This one comes from an oak butt, could be sherry, could be bourbon, who knows. And it was chosen by The Nose himself, blending legend Richard Paterson. I believe this one was bottled exclusively for the Japanese market. The color is golden auburn, dark golden if you like. It smells toffee pudding, resinous, camphor, vanilla, onions, beef jerky, bbq-sauce, rather huge on the vanilla, also some mint, malt syrup, green tea and heather. There's no nutty notes as one often find in younger versions. The taste is strawberries, honey, caramel, sage, vanilla, toffee pudding, dark chocolate, custard cream, onions, boiled stout, raspberries, butter, ginger, sugar snaps. Most of all there is a heavenly vanilla going on here. One could not add water here in my opinion, but let's try for fun. With water it becomes more bitter-sour, some vinegar notes emerges, but still a very goo dram. The finish is long, malty, cinnamon, coffee, baking ammonia. Richard, splendidly chosen!
A spirit that's still fresh, yet the cask influence is massive, and altogether a perfect match: 9.5
Next tasting: America!
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