ABV: 46 %
Origin: Highlands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a sweet honey and vanilla note with a floral side to it. Underneath lies a black liquorice note and a slight nuttiness or maybe singed wood. On top lies a rather fresh and dry fruitiness with grapes and lemon. It’s young and feels rather top heavy, but the top does a nice job in covering up the spirity side of it. Time in the glass makes it a lot fresher and fruity. This is a good nose with a lot to offer. It’s quite pleasant.

Mouth: It starts out being flat and then a sudden explosion of fruits and spicyness. It feels a bit hot, quite spirity and young but there’s a surprisingly good arrange of flavours pushing through. There are apricots, orange marmelade, yellow pears and lemon. It still feels very top heavy but there’s a lot of flavour coming through. The floral notes are also in there as well as vanilla sweetness, but it’s not as sweet as on the nose. The story underneath is a different story though, with a rather unpleasant bitter note sitting in an otherwise half-empty space.

Finish: The spicyness rises once again as well as the fruitiness. It’s a nice mixed bag of tropical fruits at this point and it’s joined by the oakiness very quickly. It’s a very nice experience at this point, but it soon gets a bit dimishished when the oakiness takes over. It becomes a bit boring and slightly bitter. There’s a big nutty surprise though, which arrives very late in the finish. It becomes pleasantly nutty. There’s still a hole in the flavour profile throughout. This is a good whisky with a lot to offer. Sure it’s young and a bit spirity, but the cask finish does a good cover up job.

Additional information
This whisky is a travel retail exclusive release. It was first aged in ”traditional” ex-bourbon barrels and then finished in ex-Madeira casks. No maturation time is disclosed.

If you like my reviews and wish to offer a small donation, please click the ”donate” button below!