Whisky in 1920's Blenders Glass. Color gold; Mood: Angry, constantly. Series: The Daredevil.
Already a legend: Daftmill. Would he have a chance in blind tasting?
Wetting the Palate: https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/171952/daftmill-2009
Nose: After 15 min: Cotton candy, Turkish delight or lokum (Ottoman Turkish: لوقوم), banana, coconut, syrup, stumble and fall into the autumn leaves - a breath of it. Cold bowl for the Sultan ('Hosaf'), but without cloves. Let's stay in the Orient: Baklava. Blind flight back to Europe: croissants. Hell of a kitchen these flavors. Close your eyes, blind or not blind, this whisky sends you on an unexpected journey through Eurasia, on a flying carpet of leaves on a warm cloud of vanilla. Aloha, campfire marshmallows. Candied pineapple. Isn't that America? Wow, interesting barrels, no question. Eat sleep stave repeat. Period.
After 30 minutes, roasted pistachios, cinnamon notes, dear whisky god, don't let it end. 1001 night. Damn, wrong series, we're actually on Moon Knight. Brown raw cane sugar - Demerara!
Mouth: After about 40 min: Sherbet or sharbat (شربت), meaning a drink of sugar and water.
But who the hell mixed in the chili flakes? Whoa, that's sharp, Mashallah. A pepper sharpness, black. A grain of salt. Grade A maple syrup flashes through. Fifth sip: coats your teeth, oil? No, rather waxy. Nutmeg, allspice spiciness, cinnamon spiciness, cloves spiciness, ginger spiciness, turmeric spiciness et cetera et cetera et cetera. The whole extended family of Spiciness and the Spicegirls.
Finish: Hot, hot, hot, warms the throat down to the Adam's apple. Forever long. Never ending Story. A grain of salt. The palate remains dry, the tongue almost sticks to it. Blunt teeth.
Water after 70 min, half a teaspoon:
Nose: The spiciness breaks out like a plague, burning the nose. Cotton candy fights against it. Good vs Evil. The Eternal Struggle.
Mouth: More chilli. This is joined by the whole pepper family of all stripes. Really folks, that's too much, I'm completely overwhelmed, do I still like it? Wax and oil occupy the pharynx.
More water, pleaseeee!
90 min, plus another half teaspoon:
The nose becomes milder, the spiciness slowly transforms into spices. What is this new devilry? Magic in Hell's Kitchen.
We want to dare more water!
100 min, a total of two teaspoons of water in the whisky:
Nose: Sharbet aromas paired with spices from the Orient. A touch of India in the air, sweet curry, a vanilla pod scraped out and forgotten. Caramelized sugar fills the air, pairs with cream, becomes Werther's Original (from the original German: Werthers Echte).
Mouth: What a change! This is witchcraft, taste explosions. The sweetness and the sharpness practice kung fu, extremely exciting moves in the mouth. Citrus and other exotic fruits join the fight. Spices, vanilla and a touch of tonka applaud in the background.
Three more drops of water and the impressions change again. Kung Fu becomes Tai Chi. A new hero enters the scene: Oak! Now I see the bigger plan here! Too much water and this new hero tends to take the lead. This whisky is above all a game with water (not fire!). Every whisky lover has to reach their personal bliss point drop by drop! Once the point is hit, this whisky becomes Felix Felicis.
Now close your eyes, visual impressions are superfluous. Meditate for 10 minutes, waiting for Nirvana. On the palate, Asian spices are still exercising martial arts.
"You Hit Them And They Get Back Up, I Hit Them And They Stay Down." - FrankCastle