122.21 - What's cooking?

15 years old, distilled 16th April 2002, 56.8% abv, Second-Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel, 220 bottles, dram price C

Note: This whisky is from a Lomond still - if you don't know what that is, then you might want to read up on that here.

SMWS 122.21 - What's cooking?The nose has baked ham, with hints of red onion marmalade and walnuts. The mouthfeel is velvety smooth, as befits the provenance, with a little cling. The body has walnuts, roast ham, red wine sauce, and seared steak. There's also a hint of smoke - like a distant bonfire. The finish is dry bonfire smoke and roast beef in red wine sauce.

Water - which I add out of curiosity, as I'm more than satisfied with it neat - brings out thin, rapidly expanding whorling that settles into brief mottling. The nose gains toffee, coconut and hints of walnut, and loses the red onion marmalade. The body gains toffee and a little banana, and the smoke is more intense. The finish gains a little more smoke and hints of honey.

This is a superb whisky. One to finish summer evenings with. Responsible drinking be damned - give me more!

Technical score: 5/5

Personal preference: I'd like more than one bottle.