Color: Orange Gold
Nose:
The nose greets you with aromas of bread and cereal notes, with additional oxidation revealing orange peel, dried fruits, and cherries from the sherry octave. Creamy hints of vanilla and corn syrup envelopes the glass, with traces of floral notes such as Jasmine and white blossoms.
Mouth:
Dried fruits and lemon peels again cover the palate, with sweet stone fruit notes such as cherry and ripe peaches. The Mid palate contains, fruit cake with hints of cracked pepper spice and more malt notes, which nicely balances out the initial sharp citrus flavours that come from the front palate. Overall, the nose matches almost tit for tat with the mouth.
Finish:
Medium, with lingering sandal wood, cinnamon spices, and green pepper notes to round off the finish.
Verdict and rating:
A very juicy and flavourful 3-year-old. I liked that the influence that the octave imparted on the whisky was not overbearing on the overall experience, which gave this expression a nice touch of balance between its bold citrus and malt notes. Overall, a very good tasting whisky for an extremely good cause. With the COVID pandemic surging across India, I hope that all the money raised (over £25K!) will been beneficial in providing resources to facilitate the saving of more lives during this global crisis. Our Thoughts and prayers are with you India.