Strathisla Distillery post-tour tasting, 1st May 2024, whisky#3 Nose: Chocolate pudding, malted milk, grape jelly, honey, caramel sauce, vanilla, cinnamon, tropical fruit juice concentrate. Palate: Sweet arrival with grapes, raisins and dark chocolate being the main flavours. In the development there was toffee, prunes and coffee with a resurgence of grape and fortified wine in the late palate. The texture was oily. Finish: Medium/Long. Sweet grapes, raisins, hazelnuts and a pinch of mixed spices leading into a dry aftertaste. This distillery exclusive expression was distilled and filled into ex-bourbon barrels on February 9th, 2006. It was matured for most of its 16 years in those casks before being re-racked into one ex-cognac butt. This was discharged on December 1st, 2022 and produced 840 half-litre bottles of which my tasting was from bottle 753. The whisky was not chill-filtered and although I cannot say for certain that it was uncoloured, I think that was the case. A very fine whisky that showcases good cognac cask finishing, the cognac heritage being just discernable but at no time taking centre stage or overturning the malty heart of the whisky. It is opulently sweet and rich when neat but adding water added a touch of ginger and allspice that provided excellent balance. I preferred it with slight dilution. When declaring our favourite drams of the tasting our group of 8 were split between this and the distillery exclusive 15 year old (also reviewed here). I thought they were equally delightful, but if forced to choose I’d go for the 15 year old. Like the 15 year old this was a cellar door exclusive but I don’t think it is still available. “Very good” : 86/100 (4 stars)