Glenburgie 1998 21 Year Old The Whisky Exchange

Billy Abbott, The Whisky Exchange

• Nose

  Tinned fruit: freshly opened pears and pineapple, with a few fruit-cocktail cherries hiding at the bottom of the bowl. The pineapple becomes pineapple cube boiled sweets and barley sugar, with a touch of candied lemon and tinned peach. Hints of eau-de-vie develop – mirabelle, poire and blanche calvados.

• Palate

  The candied notes lead, with barley sugar becoming travel sweets, and rhubarb and custards. A touch of oak runs around the back and spice bursts through the middle. As that fades, orchard fruit pushes to the fore: sour apple and underripe pear, balancing the candied sweetness. A touch of wax-polished table sits at the back.

• Finish

  A burst of dark wood is replaced by dried pineapple and banana sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper. Polished oak lingers.

• Comment

  Layers of fruit – truly a fruity-boy of a dram. However, it's still got a bite of oak hiding at the back, keeping everything in check.