Glentauchers 8 Year Old 2010 ‘Black Corbie’ Rolf Kaspar

Rolf Kaspar GmbH is a liquor store in Essen and Düsseldorf, Germany. They select and bottle single casks under their own label ‘Black Corbie’ and this is one of them: a young Glentauchers on sherry cask. I will keep water handy, for the ABV is pretty darn high.

Ooh, this is an interesting nose. I get a lovely mix of Sirop de Liège, cherries, beeswax, mashed potatoes, apple sauce, baking butter and Guinness (the dark beer). Some lime zeste, a hint of almonds and wood shavings. The longer you leave it to breathe the livelier it becomes. After 5 minutes it’s all about mandarin from a can. Almost candy-like. Not easy, but wonderful.

What a pity that it does not keep it up on the palate. The ABV somewhat tarnishes the palate. Pretty alcoholic which makes you wait for the fruity notes. But once the malt has settled and your saliva glands have done their thing, you’ll get a creamy, sweet and sour malt. The citrus remains prominent, but now it also shows some earthy notes. Toffee apples appear, a bit of a grape pith, a sour note like rotting oranges. Autumn leaves. There is really a lot going on here.

The finish is long and offers a mix of orange peel, black pepper, liquorice and caramelized apples at the death.

Special. Not easy. You need to sit down and take notice. It pays to work for it. Considering the young age, this is impressive to say the least.

Find where to buy Glentauchers whisky