Edradour 11 Year Cask Strength

 

Picture credit to Potomac Wines  - get a load of the color!! It's like blackstrap rum. 

I'm a big Edradour fan, going way back - it was maybe the first sherry-matured Scotch I ever had, back in 2013/2014. Over the intervening years I've had most of the major variations on it - but never a cask strength version. Many, many thanks to Rob Martin for saving me the last few drams from this bottle of cask strength 11 year!

Edradour, famously, is the smallest distillery in Scotland (or at least it claims to be). According to Wikipedia, it used to be run by three men - now only two! Supposedly they only produce 18 casks a week! 

This bottle is 11 years old (specifically, April 16, 2010 to June 9, 2021, according to the label), matured in what is only described as a sherry cask, and bottled at 56.7% ABV. I have to note - this is one of the darkest glasses of whisky I've ever poured - it's dark as cola (!). Let's taste it:

Nose: Incredibly rich, dark nose: I'd bet money this was matured in a a first-fill Oloroso butt. Deep red fruit, a rancio note (balsamic), raisins, figs, dates, thick veins of sulfur, and a very light industrial smoke. Quite a delicious note, all in all - the syrupy sweetness you get with sherry-matured whiskies like Aberlour, Glendronach, and Macallan is never fully indulged in, but sensed at on the periphery.  

Mouthfeel: Thick, richly coating. 

Palate: The palate is a bit sweeter than the nose - and boy is this HOT! Reminds me of Aberlour Abunadh quite a bit: spicy cinnamon, thick raisins and dates, freshly ground espresso, balsamic vinegar, sulfur smoke, toasted nuts, and...

Finish: ...an unbelievably dry finish that I did not see coming. The taste just evaporates right off your tongue, getting stuck in the corners of your mouth and then fading there, too. Spicy, dry, and short. 

Verdict: This is a very nice glass of sherried Scotch - it's sweet, but not overly sweet. It's savory, but not too much. It's never syrupy, but not too dry either. Very nicely balanced. I would certainly buy a bottle of this if I found it in the wild. An excellent example of the Edradour house style.