Aberlour 16yo b.2014 (59.1%, OB Hand Filled at the Distillery, Sherry Cask, B#A14): nose: oily exotic woods (mahogany, teak, iroko), shoe polish (dark brown), and a nutty chocolate liqueur. The next sniff brings dark furniture wax, tar-black honey and more shoe polish, soon joined by super-dark raisins, dried blackcurrants and dried mulberries. It is elegant, but very dark. Only the smell of cloves is missing to suspect this was distilled by Goths. All that wood polish ends up unveiling woodworm-riddled rustic chairs. The second nose has purple ink and pencil erasers. That spells a gently-chemical fruitiness, probably, a fruitiness that is soon joined by blackberry jam on dull toast served on tarmac. Mouth: woody, teeming with furniture polish (in a spray, this time). It is not exactly bitter, yet the huge waxiness has definitely gone beyond the gentle yellow-fruit stage. Chewing reminds us of all the raisins and currants from the nose, but, here, they sport a cloak of furniture polish. Dried mulberries, dried blackcurrants, dried cherries, raisins, a spoonful of dark wax and lots of polish for dark-wood furniture. The second sip is a tad more winy, with rancio, clay floors and a generic musty wood dust presenting elderberry and a blackcurrant paste of sorts. It gains a dose of ginger powder too. Finish: fleetingly dry and somewhat reminiscent of a beef-stock cube, it quickly unleashes a cascade of dried berries and currants more in line with the nose and palate. The alcohol bite is remarkably limited, yet, when its effect dissipates, one realises how strong this whisky is thanks to the prominence of tar, a note that was completely hidden to begin with. The second gulp adds spices (ginger powder, ground cloves, amchur) to chunky dark-berry jam. It makes for a gently-bitter-mostly-fruity finish that is hard to disagree with. This is well made. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, OB)
Abhainn Dearg b.2023 (61%, OB X Cask Type, PX Cask): nose: to say it is an entirely-different beast would be the understatement of the week, at least! This is not merely rustic; it is farm-y, today. Moist earth and grass in an orchard, field fertiliser (yes: muck, albeit discreet), geranium plants, but also lichen on penny walls built to enclose pastures. Back to the orchard, there is a faint fruitiness at play, part tart apples, part unripe greengages, and that paves the way for crayons, followed by chewy sugar-coated, acidic cola sweet. Tilting the glass gives shoe-polish vapours on top of that. The second nose has a more-decipherable muck scent that mingles with caramel-flavoured breakfast cereals -- or is it a spoonful of chocolate paste, augmented with a few drops of Marmite? It promptly takes us to crayons and pencil erasers, however, with sappy plants in the background, chilling in a vase, and choux dough in the next room. Mouth: this too seems surprisingly mild an attack, with purple sweets and blueberries in a muffin form. Chewing pumps bitterness into the mix: crayons, scented erasers. That is supported by Tubble Gum, some kind of flexible, synthetic insulation (not rubber) and unripe berries (cranberries, blueberries, bilberries). It takes on a note of burnt baking parchment, at some point, which is unusual. The second sip is firmly in the camp of pencil erasers. It may add a succulent plant or two for a bitter freshness, and a rough ball of wax. Lengthy chewing sprays furniture polish on the lot. At a push, one may detect orchard-fruit eau-de-vie poured on caramel-flavoured cereals. Finish: big and shifting, it presents a rotating tapestry of flavours, like a kaleidoscope. Membrillo, pressed raisins, 45%-cocoa-content chocolate, blueberries, chewy sweets (huckleberry flavoured), but also diesel fumes and hot berry pies coming out of the oven (oooh!) After the palate, one may know to look for a burnt note, in which case, one may find it. Nothing exuberant; just parchment whose corners are blackened by an extensive period in the oven. The second gulp has dusty wax kept on a metal plate, a flower or three on the worktop upon which someone made sandwiches with chocolate spread, and a piece of fruit coated in chocolate -- my hunch is greengage. In any case, it provides a comforting warmth, as would the kitchen of a grandmother's home in the countryside. This is really unique and fascinating. Not easy, perhaps. 8/10
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