Tasting Panel Notes

The warm, comforting scent of hot chocolate spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and a splash of Jamaican rum funk greeted the Panel. Full-bodied on the neat palate, we found chocolate-coated ginger, candied fennel seeds and orange peel, as well as baked ricotta with cherry and orange compote. The reduced nose transported us to a traditional coffee house in Vienna where we enjoyed a slice of sachertorte and a coffee called einspänner (one-horse-carriage) – strongly brewed hot espresso topped with cool whipped cream. We sat on time-worn bentwood chairs as we imagined listening to Mozart and Beethoven performing live. Following 13 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, we transferred this whisky into a first fill Spanish oak oloroso hogshead.