Cask No. 48.164

AboutThings that make you go mmmmm:This delightful 17-year-old dram garners richness and sophistication from a 1st fill Oloroso butt that perfectly frames the muscular character of this distillate. Another stunner for fans of big, bold whisky.

Tasting Panel Note: The nose on this one was immediately impactful and brand spectrum, with notes including raspberry jam, a fat, rum-like worm tub funk, powdered cinnamon and ginger, and also clove-studded baked apples. We also found treacle, crushed hazelnuts and malt extract. Water brought more rum notes, pine sap, toffee sauce and dusty coal scuttles. There was a scattering of dried exotic fruits in the background too. The palate opened with rich and emphatic notes of hessian, orange muscat wines, fennel seed and salted liquorice. Reduction added dried marjoram, aged calvados, pickled walnuts and sweet rancio notes, while we found soft spices and dark fruits in the aftertaste. After 13 years of aging, we combined the contents of two bourbon hogsheads into this top quality first fill sherry butt.

USA allocation: 72 bottles