22/02/2022 Fettercairn

This has not happened since 21022012 and will not happen again
until 20122102. It will then happen on 21122112,
then once more on 22122122, then never again! (at least, not AD)
Tuesday is also the 2nd day of the week

Fettercairn 11yo 2008/2019 (50%, Hunter Laing The Old Malt Cask 50°, Refill Butt, C#16646, 606b): nose: it is an entertaining nose, as only Fettercairn can make them; a mix of pickled onions, some porridge and vinegar poured onto otherwise-sweet grist. There may be a notch of cardboard, but it is a boldly cereal-y onslaught. Further on, we have a drop of yellow-fruit eau-de-vie (Quetsch, I would say) and a sweetened hay broth. Next, pencil and crayon shavings, gently waxy and dusty. That waxy note properly takes off, yet it is neither beeswax, nor furniture polish -- no, it is closer to makeup and sparkly wax. However, the same porridge soon comes back. The second nose has model paint (more Revell than Tamiya) and a dash of paint thinner in which paint brushes are soaking. Much later on, it has a distant whiff of dried herbs, crushed in a stone mortar (by a stone pestle, it goes without saying). Mouth: sharp and narrow, it shoots laser beams of hay and grist, dishes out porridge and colour-pencil lead. It does not taste of vinegar; that aspect is reduced to a sharpness reminiscent of pickled onions. Model paint comes back from the second sip onwards, supported by roasted-chicory granules (Ricoré) and Vanidene. I find it astonishingly granulated, all of a sudden, and I can obviously not explain why: it is liquid, of course, not grit! All the same, that impression persists. Finish: milkier than one could imagine, the finish sees roasted chicory again, chocolate milk and mocha flan. It feels silky and custard-y, leaves the palate coated with a thin, sweet layer that shouts warm oat "milk", drunk from a metallic mug. Indeed, the roof of the mouth picks up tiny notes of metal, now. A spoon used to stir coffee (or Ricoré). Original. In the long run, all that becomes more and more chocolate-y, which is always a bonus. This one really benefits from breathing. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, SL)