03/04/2018 One Irish beauty

Gelston's Old Irish Whiskey 26yo b.2018 (54.2%, Halewood, 144b): bottled by the same company that brought Crabbie's back to life, earlier in the year, this is allegedly a Bushmills in disguise, one of the (if not the) last distillation by Frank McHardy, and a cask previously owned by Teeling. Rumour has it that Frank might have used peated barley at the time. There has been a plethora of those old, undisclosed Irish whiskeys, over the last half decade or so, allegedly from the Teeling stocks, which has helped put Ireland back on the whisk(e)y map. This one comes with a hefty price tag, raising expectations. Nose: this has 'old school' written all over it: dunnage warehouse, damp staves and squashed apricots. Further, a whisper of smoke emerges, and tropical fruits grow in intensity. What a tantalising nose! Candied greengages, freshly-cut celery stalks, green hazel, persimmon, tomato stalks and smoky embers, persimmon jam and warm ink. Mouth: soft, yet gently spicy, it has more tomato stalks, squashed persimmon, paprika on creamy custard and roasted mango slices via retronasal olfaction. Oh! my, the mango grows bolder and bolder! Overripe-pineapple juice joins in on the fun, and yet more persimmon, this time under the oven grill. Finish: much bolder than expected, this is a grand mix of refined smoke and lovely tropical fruits -- guava and mango, perhaps pineapple too, all laid out on the barbecue. Remnants of chutneyed, sliced tomatoes, juicy and sun-drenched, and coconut-y, fruity yoghurt. The whole is mildly acidic (fruit) a touch drying (ash) and sweet at the same time (tropical fruits). The incessant ballet of smoke and fruit is quite simply marvellous. Excellence in a glass. 10/10 (Thanks for the sample, SW)