The nose delighted us with fruit cake (majoring on golden sultanas), milk chocolate (with hazelnuts), pumpkin pie (with nutmeg), and acorn-fed ham. The palate neat was robust and impressive, delivering deep flavours of wine-soaked oak, fig rolls, caramel and grilled pineapple, before a finish of cinnamon, burnt leaves and strong menthol lozenges. The reduced nose got treacle toffee, moist gingerbread and orange marmalade on burnt buttered toast.

On the palate, we now found ripe fig, pomegranate molasses, whole wheat soda bread, roasted chestnuts and root beer – a rich, dark and sumptuously sweet combination. After 11 years in ex-bourbon wood, we transferred this into a first fill oloroso barrique.