The nose evoked pastry kitchens – cantucci biscotti, fudge, fruit tarts and almond slices, all served with sweet stout. Sweet satisfaction in the mouth came from raisin panettone, toffee apples and sugared almonds, before a drying finish combining a tangy wine spritzer with mulled wine spice.

Fruit dominated the reduced nose – pomegranate, cranberry, apricot and three-fruit marmalade – along with light floral hints and cakey comforts. The soothing palate now had citrus boiled candies, jam on scones, chocolate-hazelnut spread on brown bread and a chaser of chilled cream sherry. After six years in ex-bourbon wood, we transferred this whisky into this second fill American oak ex-Pedro Ximenez hogshead.