Beinn a'Chleibh (40%, Lambert Brothers The Munro's): nose: old honey, crystallising in its jar, furniture wax on dark-wood armchairs, patina-coated coffee tables. Suddenly, something more vegetal appears, perhaps lily of the valley leaves, vine leaves, introducing dried lime leaves, bay leaves and curry leaves. The sweetness of honey is never too far behind, however, nor is the furniture wax that comes back, this time closer to encaustic. Warm butterscotch is certainly present as well. The second nose is more flowery, the leaves making room for jasmine buds, forget-me-nots and banana jam. It later turns more root-y, with ivy stems (do not eat those simply to discover their taste!) and liquorice root. Mouth: mellow and honeyed from the start, this one does not have the immediate OME of the other expressions we tried. It is sweet, yet not too sweet; it has a soft bitterness, yet it is not too pronounced; it has woody notes, yet it is not woody. Honey-glazed pecans -- no! Honey-glazed macadamias, melted toffee, honey-glazed dried banana slices... In fact this makes me thing of banana chutney: fruity, sweet, and softly spicy (nigella seeds would be my guess). Finish: the finish sees a similar softly-woody sweetness. Here, it is augmented by a drop of refreshing minty toothpaste (the leafiness from the nose, no doubt), which is balanced out with a delicately-bitter note of liquorice root and, perhaps, earthy Jerusalem artichoke. Somehow, it makes me think of quince jelly, though I cannot explain why; this is drier and not as fruity. A jelly that would be covered in mould, perhaps Honey-glazed nuts re-appear, late in the game, this time skinned walnuts, rather than macadamia. In any case, it is very good. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, JS)
I am sure the idea behind the concept was that hillwalkers would drink these after bagging the Munro named on the label. I can see it enhancing the exhilarating experience of standing on top of a mountain alright. With that in mind, I cannot imagine there being too many of these miniatures left. In other words: good luck finding them! :-)
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