02/02/2021 Magic

Magic Cask b.2020 (46%, Compass Box, 92% First-Fill Bourbon Casks + 8% Oloroso Sherry Casks, 5538b, L 11.03.20): nose: freshly-baked, buttery croissants and green-grape juice, then watercolour and crumbling-dry moss. Next, and alongside the grape juice, come hazelnut, walnut kernels, and a droplet of vinegar, though I cannot tell which. Deeper inhaling reveals Sienna (Mill)Earth, waxy plasticine, a plate of baked whelks or cockles, and plump plums, yet all that is very shy. So shy it becomes rather boring to even try. Damp clothes pegs, no-frill muesli and porridge. Mouth: shaky, sharp and watery at the same time -- how quaint! Once the initial, acidic shock is over, it keeps a mildly vinegar-y feel (cider vinegar), until brine-y green olives join it. There is a vague notion of plasticine, wax or marzipan, hardly assertive enough to mention. Also apple pips, which is in keeping with the cider vinegar, I suppose. Yves Rocher's Magnolia perfume, maybe? This feels young and uncouth on the tongue, I am afraid. Finish: a soft, fleeting note of marzipan, coated in chocolate, but it is not noticeable enough to mask the cider vinegar. Here too, the dram feels young, watered down and lacking elegance. Citrus zest (is it lemon?), green-hazelnut paste, hazelnut oil. Despite all the acidity on display, it somehow manages to leave the palate rather oiled up, which suffices to propel the score to half-mast. It is still not something I would have chosen to bottle, however. Apparently, I liked it better the first time, yet I also thought the finish was more or less carrying the dram. I will finish this, but I do not like it. 5/10 (Thanks for the sample, DW)