“Highland moors on a frosty winter day” met the Andalucian beauty of sherry, sangria and sun – so you can imagine the wonderful dichotomy on the neat nose. To taste, we found rich, nutty cocoa nibs, coffee and vanilla beans. It felt like an amped-up raspberry-chocolate barrel-aged stout served with sweet potato wedges in lemon and parsley oil. After reduction, a salty, more savoury note appeared – imagine a Greek meze platter with a chilli chocolate vibe in the background. Smooth and velvety on the palate, we dug into a chocolate caramel fudge sauce, with a hint of sea-salted toffee in the finish. Following 17 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, we transferred this whisky into a first fill Spanish oak oloroso hogshead.