Colour: gold, so darker than the ‘Gold’ that’s more ‘pale gold’ (tried last year, WF 81). Nose: of course it’s not the same whisky as the old 12 but there are similarities such as the smokiness and the touches of old books. Other than that, there’s much more straight oak, some gingerbread, sultanas, a feeling of European oak (ginger) that may not come from European oak ;-) and then more tertiary notes such as a little camphor (very discreet). More and more praline and vanilla as well and lastly, whiffs of fresh sawdust and more and more porridge. We’re a little between two worlds, raisiny sherry and new spicy oak, with a raw barleyness that isn’t too far. Mouth: a sweet spiciness from the oak strikes first, with more ginger and nutmeg plus more and more cinnamon and cloves after that. Some raisins and orange peel too but there’s no ‘maple syrup’ effect. It’s all rather dry. Finish: medium length, with just the same spices except that it’s the cinnamon that took the lead. Touches of aniseed in the aftertaste, orange marmalade. Comments: it’s a very spicy one and in that sense it’s very ‘modern’. Oak-driven but well driven
Gal Granov (84)
Nose: Richer than the Gold with some sultanas, and a wee bit of citrus (orange) vanilla and fruit (pears, apples) and a nice cinnamon-y touch too. Richer yet fresh, with not a lot of sherry influence.
Palate: Sweeter than the palate suggested, with lovely of sultanas and chocolate, in addition to fudge, caramel and some wood and orange zest.
Finish : Medium with bitter sweet malt, cereals, sultanas and wood.
bottom line:
This is a very nice dram, sweet and fruity but without loosing its citrusy edge, I like that a lot more than the Gold. Although it leaves something to be desired…
