Taster

Nose: Reticent. After some coaxing, dried fruits - apricots, figs. Oily, monster nuts - Brazils?

Palate: Dark, burnt cake (Dundee cake perhaps?). Liquorice. More oiliness, treacle toffee, bitumen.

Finish: Burnt. Bitter notes. Drying but warming.

Comment: Too burnt and dry. Not for everyone. Reminds me of a particular espresso and grappa, standing outside the Arsenale, on a winter's morning.

Score: 6.8

Taster

Nose: Big and mature with a hint of smoke. Quite resinous: liquorice and leather, wood oil, sultana fruit cake, clinker. In time there's a note of wrinkled apple, baked fruits.

Palate: Very soft and rounded and less dry than the nose suggests. Honeyed with a layered feel: marzipan, turmeric/curry leaf even some peach.

Finish: Very spicy.

Comment: This has complexity, though does lose some intensity and mouth feel with water.

Score: 8.3