19/08/2022 An old blend

Five Sovereigns 8yo (70° Proof, J.W. Cameron & Co., b. ca 1970s): nose: it smells like an old blend, and probably like nothing being bottled these days. We have old medicine capsules made of gelatine, gentian, cough syrup, then ink, génépi, pine liqueur, or Becherovka. One might even say Jägermeister. There is something really mellow, on this nose, however -- something akin to Turkish delights or fruit jellies. That is soon overrun by the pine liqueur. In a way, this reminds me of Tullamore sans the nostril-stripping strength. A few minutes in, it is orange juice, sipped out of an orange plastic bottle, warmed by the summer sun (yes, I used to own one such bottle). The second nose has dusty metal, cast iron in need of a clean, old boiler rooms, and a whiff of discreet coffee in the next room. Mouth: tons of old-bottle effect, which means caramelised jam and metal aplenty. Melon jam stained by the tin cap, warm copper pots, a cauldron full of bubbling jam, cooling down out of the fire, and not a little bit of smoke. Smoke from a boiler, to be sure; none of that rural peat, here. The second sip adds copper coins to the mix, oxidised, yet still recognisable. Metallic jam becomes more obvious too, rose-petal jam, this time. Finish: fruity and a half, it also brings back the ink to augment dusty orange rinds and dried blush-orange segments. In the long run, the finish too takes on a metallic note, though it seems much newer, here: no Verdigris, no old coins, no corrosion, only knife blades, borderline razor blades, or pencil-sharpener blades. Yes, it is a little bitter, as a result. Excellent blend indeed. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, WhiskyLovingPianist)