Aroma: This a honey sweet whisky, full of buttery sweet pastry aromas. There is rich, tart apple aroma that combines with a round wide woodenness. Something about it is musty and minty at the same time too.
Taste: On the palate, this whisky begins syrupy sweet. It is pancakes smothered in golden syrup on a rainy Saturday morning as you feel the warmth of your house i contrast to the weather outside.
The middle of this whisky is floral and heathery, with a twist of white pepper. This part of the dram is musky and surrounds the mouth with a thick coating of flavours.
Finally, as the whisky falls backwards there is a rich spicy quality, which reminded me of somehow of both Jamaican ginger cake and ancho chilis. This is to say that it is warming, but sweet with a (very gentle) smoky, raisin like quality.
Appearance: In the bottle a deep golden colour, but in the glass a light, more summery golden colour.
Real Dram Factor: I first encountered Whisky Broker through their incredible warehouse pictures on Instagram. If you can, imagine a vast warehouse space, full of casks that seem only to be organised in the heads of one or two people. I can imagine the smells that are present and this led me to buy a very well priced bourbon of theirs, which I drank in double quick time. Cut forwards to the start of February and I saw that they were selling this 28 Year Old cask strength Speyside whisky for SEVENTY POUNDS and I was straight in.
Although this is a gentle whisky that belies its ABV at first, with time and warmth it has a lot to give. It becomes more fruity, more sweet and more diverse the longer it is in the glass. Add to this that it is a whisky of nearly thirty years in age and I am very pleased that I was quick off the mark with my purchasing decisions.
You Will Like This If… you like quiet whiskies that take their time to deliver on the promise of their aromas.
ABV: 52.7%
Price: £70
Source: Purchased from Whisky Broker.
More Information and Buy Online: As it was bottle 184 of 199 it is unlikely that you will still be able to pick this whisky up, but head over to The Whisky Broker and sign up for their mailing list. Then you can find out the latest releases in time to purchase one of their next gems – https://www.whiskybroker.co.uk