How could we kill the two birds with just one stone, though? With this, perhaps.
Imperial 37yo 1977/2015 (53.5%, Cadenhead Single Cask, Bourbon Hogshead, 204b): this one flew off the shelf even faster than any other before it from this esteemed bottler. Expect to see it soon at auction at inflated prices. Nose: Virginia tobacco, cold wood stove (cold ashes from wood fire), prunes, dried apricots, a wooden dashboard (polished walnut), a bucket of soot in an adjacent room, even roasted barley. After the first sip, juicy fruits timidly emerge (peaches, ripe apples, quince jelly) and still a pouch of Virginia tobacco. Cold tea makes a late appearance as well. Mouth: lively and youthful as a Kawasaki Ninja 250R (a 1984 motorcycle). Some honey? No! Raspberry jam and orange marmalade, green chilli heat. It is coating and velvety, bar that green-chilli heat. Everything is so well-blended that I am finding it difficult to detect specific flavours. Finish: long and warming, with hot cocoa and a spoonful of honey, hot toddy-style. Once more, the individual characteristics are so tightly woven together it is hard to tell them apart. Good whisky. Cannot help but wonder if it should have been bottled sooner. I feel this cannot decide whether it wants to be catchy (fruit) or austere (ash). It should be right up my alley, yet simply leaves me puzzled. I was expecting more from this. It is good, not blinding. We will see what further tastings give. For now, it is 8/10
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