Bruichladdich 11 Year Old, Latour Hogshead Cask, 2012, Thompson Bros, 55.3%

The soft, sweet opening has a distinctive lift from clementine and perfumed papaya. On the palate, golden-syrup cereal malt, raisin and cranberry sauce give way to sour-umami notes and tannic red character. Sour coffee and oak carry that shift into the finish, with peppermint and chilli-oil warmth adding another turn. It is approachable in its opening, but not simply sweet throughout; the later bitterness and savoury edge give it a more challenging side.

Oak feels out of step.

There’s a lively shift here: golden-syrup cereal sweetness and raisin give way to sour, savoury notes, then coffee and oak. That contrast sounds more interesting to me than a straightforward sweet dram.

rainy_socks23 Mar

There’s a curious shift here from soft, sweet cereal malt and cranberry sauce toward tangy, savoury sour-umami and increasingly tannic red notes. That contrast gives the whisky a more involved character than the sweetness first suggests, though the sour coffee and oak tannins sound like they take a firm hold in the finish. The fuzzy peppermint leaf brings a welcome herbal flicker at the end; it’s a detail that makes this an intriguing, if not especially gentle, direction.

busstop compass23 Feb

The fruit is the clearest point of appeal here: clementine, perfumed papaya and overripe honeydew give the nose a varied character, while semi dried raisin and cranberry sauce carry fruit onto the palate. That shift interests me more than the sweet cereal malt alone. It comes with a reservation, though. The lightly sulphurous, sour-umami character gradually overtakes the sweeter palate notes, and the finish favours sour coffee, oak tannins and a softly bitter end over the earlier fruit. I like the range of fruit, but the savoury turn and tannic close make this a more particular choice than its inviting opening suggests.