JACK DANIEL'S Single Barrel N 16-2898 - 60 ans LMDW

Nose : rich, powerful. Stewed fruits (peach, apricot, Mirabelle plum) mingle silkily with intense spices (clove, nutmeg), notes of ash and charred wood. It develops into gourmand notes of apricot tart and vanilla custard. The woody aspect becomes increasingly refined with airing, with a note of polish (beeswax).

Palate : dense, concentrated. With great balance, it wavers between dried fruit (date, fig) and exotic fruit (banana). The mid-palate is balsamic (menthol, pine resin). Gradually, notes of vanilla and tobacco take hold of the end of the palate. A handful of red and black fruit (strawberry, blackcurrant) coated in a sheen of caramel embellishes the gustatory palette.

Overall : long, dynamic. Noticeably peppery, its tertiary register gradually settles into place. Notes of pipe tobacco and toasted oak arrive hand-in- hand with cocoa beans. The back of the palate is roasted (coffee, mocha). Ever so slightly saline, the retro-nasal olfaction is elegantly spicy (ginger, cardamom). The empty glass is an endless musing on notes of ash, ripe fruit and spices.