Girvan 18 Year Old 1989 Blackadder Raw Cask

Another golden oldie grain! Distilled in 1989 and bottled in 2008 by Blackadder, the bottler that adds some cask residue in its famous Raw Cask series. I must confess that I do not have a lot of experience with this grain. This is only the 6th that I taste so far.

The nose is very promising on banana, coconut and peach from a tin. Vanilla and some spices remind me of virgin oak. Oh well, this is a Raw Cask bottling after all. Nicely fruity and completely devoid of those typical, slightly chemical scents that you often find in a grain. Fine.

Immediately very creamy and piquant. Liquorice, white pepper, al lot of bitterness from the wood and even a salty element. The fruit struggles to shine through. But patience pays. Again some banana and peach. But also a hint of lychee and some white chocolate. Finally some popcorn. But the ABV does make it quite the biter.

The finish is long, salt versus sweet with a bitterness at the death. It makes me all warm and cosy.

This is a lovely dream. Thank you, Dominic!