Atholl Brose Liqueur

Appearance: 18 carat gold. Aroma: A waft of fine resinous smoke, like pine-scented chimney smoke just barely detected on the breeze. A hint of oily peat reek (camphor and iodine) and a sense of the presence of genuine, quality malt whisky. Fine heather honey, delicate spice notes. Herbal liqueurs (Benedictine and Green Chartreuse). Herbal tinctures (oregano, rosemary, thyme). As it sits, the smoky whisky note intensifies - don't hurry this excellent nose. Flavour and Texture: Sweet and silken arrival with spiced honey in the lead. Orange marmalade is noticed next, together with herbal extracts, some of which are slightly bitter. Flashes of anise or liquorice and cloves. A very gentle hint of smoke, so subtle you almost miss it. The texture is rich and full but not syrupy - it maintains a certain crispness thanks to the touch of bitterness and restrained sugar presence. It is certainly sweet but you get the impression that the sweetening here was entirely from honey, with no simple syrup added. It finishes long, sweet and herbal and has a warming and comforting character with just a hint of sweet mint in the aftertaste. For this round of whisky liqueur tastings I decided to save what I knew would be the best for last. This has been my favourite whisky liqueur since I first tasted it. Dunkeld Atholl Brose is Gordon & MacPhail's take on a traditional Scottish drink, but they have considerably refined and polished what is usually a hearty home-made concoction into something very special. If regular Atholl Brose is a humble slice of vanilla sponge cake, this liqueur is croquembouche. Unlike most whisky liqueurs that use unidentified young grain and malt whisky as a base, the foundation here is Benromach single malt and you cannot fail to appreciate how much it contributes to the liqueur. They would be using young Benromach, of course, but it is of higher quality than the spirit in any other whisky liqueur. They could justifiably change the name of this to "Benromach Liqueur". Like all liqueurs, this is sweet - that comes with the territory. However if you don't normally like this kind of thing but are interested enough to try a whisky liqueur just once, this is the one to go for without a shadow of a doubt. It is to Drambuie what Ardbeg 10 is to Johnnie Walker Red. Highest recommendation. "Excellent" : 89/100 (4.75 stars)

Sweet, honey, smoky