Taster

Nose: Leather shoes, bales of dark tobacco, hessian sacks, cola cubes, dark cherry liquour, a citrus note too.

Palate: Caramelised orange peel, wine finished Manchego cheese. Almost flat coke, tomato sauce, fig biscuits, Maduro cigars.

Finish: Drying, tannic with an aromatic edge.

Comment: A lovely sherry hand grenade.

Score: 8.1

Taster

Nose: The power has well and truly been turned up on this, with the same nuttiness as the previous whiskies, coupled with some fragrant clean linen, some freshly turned earth, a hint of farmyard/wet hay and orange zest.

Palate: The extra alcohol strength doesn't punish the palate, but helps integrate some of the drier, woody aspects with dried figs, heavy cigar tannins and strong Darjeeling tea. Water helps quieten the whisky down, but doesn't really add a great deal.

Finish: Dry and lingering notes of cigar leaf.

Comment: Another big tannic beast.

Score: 8.1