Clynelish 22yo 1997/2019 (56.3%, Alambic Classique, Bourbon Barrel, C#19302, 174b): nose: discrete furniture polish, polished marbled floors (black marble), lacquered cabinets and a bit of sawdust-y rancio. Dried apricots are there too, and, much further away, a drop of honeysuckle sap. Candlewax (but of course!), clover. I find the nose subdued, today. Good, but quieter than the other day. Mouth: it starts mellow on the tongue, yet the heat soon increases, with hot candlewax and dried apricot slices, pulled from the oven, if that makes sense. It is coating, though not sticky, more hot fruit juice than jam or compote. Wax ends up taking over, warm, coating, even slightly bitter (unlit wick or new rubber). Finish: juicy and apricot-y, the finish is the strong point, in my opinion. Warm quince paste, warm apricot spread and hot wax, with even a soupçon of spent wick, now. The retronasal olfaction is waxy as hell and almost vegetal in its delicate bitterness -- diluted dandelion sap. Lovely stuff. 8/10
Ardmore 21yo 1997/2019 (49.4%, Whisky-Doris The Art Nouveau Collection, Bourbon Hogshead, C#901456, 180b): nose: smoked herbs and baked mud, in pure Ardmore style. Silt, freshwater algae, drying on the banks of the river, kept moist by the lapping. Aside all that is a distinct barbecue smell, yet not really meat. Is it smoked tofu? Pottery in the baking (that is a nice pun, no?), tinned cocktail sausages (Zwan), then smoked shredded cabbage and cigar leaves. Mouth: refreshing, minty or pine-sappy, while also gel-like in texture, thick and, well, fresh. Later on, a touch of wood comes through (balsa), soft spices (lovage seeds, fennel seeds) and a cucumber coolness. This is surprisingly fresh, tonight. Simple, but fresh. It has some kind of flower that I cannot pinpoint. Smoked lily of the valley, maybe? Finish: again, very fresh, perhaps a little less clean than the palate, with remnants of the algae from the the nose (it is definitely nori, here), if not the silt. The tinned sausages are present too, with about as much meat in them as a vegetable lasagna. It has a soft smoky touch, even more tame than on the nose; could it be smoked algae, rather than tofu? Actually, it even feels like milk chocolate, stuffed with smoked mint. Now, there is a market opportunity! This one too presents a different experience to the first time. 8/10
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