June is the month of holiday for many -- at least, when there no pandemic. To travel abroad, one often needs a passport, so here goes.
Passport Scotch 100% Scotch Whiskies (43° G.L., William Longmore & Co. Japanese import, b. ca. early-1980s): nose: mocha cream, burnt caramel and sticky toffee pudding that would have spent too long in the oven. The nose also has a thin layer of warm leather. Soon, the soft freshness of menthol appears, unless it is pine resin; in any case, it is discreet, fleeting, quickly almost stifled by the burnt caramel and sticky toffee pudding aromas. There is even a last-minute whisper of bicycle tube. The second nose has an air of oil and citrus, perhaps orange-infused oil with an undertone of barley, left out to dry for years and which, subsequently, has lost most of it scent. Lastly, sunburnt grass emerges. Mouth: inoffensive at first, it soon unveils a mild cinnamon-y, gingery spiciness alongside pine drops, Gocce Pino style. A copious dose of caramel remains, here, yet it is more than matched by the juicy freshness of the pine syrup in those Italian sweets. The pine-y journey continues with resin, tree bark, menthol (is there Benrinnes, in this?) The second sip has barley syrup, barley snaps, loaded with a tad too much burnt sugar. Repeated sipping puts the spotlight on the dilution (it is watered down to 43%, after all), though nothing too detrimental. Overall, this is very much a caramel custard or crème brûlée affair. Finish: some pine notes remain, yet the finish has more wood (old bookshelves and all) and bitterness -- though no trace of mocha, this time; more likely, it is aniseeds, lovage seeds or caraway seeds. The finish is of medium length, a little drying, if perfectly pleasant. The burnt sugar seems just too bold here too, yet it is not too bad either. If one likes crème brûlée, one should be enthused by this. As it turns out, tOMoH only tolerates crème brûlée(*), so this is merely OK. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, DH)
(*) With the exception of Tantrum Dougnuts, of course, where Crème brûlée is tOMoH's favourite.
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