N: Molasses, meaty BBQ, plum sauce, iodine, chocolate, and some peat still managing to emerge from that massive nose. Deep sherry, very rich. P: A thing unto itself, thick and syrupy, a peat n' sherry concoction melded together into something unique, rare, and absurdly good. Big big big. F: Lingers on the BBQ. Bacon. (And thanks Alan!) <-- Notify the Serge Copycat Police!
The nose on this starts with a huge bang of fruity sherry flavors with fig and other fruit. Massive complexity. The palate is huge and beautiful with raisins and other dried fruit with mild peat in the background. And peat grows into the finish in which it dances with the sherry.
This was the eighth malt tasted in a Clynelish/Brora tasting and it just blew away the competition. It's got big fruit and sherry flavors but tinges of peat and smoke; the interplay makes it extremely complex and enjoyable. I want to be drinking it RIGHT NOW!
The key to this whisky is its extreme drinkability despite the massive, massive flavors in here... not that huge flavors don't make something drinkable, but I think you know what I mean. The sherry is almost overpowering, and without the smokey aspects it would approach not-dimensional... but the phenols and other subtleties rocket this into A-range. Complexities especially reveal themselves upon lengthier drinking (as they always do), and this gets more excellent with more to say on every sip. Mostly a big sherry number with restrained smoke, big toffee, and maple-syrup candy -- particularly that maple-syrup candy is big in the finish.
We rarely drain a bottle start-to-finish at a meeting, and the fact that this one never stood a chance says a lot. A/A-
Unmistakable A. It has already been said above so I have little to add. So much of what everyone else describes I agree with. There are few whiskies that I think would work really well with food, but this makes me want to try it with a rare rib-eye....great stuff.
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