19/08/2021 Electric Coo Blend

Blended Scotch Whisky 27yo 1993/2020 (41.1%, CWC The Electric Coo Series, Refill ex-Sherry Butt): nose: it starts off with raspberry vinegar and salad vinaigrette, and has turned into exotic wood by the time it hits the sinuses -- mahogany, teak, redwood. Garden furniture creeps up, as do a heap of autumn leaves, warm red ink and cherry stones. There is a subtle whiff of hard-boiled egg, strangely enough, though it does not spoil the fun. Further nosing reveals dark cherries and blackberries, neither of which is very loud. Finally, a faint floral scent enters, forsythia, montbretia or peonies. Veeeeery faint. Mouth: rather wine-y on the palate, with a generous dose of tannins, macerated grape skins, pressed blackberries and even the tamed bitterness of slightly-unripe blackcurrants. This has something remotely nutty too, too thin to be a liqueur, too tame to be an eau-de-vie. Over time, the texture turns oilier, and that brings us back to that idea of nuts -- walnut kernels bathing in plum juice. Repeated sipping increases the woody character, and it emphasises a certain dryness. That would be old wood, then. Finish: perfect strength for me, and it is juicy to boot. The finish is the strong point, in my opinion; it has the acidity of the berries mentioned above, enough bitterness and nuttiness to remind one that it has spent twenty-seven years in wood, yet none of the greenness of unripe fruit. There is a drop of raspberry vinegar again, lost amidst the berries and the nuts. Come to think of it, this might well have chewy marzipan, pickled with said raspberry vinegar. It works. Good blend! 7/10