...and now for something extremely rare and a bit weird: The Omaruvian. It's a single grain whisky from New Zealand that was aged 6 years in ex-American oak and then finished for an astonishing 10 years in New Zealand red wine casks. It was distilled in 1999 and the distillery is now defunct. It's cask strength and comes in at a whopping 116.8 proof. The bottle originally sold for around $95 and it was never available in the U.S. I obtained this 1oz sample from a new friend that travels extensively. There's no way I'd have ever been able to get this rarity any other way. In the nosing glass it simply looks like a pour of red wine. It's beautiful and it's already filling the room with cherry and strawberry fruitiness. When I stick my nose in and inhale deeply there's a robust kick of oak barrel before the red wine overpowers it. Very nice. That first sip packs a wallop- there's a hit of sweet grapes, but the oak and heat from the alcohol just clears the room. The overwhelming dryness doesn't allow anything to hang around more than a second or two before it just takes your breath and sets your nose on fire. It's unavoidable. I've got to add water and try to tame this beast before the sample is all gone... The water really kicks up the grapes on the nose in an unbelievable way. I don't want to finish this- I just want to sit here and smell it. I'm not a wine drinker at all, but I have slowly begun to appreciate single malts with wine barrel finishes. I'm liking them more and more and this takes that to an incredible level. The water really did the trick on the palate, as well. Tons and tons of cherries, strawberries and grapes just wash over the tongue and explode with flavor. The finish is, of course, very dry and that's the only shortcoming I can find. It leaves your whole mouth dry while warming you to the core. I would love, love, love to have an entire bottle of this to savor for as long as I could hold out on finishing it. The rarity just makes me yearn for it even more. Great stuff. A big thanks to Pranay for providing me with this sample. To say that I thoroughly enjoyed it would be an understatement. Cheers.