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| Testing my eyesight too! Look at that faded label! |
Nose: a naked one! Here are straw and crispy dried apple peels. That becomes a little more moist, but it is not a juicy affair, at least initially. Eau-de-vie, apple brandy and a Verdigris-infested copper kettle. Maybe it has a splash of lemon juice, in the long run, though nothing to be overly excited about. The second nose feels drier, if anything, and brings forth hazelnuts that were stored in an oiled mahogany case since last year's season. It turns oilier in a wood-stain fashion. Mouth: mellow and velvety, it is a blend of crème caramel and melted toffee. Were it a trifle dustier, one could say it tastes like an old blend. Chewing crystallises the caramel and we have caramel boiled sweets, Mokatine without mocha (which is like nicotine without Nico, really, or the same without Newcastle-upon-). It grows a gentle heat, gentle enough for the mainstream, just about hot enough for a seasoned taster to notice. A faint sherbet and something earthier take over, after a while. The second sip may well have more bite, with tart apple and roasted hazelnuts dripping their oil. How seasonal! Finish: yes, blend-y, it offers caramel, toffee, a pinch of dust and stewed plums. It lingers like a gulp of spearmint, yet the caramel rules, without being too sweet. The second pass has banane flambée in which the banana is virtually unrecognisable behind the flamed rum. A hazelnut coulis or liqueur slowly gives way to gritty, chalky ground hazelnut, dry, dry, dry. No oil left, here. Unpretentious, unchallenging. What is it? A blended world whisky?
Woven Superblend (46.1%, Woven Whisky Makers) 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, Whisky-Online)
