Yes, we have used that pun before. Get over it.
Glen Albyn 20yo 1969/1989 (55%, Signatory Vintage, Oak Casks, C#483-484, 1000b, b#195): nose: oooh! Citrus-y! Clementines, mandarines, tangerines, then roasted melon and a discreet-yet-clear whiff of smoke. That transforms into something waxier, and it is hard to decide whether it is scented candles, or a plastic hand-wash dispenser. At any rate, it is lovely. We lean towards scented candles, since it has spent wick too. The scent, by the way, is flowery, lavender-y, hence why one may associate it with hand wash, I suppose. Is it Parma Violet, all of a sudden? It is a sweet, violet-flavoured, chewy paste that comes out of a tube. Some are groaning already, whilst others rejoice. tOMoH sits somewhere in the middle. It is only fleeting anyway. Gone already. The second nose is oilier and grassier; candied angelica comes to mind, though it could also be coriander and parsley, preserved in oil. Over time, it takes on the morning smell of a mountain refuge in the Dolomites: cold fireplace, tobacco smoke, coffee gone cold, a pile of logs, and mountain vegetation all around (mosses, lichens, saxifrage...) It also has heated tin, Moka-pot style. Surely, that goes with the coffee. Mouth: bitter-sweet attack, with green shenanigans, sweets of all kinds (red sour belts, cuberdons, mint crumbles), but also smoke, charred mixed peel, and, yes, a droplet of hand wash. It is all augmented with a sprinkle of ground black pepper, and the bitter lick becomes a mix of dried lime zest and candied angelica shavings, wrapped in menthol tobacco. The second sip appears sweeter than it is bitter, with caramel, mocha custard, a hot Moka pot, in which a genius dropped sugar cubes (do not!), and a growing earthy side amidst that milky texture. Finish: citrus is as explosive as it was on the first nose, mixed peel made of lime, pomelo, Shaddock, and yuzu peels. This has candied angelica too, in small doses, and, if it is not nigella seeds, it must be charred mint stems. The whole mouth is left refreshed, then thirsty. Perhaps this is what ingesting mint ashes feels like? The second gulp has heavily-sugared milk coffee (sixteen -- for those who know), a slice of orange dunked into that coffee, warm fudge, and herbs so subtle that they are hard to identify. Dried coriander and hawthorn, maybe? Not sure. It is a warming, comforting, creamy finish for sure. Much better than the 1964 we had last year. 8/10
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