Liber 16 Year (2004) for Spanish Whisky Club
Whisky: Liber 16 Year (2004) for Spanish Whisky Club
Country/Region: Spain
ABV: 59.6%
Cask: First Fill PX Sherry
Age: 16 Years (Distilled 2004, Bottled 6 June 2020)
Nose: Sweet dried berries, leather, shoe polish, play dough, earth, pottery kiln, cherry cola, underlying sulfur funk.
Palate: Medium-bodied, oily, chocolate, caramel, dried berries, freeze-dried strawberries, cola, burnt candle wicks. Sulfur, dried mushrooms, and earth at the end with sour fruits.
Finish: Medium-length with dried dates and hints of sulfur hot springs.
Score: 4
Mental Image: Hot Spring Mud Pool
Narrative & Notes: An initial bounty of sweet dried berries and cherry cola was waylaid by mellow funk notes of leather and shoe polish. An underlying sulfur funk ran throughout the nose, though it worked well with the earthy notes of limestone-rich mud, pottery kilns, potting soil, and play-dough. Hints of burning candle wicks, wax, and stuffy old closets lingered in the background. Medium-bodied, the whisky had a lovely oily mouthfeel with notes of milk chocolate, dark caramel, dried berries, freeze-dried strawberry snacks (almost Astronaut Ice Cream at times), and hints of cola. Burnt candle wicks arrived to announce a changing of the guard as the flavor profile swerved into an earthy neighborhood of dried shiitake mushrooms, sour fruits, wood, and sulfur. The finish was medium-length, with dates and hints of sulfurous hot springs.
After my last several Liber encounters, I did not have high hopes for this dram. Sometimes low expectations can be the way to go because I was pleasantly surprised. The sulfurous and leathery funk that ran rampant through the twelve and fourteen year were more subdued and better integrated with this whisky, allowing more fruit and chocolate to develop. The experience was not my favorite— I suspect anyone with a sensitivity to sulfur should avoid— but for those adventurous and brave few (my wife included), this might make for a jolly good time!
