Rosencrantz
Reviewed
November 10, 2018 (edited December 6, 2020)
A beautiful gold in the glass, no dyes and cold filtering, therefore all natures.
Peat is, of course, the first aroma to hit the nose, with the usual, mild brutality of Ardbeg, although more towards burning than asphalt. Also strong are the marine components (salt, iodine) together with leather, wood and a pinch of pepper. Aggressive nose, also driven by the remarkable alcohol content, full-bodied and compact. With a lot of patience, you can also perceive a note of black cherry, but do not tell him that otherwise you will affect his macho air.
But that air that betrays itself on the palate, where okay, there are the beautiful toasted peat, the fleshiness of the bacon, the swirling splash (d'oh) of the sea and the strong peppering, but the sweet side comes forward and says Ho!: cinnamon, brown sugar, orange, licorice. The flavors chase each other, crumple and slam on the walls of the mouth: never was a name more apt! Each sip is slightly different from the previous one (it is advisable to drink a little water every now and then to reset the taste), the alcohol supports every thrust without ever dropping, in an incredible balance given the tone of each element. It is not a broken fight, but a whirlwind of flavors that drags and swallows.
The finish is long, very long, with pepper, burning embers, cinnamon, salt ... and you just want to start again.