Scraped, Toasted, and Re-charred wine barrique casking, the second of three offerings under the ‘Casks of Lindores Series’ designed to showcase the fruit-forward style of the wine. N: Fresh oranges, plums, a hint of aniseed and barrel spice. There is a buttery-toffee like suggestion that pulls the spices to a richer depth and perhaps squeezes out the malt profile slightly. P: Instantly grabbed by thick wood presence, earthy spices and warmth. Deep stewed and spiced cereal laden plum. A lashing of honey and toast. Very straight forward with no real development. F: Long. Initially I thought medium, but then some brighter summery fruits come in as strawberry jam sweetness. The wood here is creamy and balances a fine line between caramel richness and oaky astringency. The opulent wood character is the central theme here. I had expected it would be the brighter citrus and jammy notes from the MCDXCIV but opulent wood is the surprise winner. There is a semblance of getting a rich port cask here. And whilst I do love a good port cask I wonder if the excellent new make is pushed out at the expense of this big cask presence. Again Lindores hit their brief. Show off the individual STR wine cask that forms part of the MCDXCIV; straight to the point and clearly focused. Distiller whisky taste #184 [Pictured here with a Torridonian Sandstone, the UKs oldest sedimentary rock formation at 1 billion years old. The formation is comprised of sediments reworked in river systems from fan deposits coming off the front of an ancient mountain front. This particular sandstone is an arkose, rich in feldspars. The red colouring is from extensive iron oxide overprinting] New make: 3.25/5
Aqua Vitae Small Batch: 3.5/5 MCDXCIV: 4/5 Bourbon cask: 3.5/5 STR wine barrique cask: 3.5/5