Initial nosing suggested boozy cherries, marzipan, green melon, cured ham, ruby port and cinnamon bark. A dark, festive and wintry scene was emerging in this dram. Water brought aromatic details such as cupboard spices, dried dark fruits, apricot jam, papaya and aged fernet. The palate, when neat, opened with hibiscus tea, impressions of young PX sherry and beefy, meaty vibes. Beyond that we also noted freeze-dried strawberries and prunes.

Reduction revealed cherry vermouth, sweet green chartreuse, herbal cocktail bitters, woodruff, blackberries and black coffee sweetened with muscovado sugar. At 10 years of age, we combined selected casks from the same distillery. We then returned the single malt into a variety of different casks to develop further. This Pedro Ximenez hogshead is one of those casks.