13.72 - ‘All’s well that...’

13 years old, distilled 12th May 2005, 59.8% abv, Second Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel, 164 bottles, dram price C

SMWS 13.72 - ‘All’s well that...’The nose has green apples, pears, lemon and hints of quince jelly. The mouthfeel is thin with no cling. The body has vanilla, cheap wooden packing crates, white pepper, and plenty of spice. That spice builds immensely on the second sip, as it dries. The finish has white pepper, vanilla and packing crates.

Water brings out thin, compact whorling that settles quickly into brief mottling. The nose gains cherry and marshmallow, and loses the green apples, pears and quince. The body gains cherry, and loses some of the white pepper. The finish gains a little lemon and cherry, but retains the white pepper.

This probably needs more time than I can give it during a preview session - it was already starting to change, and hopefully burn off some of that spice.

One for autumnal afternoons.

Technical score: 2/5

Personal preference: Just the one dram, thanks.

This whisky was provided by the SMWS in a preview session - thanks to them for that. Full editorial control has been retained in the tasting process.