...Rich tobacco, thick tannic notes, carrot cake and caramelised dark sugar. Once we start digging into that caramel glob we find smoky raisins, sulphuric honey, saffron and paprika before a bed of marzipan, a big difference to the nose that I was not expecting. The mouthfeel is cloying...
...plunder rises to greet our nose, as our treasure come forth in wooden chests. Peppery fudge unknown to us soon gives way to dark chocolate with a scattering of salt and chili flakes. Dried spice lies within there too, all wrapped in dried seaweed to keep away from the harsh elements. As we venture forth to the beach we are struck with the scent of salt waves driven hard against the shore, and we find one more reward nearby...
...burnt wax, the sweetness increasing to seaweed wrapped seafood, sweet heavy sugar again and a charred, crispy lamb chop. Lemon drizzled ham, black pepper, and the morning after taste of a night next to a driftwood beach bonfire, though it gets a bit watery towards the end...
..some BBQ sauce. While the signature sulphuric spirit is there, it carries itself well, copper into oak, great tall planks of it toasted and charred around us, some cedar wood and then hints of a light burning incense alongside grapefruit and orange rind. Once the initial hit passes, it’s into the vanilla, with crème brulee, vanilla toffee on gingerbread, and then macadamia...
...popping raspberry bonbons and boiled strawberry sweets into our mouth. In front of us burns a beautiful tiny beach fire, built of seagrass, driftwood, bracken and scrub we’ve pulled on our way down. After staring into the ocean, we turn back to that fire, and toast some soda bread on a metal fork before spreading some thick strawberry jam...
...smoked spices; nutmeg and paprika. After that beautiful start we move into the realm of floral lavender and rose smoke, delicate peat and nuts before pralines and smoked sultanas, tossed in a frying pan with plenty of butter. I could on with a dram like this all day; orange peel, desiccated coconut...
...chilli comes back, this time accompanied by dark chocolate, crispy rose petals, charred plums, hoi sin sauce and a nice duck rolls dipped in oyster sauce. It grows thick and heavy after a time, the sherry becoming all the range of the whisky; punchy dried dark fruits, more dark chocolate, cayenne pepper, capsicum, and cloves, before becoming increasingly tannic...
