21/04/2023 Tormore

Tormore 1988/2012 (55.4%, Malts of Scotland, Sherry Butt, C#MoS12043, 96b): nose: dark, exotic woods aplenty, starting with mahogany and teak, ending with dark cocobolo, and even flirting with ebony. There is a good dose of lacquer too; armchairs drying after having been applied a lick. Wood spices arrive shortly thereafter: sumac, ground cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa powder. One may find it a bit one-dimensional, perhaps, yet what it does, it does well. The second nose increases the complexity by adding grape juice, cigar boxes, and cotton candy in the making. Grapes are more and more assertive, even if their vine wood is never too far away. Overly-baked fruit turnovers are in the wake of that, so baked that all that stands out is the crispy caramel that leaked out of them, and solidified on the oven bottom. Mouth: varnish, oily woods, mocha and dark chocolate, mahogany liqueur cabinets, and orange zest, caramelised beyond recognition. After fifteen-twenty seconds on the tongue, it becomes more-obviously powerful and spicy, with nutmeg, ground cloves, crushed bay leaves, charred cinnamon sticks, and droplets of green-grape juice. Dark-chocolate coulis remains a main actor, though the focus never is firmly there. It feels borderline Cognac-y, at times, with that ester-y, fruity grape. The second sip is in line, with the wood providing more spicy bitterness than before (bay leaves, sumac). However, the grape juice is also louder -- go figure! Finish: it is fairly punchy, despite a quarter of a century of aging. More exotic woods of a darker sort (teak, Brazilian cherry, ipe), dark, earthy spices (ground black cumin, ground cloves), and roasted grape pips, which brings an oily, juicy dimension to an otherwise rather woody affair. Oh! it is juicy alright, if not plain fruit juice -- no: it is closer to half grape juice, half liquid caramel. The second sip feels creamier, a foamy cloud topped with a dusting of cinnamon powder. It is no cappuccino, though: it remains a chocolate-y, grape-juicy thing augmented with a dash of Marsala. Delightful. I seem to have found it earthiy, last time. Not so much today, oddly enough. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, Cavalier66)