This one is the brand new version under new owners and Billy Walker’s management. 100% oloroso matured.
Colour: amber.
Nose: except for the oloroso notes, this new one simply hasn’t much to do with the old 15, but it sort of kept the best parts (balsamico, mushrooms, raisins, parsley). Much cleaner but certainly not monodimensional, beautifully sherried, developing all on walnut liqueur, beef stock, hints of Madeira at some point (rather than straight sherry), soy sauce, mint sauce, a little camphor, maraschino (very obvious after a while), horse stable, coal smoke… Very complex in fact, and pretty brilliant so far. ‘Wow’.
Mouth: big, rich, nervous and wonderfully sherried, immediately remind us of some older Macallan 18s (Gran Reservas). Coffee, chocolate, prunes, dates, beef jerky, dried bananas, figs, orange liqueurs… And a very nice rancio in the background. As for spices, we have cloves, cinnamon and just a little star anise.
Finish: rather long, with the spices getting bigger and just a faint dustiness. Fades away on blackcurrant jam.
Comments: the fact that some distilleries still have such old style sherried whiskies may well be the best of recent news from the whisky world. Adorable whisky. SGP:462 - 92 points.
