This year, why not try a Walloon whisky? A Walblair. :-)
Balblair 97 2nd Release 1997/2013 (46%, OB Vintage, DL10453): nose: clean, citrus-y, with a serving of golden fudge, honeyed and warm. The citrus is close to antifreeze in its potency. Another way to look at it is that it is obviously antifreeze, in which overripe-pineapple peelings are soaking. It dries up a bit with time, and comes close to chewy candied pineapple cubes, or Turkish delights. A pinch of fresh herbs appears, a couple of sniffs in, discreet or distant (tarragon? Hawthorn?) The second nose cranks up the citrus, a mix of pomelo, grapefruit, lime and lemon, oozing from every ounce of fudge. Mouth: creamy at first, it soon presents a soft bitterness, and reminds one about the late-coming herbs of the nose: tarragon, hawthorn, and bay leaves leave no doubt as to their presence, surfing on a wave of chai that has been drowned in too much milk. Here are also whispered notes of toasted granules, fenugreek, and crushed roots of some kind. That, and citrus-y cream. The second sip seems more bitter, a combination of pine needles, ivy leaves, gentian, and rocket, still doused in citrus juice. Perhaps it has mocha toffee too? Finish: quite surprisingly, we are back in fudge's company, caramel-y, creamy, not sticky, and sprinkled with lime juice and some herbs (dried, this time). A decently-long finish, though in no way insistent, it lingers in a non-invading fashion. As it did on the palate, repeated sipping seems to increase the bitterness somewhat, and we are left with an aftertaste of chicory infusion, albeit one with a dash of citrus juice. Unless all that is unripe hazelnut. In any case, it blends the bitter and the milky convincingly. Pretty good, and rather original dram. 7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment