Edradour 10 Year The Distillery Edition

Beautiful dram with a chestnut brown colour, a classic peated single malt from a small distillery. A lovely nose, with a smell of dark cacao, mocca, honey and nutmeg; until now, this little beauty ticks all the boxes. The taste is very well layered, quite a thin mouthfeel but in a good way. Dark and earthy. Loads of wood, almonds, nuts, a whiff of cane sugar and acacia honey, thyme. I taste almonds, caramelised almonds. Sweet. A bit like a cognac. Dark and mouth tingling aftertaste of dark roasted coffee beans, cacao and quinine. Dry wood. Lovely. Not as fruity as I like them to be, but it tastes like something special. This review is merely a summary of the notes I taste te most. There is a lot more to discover in this glass. Not the first choice, but lovely though. Recommendable.

Alright, I’m out here starting fights tonight. I am not a distiller or blender, and acknowledge the murky waters which comprise my credentials… but I have emptied more than a few bottles over the years and did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so I feel righteous and qualified in making the the following claims: This is not re-seasoned sherry finished. This is not first fill sherry casked. This is not “oops a little sherry was left in the bottom of the barrel” dosed. This has to be just straight up blended with sherry. As in, I’d accept it easily if I were told it was 50/50. My bottle is looks purple brown and 3x darker than the Distiller picture (maybe some hyperbole), yet claims to be “natural color”. Perhaps they are being clever, since caramel colorant is indeed naturally derived… but this stuff might be darker than Goslings. Okay, rant over. Regarding the experience, I don’t find a lot on the nose and the palate doesn't quite "zing", but it is creamy and pleasantly malty, then brings orange, prune and fig. Marzipan and black walnut. Currant. Over-the-top rich, but the sweetness is well-moderated. Seems to have more kinship with well-aged and decadent rums (say Diplomatico with the sweetness cut in half) than other Scotches I am used to. There is a “bourbon-y” essence to it that surprises me - corn, oak, caramel, and vanilla. Is it legal to sneak a portion into new charred oak? Ultimately enjoyable to drink, inoffensive (beyond the suspicious opaque appearance), and a couple channels turned up to 11, I’ve enjoyed the bottle. I’m just not sure it’s worth a repurchase at > $60 given my penchant for musty and sulfuric sherry rather than lush and velvety Christmas pudding sherry. A decent drop, and I'd buy more if I could find it in the low $50s.

Unassuming nose but great palate. Golden raisins and honey, with underlying roasted nuts. Color is very dark, and they is a charred oakiness that is stronger than I would expect given it's 10 year age. Overall great dram that I would happily revisit regularly.

3.5 Stars - Very good; 20 ml sample Earthy, loamy. Complex. Old campfire after a recent rain shower. Figs and dates. Tastes 18 years old. I wanted to buy a bottle, but this was sold out after the Scotch tasting. Everyone was buying a bottle.