Juniper Hill
A Mystery Malt with a Barolo finish
"Listen guys, there's a whisky tasting in a local store in my city. Do you want to go?"
A friend of mine texted this in an app group some time ago.
Some of us said yes and so we found ourselves sitting at table in that liquor store, making fun of each other and waiting for the tasting to start.
The tasting was a set of new to be released limited editions from Murray McDavid.
(Not so new now, since this tasting was quite a while ago to be honest.)
The Dutch importer was introduced by the shopkeeper, and he introduced the man that would be hosting the tasting: Dean Jode.
Being the head of whisky creations at Murray McDavid, this was the guy to teach us a bit more about Murray McDavid and the drams that were to be poured in our glasses.
7 awesome drams I had that night. Of which some real beauties like Le Girafe Chic, a 25 year old blended malt married on Margaux wine Barriques.
But number 2 in the line up was this 6 year old whisky aged on Barolo wine cask. It was so soft but still so lingering on my mind, that I decided to get a bottle at the end of the tasting.
So this mystery malt is easy to guess if you really think about it. But to spoil it: it is a 6 year old whisky from the Tomatin distillery.
Now a little mystery remains, since the label states that it is a Barolo wine cask finish, but at the same time states the fact that new make was put directly on this first fill Barolo cask. Yay, still a mystery!
This whisky was bottled not chill filtered at 46% and has its natural colouring.
The color looks like that of a dark pink rose wine. A tumble through my glass leaves a very wavy line and no real legs.
On the nose you get a soft yet very dominant note of warm red apples and some of those ripe yellow grapes. some faint hints of moist gingerbread and nutmeg. Next to some hints of dried flowers and some deeper notes of leather.
The palate has less different layers, but leaves this dominant note of some tannines like the dried peel of the grape and walnuts. In the background some berries that add some acidity.
The finish is medium long and leaves me happy with these fresh sour bitter notes, that turn sweeter over time. So from the taste of a sour apple, towards sweet mik chocolate.
