18/02/2021 New Make

Undisclosed New Make (~63%): a blind sample from Cthulhu knows where, with not even a name of someone I could ask for more information. I remember it is new make and I think I remember 63%, for some reason. How useful is this note going to be, eh? :-) Nose: quite new-make-y, yet it has some interesting richness to it too. Next to the usual plum eau-de-vie (a regular in new-make), there is also roasted corn, toffee, caramelised puffed rice (think: Kellogg's Smacks), warm terracotta, draff... I find it pleasantly cereal-y, in fact. Roasted cocoa beans, Kellogg's Chocos (I see that they swap the monkey and the bears mascots randomly, based on the country in which it is marketed -- not confusing at all! I am talking about the bear and the green box), warm oat "milk" and, lastly, an unexpected drop of of apricot liqueur. Or is it stewed apricot? Mouth: wow! This is shooting marzipan and plasticine left, right and centre a la The Pogues. Naturally, that is quickly matched by plum eau-de-vie, yet it does not fully mask the lovely marziplast™. There is something chalkier too, in the back of the mouth, as one chews on it, then blue shoe polish and not-quite-ripe fruits appear (grapes and plums). Finish: bold, warming and comforting, it is heavily marked by marziplast™, waxy plum and something a little more bitter that I cannot immediately identify. Cocoa, perhaps? Not quite dark chocolate, at any rate. The cereal-y side is nowhere to be found, now, although scratching my throat after swallowing makes me think of stale, lukewarm stout, which is as cereal-y as they come. Go figure! Well done, whoever made this. Assuming it loses the plum eau-de-vie with a bit of maturation, it should become a pleasant sipper indeed. 6/10