Merry Christmas and seasons greetings to all! We hope you have a wonderful festive break and find plenty of time for drams and laughs with your family and friends. So, here we are, the final day of the Boutique-y Advent calendar and it's actually a bottle we've previously reviewed on The Dramble. So whilst we put our feet up for a few days, here's our thoughts (unedited from before) on a very old blended Scotch.
Originally posted on 6th July 2017
Nose: Gooey treacle and more than a dash of lacquered wood polish. Then, think of a bowl of Kellogg's Special K Red Berries mixed with Coco Shreddies and you're in the right ballpark. Plenty of other cereals at play here also - some seemingly charred and burnt, others fresh and farmyard.
Taste: Undoubtable treacle again. Chocolate and malty notes rather akin to Ovaltine (I'm bouncing off well-known brands today it seems). Shoe polish and creosote underlie the fairly ancient age of this well balanced blend. Pepper, star anise and a lick of salt provide some bite to what is a fairly serious and compact body. Farmyard cereals continue and are supported by a touch of countryside herbalness and delicate mint.
Finish: Medium length with a perfect level of astringency. Oak spicing, particularly pepper complete the experience.
A whisky worth taking some time over. Literally. Allow this old boy a little time in the glass to relax and decompress a touch (it's been in a cask for a very long time after all). Your patience will be rewarded with a blend that is grain heavy, but not totally dominant, well-balanced and dangerously drinkable. A menagerie of breakfast cereals (you'll probably think of other brands to mine) and deep treacle/chocolate notes admirably demonstrate the juxtaposition of grain and malt for the half Century they've spent together in a cask.
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...and that's it. 24 days, 24 Boutique-y tasting notes. Congratulations to Boutique-y for compiling a great showcase of their bottlings - its been a pleasure every single day.
For Dramble visitors - many thanks for your support thoughout 2017. Merry Christmas and sláinte!
Score: 88/100