The Malt Cask

As I have just finished an online Aberfeldy tasting, I thought I would do a quick review of the 20 year-old Exceptional Cask which I got to try for it. This is a whisky which is only available through the distillery. It was distilled 27-04-1998 and bottled 11-01-2019. The whisky spent 16 years in an ex-bourbon cask before spending four more years in a first-fill ex-Oloroso cask, and was bottled unchillfiltered, natural colour and at the natural cask strength of 54.1%. Photo courtesy of  www.dewars.com Nose: Rich, sweet and fruity, raisin, oak spice, wood polish and old bookshelf, nutty, dark chocolate  and caramel, and some orange notes too. Very inviting! Palate: First I get some citrus notes, orange, candied peels, hints of bitterness, dark chocolate, before some honey and spices. It is quite rich and fruity (ripe peaches), with some oaky notes and some nuttiness too. Delicious. Finish: The Oloroso comes through more prominently on the finish with its nuttines

I don't tend to review much Irish whisky because I don't tend to drink much Irish whisky. It is something I want to remedy, and I guess the best way to go about it is to explore mainstream bottles before moving upwards. Having never tried anything from the Jameson distillery, it was time to get started. I decided to do that, not with the standard bottle of Jameson but with their Crested release. It is also widely available in British supermarket and often of offer, so for £22, it will give me a first look into the distillery. Crested used to be called Crested 10 before 2016. It is pretty much standard Jameson aged for a little longer with the addition of some sherry casks in the mix. So what do you get for your money? First, there is no indication relating to the colour or filtration of the whisky so I would assume it has been chillfiltered and the dark gold is obtained with a drop of E150. It is also bottled at 40%: Nose: Sweet and grainy, a little oak spice, dus