Long Pond 15 yo 2005, The Whisky Jury

Nose: very high ester levels, so you get diesel oil, plenty of varnish notes (acetone) and fermenting pineapples, light plastics, icing sugar and some coppery notes. Also peppermint and eucalyptus. Salted black olives. Starts sharp as a blade, but settles down after some time, showing a bit more wood which rounds it off in this case, as well as some orange peels and other fruits.

Mouth: hot, woody and briney at first. Opens up on tobacco, lime juice and liquorice. Hints of chalk and grass, but always with thick, sweet molasses underneath. Still an oily / petroly side and this saline edge. A lot of water can be added – it brings out sweetmint but doesn’t really change much else.

Finish: very long, with petrol and molasse sweetness.

A very heavy style that is not for beginners. It’s full of funky notes and even for cask strength whisky drinkers this could be a little overwhelming. If you know what to expect, there’s no reason to hesitate though: simply outstanding value for money. Now also available from The Whisky Exchange.