HP time with a release that comes from a wider vatting of “selected hogsheads” that has been disgorged into a number of other casks before being released. An interesting method for cask management – presumably, there was some variance in style/quality from a parcel of casks and the recombination has allowed for a little more control of the end product. No problems with that. This one a 13 year old which has been drawn from a 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel.
Nose: Brine, sea breeze and ozone coalesce with honey and hillside flowers, whilst seaweed and samphire join thin smoke and fish pie. There’s a sharpness from lemon and ginger that punctuates everything and sits alongside a single swipe of a surface wipe. Dilution reveals canvas sacking and smoked limes whilst floral heather honey joins spent log fire and a well-made seafood bouillabaisse.
Taste: Salted cod and black tea are invigorated by pokey ginger and chilli spice whilst lemon and peach jelly sweets sit with honey and tart cases. Water expresses split vanilla pods, nori sheets and syrupy apple and clementine fruit salad.
Finish: Medium with licks of salinity and residual fruit sugars.
A well-categorised HP that expresses far more coastal quality than peated presence. Everything works very agreeably and there’s ample expected heathery honey quality throughout.