No, I don’t know what an Ibisco decanter is either, besides what you see in the picture. This is from a sample bought recently from Master of Malt, mainly because I had never had a fully bourbon-matured Edradour before and I wanted to see what it’s like when it’s not an idiosyncratic sherry monster. It’s a marriage of bourbon casks at cask strength.
Nose: Quite spirity, even after dilution. There’s a farmy note in there for sure, but it’s not unpleasant. Vanilla makes an appearance after letting it sit for a few minutes, as does a note of plasticine. This isn’t your typical bourbon matured whisky.
Palate: Initially feels quite minerally, with a chalky arrival, similar to the plasticine note on the nose. It’s only in the development that vanilla and some fruity notes arrive – honeydew, green apples, unripe cherries.
Finish: Quite long, mainly on oak spices and vanilla.
Comments: The bourbon oak feels quite restrained on this one, at least until the finish. I do like the ‘raw’ element, but Edradour is not a particularly fruity spirit a la Balblair or Tomatin, so sometimes this feels a bit too naked. Good, nonetheless. It’s easy to see after sampling this how the heavy nature of the Edradour distillate is particularly well-suited to sherry maturation.
Score: 82/100
