SMWS 41.42 - Seduction in an Austrian coffee house

Nose: A quite sweet and fresh start on vanilla and dried apricot, spiced walnut cake showing nutmeg, cinnamon and some lemon rind but not at all heavy. Some quite floral notes sit behind with delicate rose water. With water the floral aspects heighten into violet and Turkish delight, the early sweetness becoming quite creamy with milk chocolate. After some time a note of light poached pear appears.

Feel: Silky and somewhat oily.

Taste: Some lovely white pepper and mixed spices to start, growing more perfumed with the rose at the fore, hints towards lavender. A little citrus, tangerine and candied lemon rind add a touch of astringency as the oak leads to a quite dry mid palette with ginger. The rose water continues.

Finish: Toasty oak, ginger and a faint nuttiness, becoming just slightly soapy but within the limit. Quite long with pear making another late and welcome appearance.

Only the second time I have tried an example of this seldom bottled distillery and really quite an enjoyable and understatedly complex malt it is. This is a good example of why I love single cask bottlings so much. There are some rough edges but you really get a true sense of the spirit, particularly when such an unobtrusive cask is employed.

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