Cambus 23 Year Old 1991 Signatory Vintage

Cambus is no more. The distillery, founded in 1813, closed in 1993 and was converted into a modern, semi-automatic cooperage. In 2014 Signatory bottled a refill sherry butt from 1991 in those beautiful decanters from their Cask Strength Collection. The nose needs quite a bit of time to open up, but is well worth the wait. Wood shavings, vanilla, floral honey, crème brûlée and varnish are the first things I discover. But my patience is rewarded with some lovely notes of liquorice, coconut and Sevilla oranges. Those oranges start to dominate and it’s all good. Nicely oily on the palate and the alcohol is perfectly integrated, turning your mouth warm without burning. For a moment it becomes intensely spicy, but then calms down to offer a lovely sweetness turning this into a liquid dessert. Some wood kicks in in the finish. But the bittersweet note of stone fruit has the final say. Lovely, bittersweet and matured grain on sherry. Enjoy!