Most of us found this outstanding, but not all! The nose suggested a mechanic’s hands (oil, swarfega) and new cars in a freshly-painted showroom. We also found prunes, dates, figs in syrup, walnut oil and TCP. The unreduced palate had oak and smoke intensity – treacle, syrup and worn leather (‘a lion-tamer’s whip’). The reduced nose was aromatic, savoury and mechanical – blackened chicken, cinder toffee, mushrooms in a basket, cloves, molasses and ‘diesel-soaked cherries’. The reduced palate had ferns, sugar-coated fennel seeds, turmeric, liquorice and onion bhajis – sweet and smoky but with deep swirling undercurrents. The distillery has a Royal Warrant.