Glenturret 35yo 1977/2013 (47.5%, Berry Brothers & Rudd for La Maison du Whisky, C#25): nose: from the first second, it is a parade of flowers and fruits, with jasmine and lychee exchanging a sweet kiss, pink grapefruit and apple mint holding hands, candied pineapple and kerria Japonica lost in conversation. All is subtlety, balanced and elegance. Behind that comes a (clean) black bin bag, warmed by the spring sun. Yes, it is odd, but it works. It is also fleeting: soon, pink-grapefruit peels overtake it and no longer let go. That is joined by sweeter fruits, kumquats and apricots, close to jam or compote. Velvet peach appears last. The second nose cranks up the apple mint. Even if it never becomes leafy, it certainly is fresh and a half. After a long while, the nose unveils a discreet metallic side too -- imagine a stainless-steel pot that has been heated, then left to cool down. Again, it works. Over time, even pomelo shows its face (or its smell, rather). Mouth: fresh and more lively than expected, it feels initially green, with droplets of bitter plant sap. Soon enough, fruit catches up, though it does keep a certain bitterness -- pink-grapefruit skins, clearly identifiable. As for the fruits, well, they are well known, by now: kumquat, grapefruit, barely-ripe pineapple, mandarin and lovely lychee (via retro-nasal olfaction). The second sip is well acidic, showcasing pink grapefruit again, this time with a lesser entourage. The apple mint from the nose turns into spearmint (it feels a little sharper, without reaching peppermint loudness), and the citrus comes complete with foliage. With time, the palate seems to grow a gentle note of ginger too -- crushed ginger, juicy and spicy. Finish: gently sweet in a pineapple-custard way, this has compote and jam aplenty, blended mandarin and apricot jams, squashed peaches, a touch of vanilla and custard-y grapefruit turnovers. In other words, it combines the sweet, the acidic, the creamy and the fruity brilliantly. Creamy? Oh! yes, this is creamy alright. It leaves the mouth as if having eaten cream puffs -- cream puffs augmented with candied citrus peel, candied pineapple cubes and soaked dried apricots. Superb. 9/10
Happy birthday, sonicvince.
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