14/09/2023 Clydeside

Clydeside (unknown ABV, Cask Sample, ex-Sherry + ex-Bourbon Casks married in cask): nose: the integration smells a lot smoother than in the previous sample, parading toffee, gently burnt on a wood fire. That toffee turns sweeter and more chemical, flirting with strawberry chewing gum, at times, and Haribo Bananas. Further on, an assertive wood influence settles down, blowing ginger and sawdust up the olfactory organ. It is not much longer before the Sherry cask makes itself known, timidly pushing a sweet cough syrup into the light, only to rally around hay bales and minty lemon drops. And why not? Lemon mint is a thing, after all. The second nose has a clear lemony custard, fresh as mint, or as a bunch of meadow flowers in a vase. As time passes, that morphs into deeper citrus, namely kumquat, tangerine, and orange, foliage included. It swiftly returns to lemony custard, mind! We spot a drop of fiercely-acidic lime juice too, late in the day. Water brings up a puzzling mix of orange and powerful anaesthetics. A minute of marrying time transforms the latter into sawdust, which is more for me, and ripens the orange: juicier, sweeter, and darker too. Lastly, an oilskin tablecloth appears. Mouth: it has a gel-like texture, viscous, enveloping. Despite what the nose suggested, the palate has the horsepower of its two sibling (remember: here and here), and, if we have ground cloves, grated ginger and galangal shavings, the whole is so numbingly powerful that it could be mistaken for a dentist's anaesthetic. Here are sweetness and bitterness intertwined, not unlike a mud patty on a sweet shortcrust. How original! The second sip may be fruitier, showcasing citrus and foliage. It stays a tad bitter, though, which hints at unripe citrus, rather than anything too juicy. A cinnamon-and-ginger-based paste wraps the whole thing up, which perpetuates the numbing feeling. Water makes it softer and more balanced. It exhibits riper fruits, and the wood spices are less intimidating. The citrus foliage also takes a back seat. Finish: a hand grenade of lemon mint and grated ginger, this certainly offers a modest explosion in the mouth, and raises the roof of it, a little. Modelling clay, souped up with lemon mint, whole bay leaves, chewy, bitter, yet also very fresh, plantain skins, and, if it does not have Kaffir lime leaves, it comes pretty close to them. This finish infiltrates every pore of the mouth, and, once again, leaves it somewhat anaesthetised. The second sip has chewy, dried tangerine segments, more bitter than sweet, but well pleasant. Water makes the citrus riper here too. More unexpectedly, the bitterness that we had associated with unripe oranges is still very present. As is the minty freshness; imagine ripe-orange segments coated in toothpaste, sprinkled with crushed bay leaves. This is my favourite of the three. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, DH)