ABV: 58 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dark and fruity. At first there’s a dark overripe plum and raisin note sitting on top of a fresher floral and fruity base. There’s a cooling mint hovering above all as well. The distillate feels very clean and well made but there’s a nail polish remover note attached to it which brings the whole down a bit. When it settles there’s a somewhat gritty note coming through with sulfur and signs of age with some dust and leather. With time in the glass it becomes brighter and delivers dried assorted fruits. This is a nice sherry driven nose with some complexity to it.

Mouth: It starts out with an immidiate spicy punch and a mix of ripe red berries, coconut flakes and dried fruits. There’s a rather big and bitter black coffee note in the back together with sour lemon freshness and baking spices. The leather and dust is still in there as well as a slightly floral complex note. It’s not an easy sipper by no means and it hasn’t got a sweet character although there’s a sweet shell surrounding everything else. It’s slightly astringent at this point but it feels rich overall.

Finish: A dusty fruitiness builds up together with the spicyness. It’s now a rather perfumey note which is dominating the center part. It’s got a citrus base and a floral top note. The bitter black coffee note is still residing in the back and the astringency increases slightly. There’s still not much of a sweetness. After a while the sherry delivers some sweetness attached to the red berries and leather notes. The gritty character is completely gone as well as the nail polish remover note found on the nose. The oakiness arrives late and it really doesn’t show up before most of the other flavours disappear. It’s a nice oakiness with the black coffee note attached to it as well as a walnut nuttiness. This is a very good whisky with a complex character.

Additional information
This whisky was distilled in 1997 and was drawn from a batch of 5 refill sherry hogsheads exclusivly for Le Maison du Whisky. This is from collective #2.1.