Double maturation has produced a complex nose – oak, aniseed, turmeric, ginger and varnished wood underneath fruity, perfumed layers of Amarena cherries, plums, prune juice, blackcurrant and Madeira wine. The palate also had attractive fruit and wood – plum, cherry, pear, black grapes and raisins counterpointed by sherry staves, tree bark and cured venison (with a particularly drying finish).

The reduced nose – beetroot crisps in a basket, crystallized ginger and black forest ham on a wooden board. The palate now added liquorice chews and dark chocolate with ginger. After 15 years in ex-bourbon wood we transferred this to a new French oak hogshead.