Taster

Nose: Like my grandad’s garage, working on an old car, car oil, slightly metallic before sage and wholegrain bread and physalis.

Palate: Dry and intense creosote fills the palate, quite drying but sweetness creeps in. More of that herbal sage, a little cinnamon, some cedar wood and sweet fig.

Finish: Medium to long with the sweet fig and earthy smoke lingering.

Comment: Not my usual, but I’m a big fan of the balance and interplay between sweet and smoke here.

Score: 8.4

Taster

Nose: Furniture polish and black treacle. Pomegranate molasses and cedar wood, with chopped peanuts and apple crumble with plenty of cinnamon and brown sugar. A waft of coal smoke and leather. Blackcurrant cordial.

Palate: Medium bodied. Brambles and delicate elderflower are accompanied by robust liquorice and capsicum, before smoked pecans steal the show.

Finish: Medium-long. Delicately petrolic with pecan.

Comment: Complex and robust. Lovely stuff.

Score: 8.5