Chichibu 2015 Bourbon Cask Exclusive To The Whisky Exchange

Billy Abbott, The Whisky Exchange

• Nose

  Apple tarte tatin, crunchy toffee and apple boiled sweets – intense orchard fruit with sweetness and a touch of fruity acidity. Pastry notes develop, adding in extra layers of vanilla and exotic spice – cumin, ground ginger, allspice and clove: more jerk than curry. Tropical fruit notes build around the edges – mango jam, juicy pineapple and dried papaya – while spiced custard rolls though the middle with white and milk chocolate.

• Palate

  Sweet and spicy, with ginger-laced caramel, chocolate sauce and chocolate sponge cake to start, all backed up by baked apples dusted with cinnamon and brown sugar. Minty notes build – mint fondant and mint chocolate chips – as the chocolate fades, and layers of orchard fruit emerge – red-wine poached pears, apple sauce, fresh tart green apples and sweet red apples, all dusted with rich muscovado sugar.

• Finish

  Apples and pears with a touch of chilli heat, mint chocolate chips and beeswax-polished oak.