Whisky : Liber 14 Year (2006), Spanish Whisky Club

Country/Region : Spain

ABV : 59.5%

Cask : First Fill PX

Age : 14 Years (Distilled 2006, Bottled 6 June 2020)

Nose :  Fruit, salt, and sherry funk.  Initially, there were notes of salted cured ham, olive tapenade, anchovies, and capers.  Rich and meaty notes of smoked salmon, cedarwood planks, and pepper faded to rubber, sulfur, and the fried minnow treats my cats love.

Palate : Full-bodied with a rich heavily sherried flavor profile of oak, pickled foods, and sulfur.  Notes of burnt popcorn, nori flakes, and egg shells faded to reveal bitter toasted oak with hints of briny olives, charred red peppers in oil, and meaty anchovies.  A bit hot at full strength, a few drops of water brought out figs and sour cherries while taming some of the sulfur funk, though burnt popcorn awaited at the end.

Finish :  Lingering notes of burnt popcorn and melted rubber.

Score : 2

Mental Image : Revenge of the Burnt Popcorn

Notes : Well, it took me a long time to get around to the 14 Year of the Liber trilogy after I tried the 12 Year and was not particularly enthused with what I found. This was just as weird as the 12 Year— though the nose was more pleasant and intriguing. The flavor profile was not to my taste at all; it was so funky and strange on the palate that I could not enjoy it. I have only had one other dram that hit that same burnt popcorn note before, and I was not a fan then either.

I found water improved the experience but still left behind a peculiar funky taste— sometimes it was almost more expo marker than burnt popcorn or melted plastic kitchen utensil, but none the more pleasant. This whisky was interesting, the sort of thing you might share with a friend as a conversation piece— something unique for those who think they’ve tasted it all— but I cannot see sipping on this. Perhaps a cocktail? Something that calls for a malty-sherry profile that will stand up to other full-throttled ingredients and who might kill some of the sulfur. I was left wondering whether this just appealed to a particular Spanish palate or paired with some food.

Overall, fun to try and to share, but not something I would typically accept or ever seek out.