07/07/2023 StilL 630

StilL 630 24mo 2015/2017 X-8 Chocolate RP (50%, OB Experimental, C#15-38, b#47): nose: it leaps out of the glass with overwhelming notes of fruity Cognac and exotic woods. Grapes, mirabelle plums, orange wine, polished mahogany, and redheart. There is some soft rubber too, in a 1980s-cheap-trainers style. Oh! and Irn Bru. This could easily be mistaken for a rye, and, should one associate a colour with, it would be neon orange. Further back are roasted nuts, oily, interspersed with chopped orange segments. Oranges do take off, yet they do not feel too natural; more the crystallised sort, almost sickly sweet. We also have freshly-made oilskins or rubber boots, still reeking of melted rubber. With quite some imagination, one may detect a whisper of smoke, very far from all the above, and probably closer to caramelised marmalade than actual smoke. The second nose has lukewarm cocoa, as welcome as it is unexpected, and a wooden spoonful of cheap marmalade indeed. Mouth: bitter and a half, comparable to cold coffee (for which you do not have to wait a moment, if you want it -- for those who know). Chewing on it increases that perception, though it adds wood: cold coffee spilled over a wooden dining table. Orange peels join in, chewy as if fresh, bitter as if dried. Also mocha-flavoured gelatine, and a drop of Cointreau. The second sip is in line, with old wood perhaps featuring more prominently, although citrus peels are not far behind. Over time, the bitter side stabilises, in terms of intensity, and point at metallic-tasting herbs, verbena, or sage. Finish: the best part of this dram, in my opinion, with gelatine sheets, melted milk chocolate, and mocha custard, as well as some mixed peel that comes across as far less vulgar than the citrus of the nose and palate. The finish glows a comfy warmth, and is now more acidic than bitter, which is good news for tOMoH. The citrus is much riper is what it surely means. The second sip adds a dash of pineapple-weed infusion. I could not drink huge amounts of this, to be sure, but it certainly is interesting! 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, JS)