Whisky : Cambus 25 Year; Whiskybroker

Country/Region : Scotland/Lowland (single grain)

ABV : 56.9%

Cask : Sherry Butt

Age : 25 Years (Distilled 8 Aug. 1991, Bottled 8 Mar. 2017)

Nose : Immediate fruit and must.  Dried li hing cherries, li mui, and dried prunes stand out among the oversized glass containers full of dried, preserved, and candied fruits in a Crackseed store.  Faintly creamy notes of lilikoi butter emerge tentatively, while more aggressive sulphur and salt notes— not unlike a dirty gym bag— come forward.

Palate :  Medium bodied, the flavor profile matches the nose almost exactly for better or worse.  Li hing mui, musty Crackseed store shelves, and dried plums.  The fruity sourness is pleasant, taking the senses toward apple cider donuts, black sesame pastries, and Chinese black vinegar.  Spirit heat, sulphur, and cherry cough syrup arrive on the end to crash the party.

Finish : Lingering mouth drying salted fruits.

Score : 5

Mental Image : Gym Bag Fruit Snack

Something Better : Bowmore 22Y 1997 Manger’s Selection (similar black vinegar/fruit, more wood)

Something Similar : Braeval 8Y SMWS 113.22 (similar cider/donuts, more spice/herbal mint)

Something Worse : Ichiro’s Malt Wine Wood Reserve (similar black sesame/vinegar, more funky sulfur)

Notes :  This was an all around strange Cambus.  While it had a lovely mouthfeel and some wonderfully concentrated sweet candied fruit, there was a bit too much funk going on, at least for my taste.  This was certainly not a horrible dram, the grain whisky balanced well against the influence of the sherry cask, though if it were a bit stronger it might have buried some of the more sulfurous gym bag notes.  

A bit of water did tamp down some of the hotter spirit notes and brought forward more salty fruit, but did not really push the sulfur out of the picture.  I would happily drink this if offered, but it is not my cup of tea.  The sherry cask brought some nice fruits to the thick mouthfeel of Cambus, but also brought some off notes.  At a virtual tasting dedicated to single grain whiskies, this was the least popular, though it did have some fans who enjoyed the combination of candied preserved fruits and funk.