This is the leftover from Thursday. Instead of forcing it down on the night and regretting it the following morning, I put the remainder of the dram in a vial kindly provided by DW to try in better conditions later -- now.
149.17 9yo 2016/2025 To sup by starlight (61.7%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill Spanish Oak ex-PX Butt, 638b): nose: it is very briny, today, with pickled herring and distant gherkins. Next up are a drop of pitch-black ink, crayons and plasticine in a smoky bothy, as if one had decided to practise visual arts in the middle of nowhere, between two legs of a long mountain trek. It settles for plasticine in brine, which is unusual, and adds some flowers, maybe chrysanthemums or such, in a green-plastic planter on a window sill. Indeed, it has a subtle earthiness too. The second nose takes us to a drinks cabinet, with brandies, liqueurs and oiled mahogany, as well as lacquered cigar boxes. Mouth: sweet and orange, this has cough syrup and candied citrus. Marmalade, liquorice sweets, a drop of camphor. Chewing adds jelly capsules and flower sap. It takes a few seconds for the taste buds to clock how powerful this is. When they do, it becomes a procession of camphor, peppermint, liquorice bootlaces and a dollop of tar. It stays a little fruity, with dried orange peels, as bitter as that reads, and adds rubber, or melted Bakelite. The second sip makes the fruits juicier (tangerine, kumquat) and adds heather brushes (virtually none of the flowers themselves). Cured orange rinds, a drop of lemon juice and liquorice shavings. Camphor makes a timid comeback too. Finish: softer and fruitier here, this displays citrus slices and soaked segments (orange, clementine, mandarine) alongside darker notes (liquorice allsorts, honey-glazed black cumin seeds, rubber joints). It is a relatively long one, warming, adequate for this grey, rainy day, yet not tOMoH's preference. The second gulp delivers a kick of peppermint that fortunately transforms into orange peels (pretty dried out) and topped with white pepper from the mill. Decent, yet one of my least-favourite expressions from this distillery, to-date. 6/10
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