Edradour 2010 12 years Cask #38

Ibisco bottle release - 56.7%

Distilled on 24th February 2010 and bottled 28th February 2022, this ridiculously dark release from Edradour is 12 years old and is so dark & viscous that when you swirl the liquid around, it leaves a brown coating on the inside of the glass.

It's Darth Vader's soul. In liquid-form. But sweeter.

Appearance: Super-dark maple syrup. Verging on a PX sherry.

Nose: Dried raisins, black cherry, sawdust, black coffee, overdone toast, stewed apple, cherry Cola, and rich vanilla-pod laced ice cream. Lots going on here.

Palate: Initial sweetness appears before moving to a warming oak dryness with some pepper crackle on the sides of the tongue. That dryness quickly gives way to a licorice-sweetness. There’s a big influence from the sherry cask with sweet raisins, toasted nuts, and a well-behaved woodiness. And I’m delighted that there is no sign whatsoever of sulphur or the unpleasant fungus-funk I’ve picked up with a lot of other Edradours in the past. This one is super-clean.

Finish: Long, with a gentle oiliness that holds some sweetness before giving way to a drier, woodier linger.

Conclusion: These Ibisco releases are really starting to grab my attention. If this particular cask was a little less dry and were turned up a notch on the soft sweetness level, it would be in the utterly stupendous category. Regardless, it's still a cracker.

A big & very bold liquid indeed. And it's incredible just to look at. How do they produce such dark liquid? Bravo Edradour!

Available for £105 (at the time of writing this review)