17 years old, distilled 11th October 2000, 58.1% abv, First Fill Ex-Pedro Ximenez Hogshead, 245 bottles, dram price D

The nose has strawberries, jelly tots, glace cherries. The mouthfeel is thin with no cling. The body has strawberries, raspberries, sultanas, melon, and cinnamon fireballs. The finish is melon and cinnamon fireballs. Repeated sipping really builds the cinnamon!

Water brings out thin, rapidly expanding whorling that doesn’t mottle. The nose gains marmalade and loses the strawberries. The body gains marmalade and hints of herb garden. The finish gains marmalade, and the cinnamon is a little diminished.

A big, spicy finish balanced by wonderful fruit flavours - but the way the cinnamon builds wasn’t to my taste.

One for autumn afternoons.

Technical score: 4/5

Personal preference: Just the one dram, thanks.