Taster

Nose: Enormous pot still presence softened by a hint of sherry and a sprinkling of ginger.

Palate: Perfect balance of sherry, malt and oak with a pot still backbone. Warming spiciness.

Finish: Hints of cocoa, lingering spice.

Comment: A shade more sherry-intense than it used to be, so some of the finer notes have been swamped. If anything the sherry is of too fine a character. Even so, tremendous whiskey.

Score: 8.5

Taster

Nose: Light, dry. Slight nutty sherry. Melon skins.

Palate: Smooth, honeyish. Toffee wafers. Lean, clean.

Finish: That sherry again. Nutty, but a bit dry and papery.

Comment: This is a highly respected 'sophisticated' whiskey, but it has never done anything for me. Good sherry character, but the whiskey itself is just too thin in the middle. I find it unbalanced.

Score: 7