07/04/2022 A decade of the Old Man of Huy's key adventures

Datzryte, folks. It has been ten years, since JS convinced me to start this blog. Allow me to not reflect on how much the whisky world and this blog have changed, over the past decade, and move on to a dram. I want to find something suitably special; Something like a Ben Wyvis, since that was my first review on these pages, but I reviewed one not too long ago and have no other open. Something that is ten years of age, perhaps? And that is equally rare?...

107.3 10yo 1989/2000 (61.9%, SMWS Society Cask): is this rare? Well, I have never seen this bottling elsewhere -- not for sale, not in a collection, nowhere. Enough chit-chat. Nose: sharp, almost vinegar-y, at first, it opens up to reveal lemon curd and custard cream topped with lemon zest. This is lemon-y and three quarters! The alcohol is obvious, yet not brutal; it simply is there, minding its own business. Rising from behind it are stroopwafels -- that would be soft, moist wafers and honey, then. From then on, the nose promises more and more creaminess, with lemon custard and lemon curd, some kind of pomelo-flavoured vanilla ice cream, and a sponge, heavy with lemon-scented washing-up liquid. There is also a discreet-but-heady musty undercurrent, probably the alcohol, brooding beneath the surface. The second nose has humid laundry, line-drying on a warm but overcast day. Water diffuses the nose and gives an ethereal pot-pourri air that comes across as very elegant. Mouth: astonishingly, it is exactly what the nose promised, which is to say hot, creamy lemon custard with a drop of lime-scented washing-up liquid. One can feel this is higher than 40% ABV, but considering it is above 60%, the alcohol integration is staggering. One would have to be mindbogglingly attuned to guess higher than low 50s. It is perhaps down to an unexpected sweetness on the tongue, bold, lush and lovely. The second sip merely confirms all that, though it adds warmth too. With water, the mouth becomes a little thin, and the taste is more subtle, although it remains pleasant. Finish: long, lemon-y, this really is warm lemon cake, piping-hot pomelo custard, perhaps lukewarm limonade (lime lemonade, yeah?), and that lingering sweetness indeed. Crystallised citrus and creamy citrus biscuit filling -- imagine Custard Cream biscuits with a pomelo custard, instead of plain vanilla. Outstanding! With water, the sweetness almost disappears, strangely enough, leaving but the memory of citrus -- not custard, nor sweets, this time, which is maybe a pity. I find this extraordinary, tonight. Perhaps it lacks complexity to reach 9, however much I want to give it that. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, JS)