This relative newcomer to the Highland scene is making waves with some seriously impressive expressions that showcase top-quality juice and a truly imaginative blending team. The 2,000-bottle Sherry Cask release just might be my favorite among the core range, as it’s one of those brilliant expressions that steps right up to the line of being too much of a good thing, without crossing it. The distillery uses both unpeated and peated malt in the blend, with the peated component coming in at a modest 30ppm, so the sherry character is free to stretch its legs and run. The nose is defined by deep oloroso notes, including stewed red fruits, dried dark fruits, and roasted nutty undertones. Moderate peat influence plays counter to blackberry compote and cooked pluot (a delicious hybrid of plum and apricot – look it up), while rich milk chocolate, distant wood smoke, and fresh-hewn walnut wood all linger in the background. The palate is marvelously constructed with exceptional balance. Unctuously rich on the mid-palate, it nonetheless finishes with amazing precision and length. The oloroso influence is again prominent with intense black plum and dried blackcurrant flavors. Like on the nose, the peat on the palate is quite modest, but it stands up confidently to the cask character in the form of subtle smoldering embers and, after a bit of air and a drop of spring water, further opulent nuances of fig cookie filling, cooked plums, anise, and chocolate pudding all emerge in kaleidoscopic fashion. All in all, this is a fabulously complex and intriguing dram, while at the same time being just a pure joy to drink.
94 points, Andrew Kitz, B-21 Spirits Buyer (May 2025)
Top Quality Store
