Justerini and Brooks J&B Jet

J&B – Justerini & Brooks – is sometimes jokinly referred to as Junk & Bullshit (I admit, I am not very fond of their ‘Rare’ either, which is clearly meant only for mixing), but this Jet got me intruiged for some reason. The stark black packaging… I like it. The contents is a mix of no less than 32 whiskies (mostly Speyside) that have all matured for at least 12 years. I do not suppose it was a big hit, for it has been discontinued already (although you can still find it left and right). There was a version at 40%, but also one at 43%. I will try the latter, thank you very much.

Stop the press! This nose is very good! Dark and sweet yet bright on baked apples, orange liqueur, nougat, walnuts and caramelized ginger. Some honey and caramel (of course, I am inclined to add), prunes and dades. But also a dry spiciness with some wood, that tempers my enthusiasm a bit.

This continues on the palate, but unfortunately I now have a lot more tannins than the nose promised, which makes it evolve from dark and sweet to quite bitter in the blink of an eye. Darn! The spices are too loud. This one screams a bit. From the second sip forward – after the taste buds have becomes somewhat accustomed to the feisty spices – you do realise this is actually interesting. I will not call it complex, but it sure is pleasant.

The finish is surprisingly long, dark and sweet and feisty.

J&B is not really my cuppa, but I quite like this one. I’m sure it would work wonders in a cocktail, like a Rusty Nail.

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