Fettercairn 25 year 1995 Signatory Cask Strength

On the nose, very fruity. All sorts of apples, pears, maybe something tropical. Behind the fruit I get some powdered sugar, ginger, and bakery smells. It shows a little heat but it doesn't burn. The palate though does have more burn than I expected. Nice mouthfeel, creamy texture. More fruit and then some sizzle. I think a little water is called for to calm this one down. Oops, I may have added too much water now, as the flavors seem pretty washed out. Thankfully, I hadn't poured the whole sample, so I'm adding a little more back in. More maltiness now, ripe pear, a little chocolate on the back end. The last couple sips I had back at full strength with what was left of the sample. I think I've come full circle on this one - I prefer this without water, or at most only a couple drops of water - which isn't totally surprising for me, but I may have needed to let it sit open for a bit, or my palate needed to adjust. Whichever the case, I think this is good, but I could see being disappointed at the age and price, as I would've expected more complexity and coherence. Nevertheless, $150 for a 25 year old cask strength scotch still seems pretty fair, and I wouldn't mind sipping this one any time. Big thanks go out to @pkingmartin for the sample.

This is a mix of two casks # 2818 and 2822 that were distilled on 25 October 1995 and bottled on 21 April 2021 at 60.3%. On the first nose of this, it's extremely hot but after a healthy dose of water the ethanol calms down and starts to reveal some of the notes. The nose starts with a mix of gooseberries, mango chutney and charred whole wheat toast followed by lemon pith and moderate floral notes then prunes, earthy dark chocolate and grapefruit juice that transitions to ginger, cloves and ashy oak with high ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with an ashy and sour mix of gooseberries, salted mango and burnt whole wheat toast followed by violets, vanilla extract and grapefruit pith then dark chocolate cocoa powder dusted prunes and lemon zest that transitions to ginger powder, black pepper, cloves and overstepped black tea with high ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with lemon pith, gooseberries, cloves, ginger and burnt whole wheat toast. After being able to try a sample of Fettercairn OB 28-year-old which costs $600+ for a bottle, I had spotted this IB at TWE for $150 and thought I had a deal of a lifetime with a 25-year-old age statement and 60% ABV, how could I go wrong. Alas this is not the polished treat of the 28 and is a mix of sour and bitter fruits, moderate floral notes and over steeped black tea that didn't come together well even after 25 years.