It was St Patrick's Day, yesterday. Unwilling to follow the hordes who took the opportunity to taste something from Erin, we tasted nothing. And today, we carefully stick to the other side of the North Channel. Glasgow, to be precise. A city full of Irish immigrants and their descendants, one might point out.
Clydeside 3yo 2018/2021 COP26 / Glasgow (46%, OB, American Octaves finished in American Bourbon Barrels, 1500b, b.2021, CBSCS 10092): nose: it is at once lovely caramel and tubes of brown shoe polish, Barbour grease and soft leather. The caramel hints at a welcome sweetness -- and, indeed: soon, prunes, dried dates and figs march in, complementing the greasy tones, which turn fresh, almost minty. Walnut oil and engine grease still converse with oily nuts (oily, not roasted), and overripe-fig slices. The caramel becomes fudge and Scottish tablet, and it just might be coming with a spoonful of rich soil, maybe potting soil. Yes! That, or medlar slowly transform into mildly-smoked conifer honey. How original! The second nose adds raisins and a microscopic pinch of powdered nigella seeds. Mouth: full and sweet, the pine and honey notes are easier to spot, now. The texture is reminiscent of praline liqueur. I swear there is a smoky nuance , albeit very faint. It does have a gently-bitter note, probably betraying the youth of the liquid, but it is almost hidden behind a wonderful blend of Barbour grease and lovely honey. The second sip is full-on prune syrup. What I called a smoky nuance now might be toasted seeds after all, black cumin or nigella, so subtle it is hard to tell. Finish: toasted wood, toasted pine wood, probably, runs below caramel and liqueur-drenched dried figs. The nut oil is still present, if more discreet, while the Barbour grease and engine oil seem reduced to a memory that manifests itself via a subtle bitterness (that would be the engine metal underneath the grease and oil, surely). The sweetness does not seem to make it this far, interestingly enough, yet the mouth is left with a dark-grape-juice feel. The second sip unveils dark-chocolate coulis to please the Belgians. This is only three? Good job, Clydeside! 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, JS)
No comments:
Post a Comment