87 / 100
The pastry and apple thread gives this Speyside malt a warm, dessert-leaning character, with toasted hazelnuts adding a welcome counterpoint. I’m most interested in the sweet, biscuity barley on the finish: it brings the malt into clearer focus after the buttery shortbread and fruit. The Oloroso Sherry Octave Cask is named, but the documented flavours matter more here than assumptions about what that cask must contribute. This sounds appealingly rounded, though the pastry sweetness seems to lead the conversation.
Reviewed by silver_atlas
- Nose
- Cooked apples and plump, honeyed raisins, Toasted hazelnuts and baked pastries
- Palate
- Buttery shortbread and flaky pastry, Poached apples, jammy fruits and sweet spice
- Finish
- Sweet, biscuity barley, Toasted nuts and Madeira cake