Cask No. 36.165

Cask No. 36.165 

A bee swarm on holiday

Speyside, Spey

On the nose, we agreed about vanilla (ice-cream wafers, sarsaparilla), apples, pears, honey and coconut marshmallows (maybe Tunnock’s snowballs) – but debated floral notes against clothing shops. The palate was sweet, tasty and rewarding (‘more floral honey than a bee swarm would take on holiday’) but also lively and invigorating – from liquorice root, willow twigs, lemongrass and turmeric. The reduced nose was fragrantly fruity – apple strudel with cream, lemon ice-lolly sticks and Lilt – with subtle hints of lavender and camomile. The palate was now sweet and fruity – orange peel, blackcurrant, caramel and honey, with a drying clove rock and Pontefract cake finish.

Cask: Refill hogshead
Age: 12 years
Date distilled: August 2006
Alcohol: 57.7%
USA allocation: 60 bottles