A Fine Christmas Malt 2020 19 Year Old

Billy Abbott, The Whisky Exchange

• Nose

  It’s almost Christmas, and it’s time to bake. The cake has been fed with buttered rum, and raisins, sultanas and candied peel are soaking up sweetness and spice. Baked apples haven’t been in the oven that long, but already their fresh and fruity aromas have joined the mix. Spiced cupcakes are just about ready, filling the house with the scent of sweet nutmeg, cinnamon and clove.

• Palate

  Our festive treats are ready to serve, and the apples lead the way, rich, spicy and baked to sweet-and-sour perfection. A handful of grapes and dates bridges the gap, leading to rich, dark and spicy Christmas cake, with brown sugar sweetness balanced by charred raisins. A bowl of sticky cherries hides at the back behind a slab of bitter dark chocolate. Fresh fruit makes a final return, with apple and pear jam spread thickly on slices of lightly buttered fruit loaf, all dusted with tingling cinnamon sugar.

• Finish

  The raisins and dates are back, dark and sticky, a perfect post-dessert snack. A touch of ground coffee bitterness and oaky char parts to reveal a sliced apple and a mince pie, left out for ‘someone’ to nibble on later.

• Comment

  A dram for dark winter nights, that doesn’t forget to bring a bit of zing to the party. Dark and spicy at its core, with a fresh and fruity orchard-fruit edge that dives into richness as it develops.