years - and it manifests as some crusty bread made with molasses. Black pepper, with nutmeg and ginger - which perhaps lends this a bit of bitterness. And some char. Wish there was a bit more. Still, just remarkably complex. And it’s got the perfect mouthfeel: viscous but not cloying. I appreciate the fullness of the ABV. In the finish, there’s dusty cocoa and syrup and berries and a slight acidity that I’m grateful does not descent into balsamic vinegar territory like many old highly-sherried Scotches. At no point does the proof overwhelm or does ethanol make a distracting presence. But it coats the palate which leads to a generously long finish that leaves no question that this is a proper Sherry bomb. Outstanding stuff. 9.6/10