Barbecued smoked ham with a cinnamon apricot glaze and roast pork with crisp crackling and red currant gravy made this a feast for the nose. On the palate truly a beast – we felt we had been tarred and treacled, or even hauled over coals. Smoky, spicy yet with a sweetness which made it difficult to describe. Diluted we found herbal Cumberland sausages on the barbecue, as well as creamy garlic-baked oysters in the shell.

The taste was that of a sweet smoky beef consommé and sautéed Portobello mushrooms seasoned with thyme and garlic. Following 11 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, we transferred this whisky into a 1st fill American oak Pedro Ximenez hogshead.