Tonight is Burns' Night, though celebrations have been cancelled, like everything this year.
Royal Lochnagar 19yo 2000/2019 (55.5%, Edition Spirits The First Editions, Refill Hogshead, C#HL16350, 384): nose: orange liqueur, Cointreau style! Orange milk, creamy orange praline filling, and something nuttier... Hazelnut paste? Macadamia butter? The citrus-y/orange-y profile soon comes back, this time supported by shiny, waxy furniture -- a leather sofa would be my guess. The nuts turn bolder, now converging on hazelnut vinegar, apple-pip vinegar, before backtracking towards macadamia butter. The orange liqueur is never too far away, though. The second nose seems a tad grassier, with hay and kumquat foliage. Mouth: well, it is orange liqueur on the tongue as well, no question about it! Cointreau, booze-injected PiM's (now, there's an idea!...), marmalade, all that before a similar woodiness as the nose's creeps in, with the gently-bitter arms of an armchair (for those who have ever licked those), brambles and orange peels, then mandarin peels and liqueur pralines. The bitter touch grows more intense with every sip, but it stays under control. Next to the orange, it feels as though a touch of red-apple juice appears, crisp, acidic, waxy, balanced by the woody undertone. Very good alcohol integration and silky mouthfeel, although a pinch of chilli powder shows up, in the long run. Finish: quaffable, softly warming and comfortable, it delivers everything it did promise; an old-school marmalade, polished armchairs, orange liqueur and liqueur pralines. The second sip sees a note of chocolate, which underlines the praline impression. Nutty body butters too -- macadamia, shea, cocoa. Maybe baked apple is progressively coming up too? A drop of rum? Yes! A rum-soaked, orange-paste-filled soft cake, PiM's style (if you still refer to Jaffa Cakes, you have not lived). Lovely drop! I find it much more convincing than the first time. Context, eh? 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, DW)
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