Nose: Dry ashy smoke with bright juicy berries. Raspberries and cherries present as both ripe and freshly picked as well as syrupy and reduced. They’re joined by a heady peat influence that’s meaty with stock and charred fat, and deep with aromatic tobacco and spent coffee grounds. Maple syrup adds additional sweetness, whilst shale and limestone reinforce the ash with some residue chalkiness. Reduction leads to an increased intensity of red berry fruits – but only after a period of resting in the glass. It also adds some chocolate sauce, milky mocha and air-dried ham.
Taste: The arrival provides much more intensity than the nose suggested – midway between creamy and oily in terms of body, but surprisingly drinkable at its natural ABV. Raspberries and cherries are joined by cranberries and redcurrants in a sweet reduced cordial. This quickly gives way to an impressive wave of charry smoke that’s packed full of tar, coal dust, graphite and ash. The mid-palate reveals meatiness and cask influence with pepper and sappy oakiness. Water adds real juiciness to the fruit element, not changing the sweetness levels, but adding some balance so that the intense smoke doesn’t run roughshod over the lighter fruitier elements. It brings with it some chalky texture and a sprinkle of salinity.
Finish: Medium to long with tar and Black Jack chews. Ashiness sits with darker berries, pepper and drying oak.