| Craig Daniels | Nose: early hits of barnyard and mud; then herbed gravy, beef broth, brine, celery soup, smoked beef and pastrami, baked celeriac, honey and herbs and candied citrus (orange & lemon) after time in the glass.
Palate: sweet peat, early toffee then shoe polish, and sweet and sour fruit and leather.
Finish; ashes, coffee, toffee, some smokey fruits with drying tannins; coffee and leather.
Comments: Starts slightly dirty/muddy then becomes much cleaner and better defined and more citrussy. The beef broth and celeriac reminds me of Ledaigs distilled in the 1970s. |
| Rich Howard | the nose is quite tart, with plenty of lemon and lime, hints of salt and brine, almost tequila notes here, with vegetal undertones and a light drift of peat smoke on the tail. the lightest hint of cream of mushroom soup (that's a new one...), infused with light whiffs of varnish. the palate follows suit, ever so slightly salty, and herbal with slightly sour peat water, some tart citrus, not nearly as tart as the nose, but not particularly sweet either. with water, the nose doesn't change significantly. maybe not quite as tart now, and just a hint sweeter, with traces of powdered sugar, still that citrus, and light whiffs of smoke. the palate is also a bit sweeter with powdered sugar, but more diffuse, and a bit watery. the finish is slightly dry and herbal sour, with traces of smoke. summary: a tart "margarita dram" to enjoy at bottle strength. [tasted blind for the 2011 Awards] |
