Tasting Notes
The lure of the open water presents itself in this duo from Islay – a raw powerhouse of sweet smoke and oil coupled with tar, rock pools and Viking marauders.
Cask No. 10.286: Viking on the rampage
The nose had us all dancing around a beach bonfire, upwind of which we could just detect sea shells, tar, lemon zest, olive tapenade, sherbet straws and tulips wrapped in hessian. The palate provided an intriguing combination of tar, salt water and nori on graham crackers, chimney smoke and biting the finger of a leather glove. The reduced nose was a picnic among rock pools of melon, mandarin and pear, smoky bacon, olive oil and salty blue cheese. The palate’s powerfully cinematic evocation suggested a delicate, sweet lemon in the grip of a hairy, smoke-infused Viking marauder.
Cask No. 10.287: All aboard!
We began our journey standing on the deck of a vintage steam-powered wooden tugboat, feeling the raw power, with the smell of smoke and engine oil hanging in the air. We also detected notes of roasted strawberry panna cotta, cinnamon bagels and spekulatius cookies, as the crew shared their rations in a sheltered corner. The taste was robust, rich and fragrant, delivering salted caramel popcorn and peppered chocolate raisins which left our tongues feeling a bit like used sandpaper. A few drops of water released the aroma of a pine forest by a sandy beach just after a heavy downpour, while the palate was of strawberries and cream being served on that wooden tugboat. Following nine years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, we transferred this whisky into a second fill American oak PX hogshead.
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