Cask No. 66.84

Cask No. 66.84

Rich and slightly naughty

Highland, Eastern

Like truffle hounds, our panellists sniffed out polished wood, spun sugar, fruit cake, plum jam, salty popcorn and chocolate-covered marzipan – not much smoke. Smoke did emerge on the palate though – with crispy seaweed and crispy duck in plum sauce. We found it hot, rich and dry – sherry-fed fruit cake, toffee apple sticks and abundant woody spices (chilli, ginger, clove, coltsfoot rock). The reduced nose had apricot jam, coal sacks, sherry, chocolate, dried fruits and lavender-polished wood. The palate now – sweeter, milder, but still dry – suggesting exotic Eastern spices and sweetmeats. Finished in Oloroso after ten years in a white wine hogshead.

Drinking tip: After polishing the furniture – or if you are a slovenly person – instead of polishing the furniture.