I always wondered if a cask finishing is done sometimes to hide a flaw. You know, like covering up something basic, and hopefully it’ll turn out good, but there’s something odd that makes folks question it. Like my friend from college “S”. You see, S dated this guy Ali for all 4 years of undergrad. He was from an ultra rich family in Pakistan. We kept telling her “ don’t get your hopes high, he’ll go back home and marry someone there. He’s super rich, why would he slog his ass here in the US like us middle class bums ?” But no…she goes ahead and gets a tattoo right below her bikini line, on her inner thigh, which was symbolically meant for only him to see. The tattoo was inked as “Ali”. Well, right after senior year, Ali leaves back to Pakistan, where he helped run the family business. S is devastated. But she also has a forever engraved name of the one person that made her cry on a daily basis. What does she do? She changes “Ali” to “CommonAlity”. I’m absolutely sure the next guy she dated had tons of questions, always wondering if there was some sort of a coverup. Like the whiskey in my glencairn tonight…except I’m having much less of an emotional damage than S. Despite having this while watching some woman getting a forced cesarean in the 1st episode of HBO’s House of Dragon. I purchased this bottle from the distillery itself back in May. Finally, I’m having it…after sharing it with so many folks already. Finally got around to it. This is a strange pour. Oxidation is certainly its friend. It seems as if it really needs time and some water to open up. Having it without some rest is just too rough. Seems disconnected. But with a few drops of water, it opens up to reveal some jammy berries and shortbread. Strawberry jam, some balsamic, and a lot of youthful heat. I think it’s super young, which is what they were trying to cover up with a cask finishing? For a distillery only bottling, I wish it were better. Not worth the price I paid unfortunately.