IB Bladnoch Forum 17yo 2008 54.1% (Mystery Malt) - Linkwood

[Willie JJ]

Bladnoch Forum bottling, 17yo Linkwood

Colour: mid gold

Nose: Wow! What a strange nose. It smells like its come out of some unusual cask. There's a good dose of acetone on the nose. That gives it a really gummy presentation. The cask is hard to pin down. Maybe Rum. I'm not finding any hints of malt at all. Plenty of citrus, but it's more grapefuit, lemon and grape than orange. Hints of syrup and toffee that make you think a bourbon cask has been involved, but not strong enough to make me think it was finished in it. Water allows the malt to surface a little, but it's still a little subdued.

Palate: Weird! Plenty of fruit, but ... Its not an off note, rather it is a sour citrus kind of taste. Clean enough, but strange. There is some heat but its more towards the finish. Water softens the strong acetone flavours and more water makes it a less strange drinking experience.

Finish: The finish suggests age. There is a lot of spice and some drying oak, but I wouldn't have said it was very old. Late teens maybe. Its quite a lingering finish at cask strength.

This is stange stuff.