Act 4/Scene 1 Continuing the yearly releases since Act 2, I have slowly worked my way through Act 4. Reevaluating each release and see how it differs is now a curiosity. “Are you sure That we are awake? It seems to me That yet we sleep, we dream.” Act 4, Scene 1 Demetrius, A Midsummer Nights Dream The back label of the bottle opens with this quote and so happens to be the same bottling. Just some additional info. The color is a rich, autumn copper-red. It’s non-chilled filtered and natural color. The nose stirs quite the image of a cold night while sitting beside a warming fireplace. Baking spices of nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon with a touch of dill. Vanilla, caramel, plumbs, raisins, cereal bran provide a sweeter side to the baking spices. Dig way deep after a good 20 to 30 minutes and a hint of cranberries are detectable. The palate is spicy on initial arrival. Cinnamon spice permeates. When the spice subsides, as with the nose, the sweeter elements appear. Vanilla, butterscotch, caramel. The body is slightly thick and oily. The finish is soul warmingly long with a freshly ground cinnamon, similar to Red Hots. It turns slightly bitter of orange and lemon zest. The French Oak provides the wood spice and oak tannins. Water mutes the spicy aromas but does take the edginess noticeable on the palate and pushes the sweetness forward. The dram is better with a dash of water. A solid offering from start to finish. If there is a flaw in this version, it’s in the finish. I turns slightly off trajectory from the nose and palate. Lacks the mint found on the previous versions. Still a worthy dram. [$90][90/100][Tasted: 11/12/18]