Nantou Omar Sherry

Nantou Distillery has been active since 1978, but this Taiwanese distillery – which is state owned – only started producing whisky in 2008. Next to their Omar Bourbon, they also have an Omar Sherry, which we will try today. The nose burst with leather, roast beef, broth, struck match, balsamic vinegar and is not sweet at all but all the more umami. Some molded and wet wood, some half rotting plants and melted butter appear. I guess it’s an acquired taste. In some strange way, it seems to work, but I do miss some fruity sweetness. The body is very watery and that is a shame. Luckily some sweetness appears on the palate. A lost dade with a hint of plums. But the spicy and very herbal notes take the lead. It even turns a touch sour. The finish is rather short, albeit spicy, and very drying. Absolutely not my thing. It lacks sweetness and has no means of compensating for it. 80 EUR is a lot of money for this stuff. I prefer the bourbon cask matured release.