Heartwood Release the Beast

Most people know I have a sweet tooth - I love sweet whiskys... port matured are at the top of my 'must have' list... and I love cask strength whisky to boot - so when I got ahold of this gem, I was almost foaming at the mouth...

Well it came in a 64.2% Cask Strength, so I knew it was going to pack a punch right out of the bottle... the colour was an incredibly deep ruby & dark mahogany. It even had charcoal flakes floating in the whisky that were drawn up by the thief... amazing...

I opened it, and had a good sniff, some fantastic port & sherry notes, sweet fruit tones were evident - as was the alcohol! Whoa! But - I was told to let it sit and breathe for a while once opened... so I did - I gave it about 1/2 an hour to breathe, and the aromas on the nose had widened and intensified - powerful & glorious...

So what did I smell? heaps of poached fruits here, but not the obvious ones, rich port notes, some sherry. Hints of mandarin from somewhere, some passion fruit and notes that remind me of different sorts of fruit jams (quince paste, blackberry jam).

In the mouth the whisky is first sweet like cooked fruit with a hint of spice. Toffee, Vanilla... The portwood is there in full strength taking control and giving the palate a drier oaky taste, but the sherry smooths things over slightly.

Powerful, yet balanced - intense & razor sharp, yet soft, sultry & rich.

The closest competitor I've tried would be a Glendronach 1982 - yet this seems better... softer somehow

Length: forever... I was tasting it 10 minutes later...

This whisky is everything you need - it's perfectly named, it is a monster...