Similar to the Black Friday deal of last year, The Whisky Exchange has just released a Christmas Malt, matured for 17 years in Oloroso sherry butts and showing the essential Christmas character at a fair price.
It was distilled in the Speyside region and the combination with sherry casks naturally leads us to an iconic family led distillery…
‘A fine Christmas Malt’ 17 yo
(58,7%, The Whisky Exchange 2018, Oloroso sherry butts, 1800 btl.)
‘A fine Christmas Malt’ 17 yoNose: classic, balanced sherry surrounding the malty core. Raisins, vanilla, buttery brioche and a hint of red berry candy. Plenty of toffee notes. Stewed apple with cinnamon. Hints of apricot cake. Rather candied with some aromatic oak in the background.
Mouth: punchy and sweet, with a juicy fruitiness on one side (apricots, oranges, pears) and spicy oak on the other side (pepper, clove, cinnamon). Christmassy indeed. Hints of plum wine. Growing nutty notes and charred oak towards the end.
Finish: quite long, on glazed cherries, a little spicy heat and a drying, leafy note.
Classic Ballindalloch, I wouldn’t mind finding this under my tree. Now available from The Whisky Exchange for around € 85. I’m sure this will fly off the shelves.
Score: 87/100