24/06/2024 Speyburn

Speyburn 12yo (43%, OB, LIH379351, b. ca. 1991): ah! The elusive "Flora & Fauna"... Nose: well, it starts out very pleasant, if not very characterful. In fact, it does not smell like a Speyburn to me, which are usually full of (divisive) personality. This one has cut meadow flowers, a drop of vanilla essence, and a spray of acetone. That latter note paves the way for grassy tones (dried, unbloomed meadow flowers, faded chrysanthemums, faded edelweiss, hay), and even something earthier, farmier, mentholated, almost coffee-like, at times. Shaking the glass unleashes stale toffee, akin to a dusty Toffee Penny in a Quality Street tin years past its expiry date. There is even a lick of meaty musk, discreet, only available to those willing to look for it. All that is subdued and momentary, however; let the liquid rest in the glass, and it goes back to gently-minty vanilla and cut meadow flowers. The second nose is, erm -- well, to call it medicinal would be a long shot, but it reminds me of freshly-sterilised surgical tools (scalpel, scissors, retractors, etc.) Mouth: soft and gentle, it has some character all the same. It presents a clear bitterness, plant sap, ginger paste, and menthol. Oh! nothing offensive, but it is not bland by any means. Chewing revives the dusty, stale toffee -- very stale, here: it turns cardboardy, even -- and underlines a plant-sap bitterness. The second sip has chou dough in the making, augmented with oregano and more punch than the first. At 43%, it is hardly nosebleed, but it tickles the gums a little, in a mild-mouthwash way. Finish: strikingly, it is toffee to the max in this finish, sweet, buttery. It wraps itself durably around the mouth, and dies with oily tobacco leaves. The back of the gob picks up peach stones too, if none of the fruit itself. Repeated quaffing confirms a mentholated toffee paste, warming and refreshing at the same time, still with that bitter note. This is very good. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, Savoureur)