Well, this might be the first Annandale I’ve had that is under 60% ABV, albeit not by much. Day 10 of the Blind Tasting Competition brings us to the southernmost part of the Scottish Lowlands.

So far, I’ve only had a couple of whiskies from this young distillery, and so far I’ve not really been a fan. Most of them were noticeably young, the oak was quite forced onto the whisky by having a way too active cask for a rather gently flavored spirit. Add to that the rocket-fuel like ABV and you’re in for a ride, although not one I enjoy too much.

Let’s see where this one takes us!

Sniff:
A light whiff of smoke, some gentle sherry with a bit of salinity behind it. Dried fruits with peaches and apricots. Figs as well, and straw.

Sip:
The palate is quite dry with freshly cracked black pepper and melba toast. There’s quite some chili pepper bite, with apricots, dates and cherry stones. A bit of a bitterness is there, like brazil nuts. Straw and oak as well.

Swallow:
The finish brings back the smokiness from the nose, but is a little bit more intense. Quite long, with some bite and the bitterness from the palate. No fruitiness to speak of remains.

I figured this to be a sherry cask, but I had no idea about the distillery. There wasn’t much distillery character to be found, I figured, and that made me pick a fairly random Tomatin of some age. Due to the cask being quite present, I estimated 12 years of maturing, which is WAY too much in this case.

The whisky is quite nice, especially considering my rant at the beginning of this post. I am curious to see where Annandale keeps going in the future, but I do hope they’ve put some spirit in refill bourbon!

A lovely combination of heat, dried fruits and slightly bitter notes. All things I enjoy!

87/100

This one is still available from Best of Wines for € 115.74