Whisky: Michel Couvreur 10 Year (2010) “Fleeting”

Country/Region: Scotland/France

ABV: 54%

Cask: Colheita Port Pipe

Age: 10 Years (Distilled 13 Nov. 2010, Bottled 3 Feb. 2021)

Nose: Dried fruit, icing sugar, sweetened condensed milk, tinned fruit, pastry cream, orange, strawberry, sponge cake, subtle funk from yeast, slightly sour cream, or bruised fruit.

Palate: Thick and rich, dark chocolate, leather, caramel or dulce de leche, lychee and guava in syrup, fried donuts and cardamom, hints of strawberries and pastry cream.

Finish: Medium-length with fruit, sponge cake, and a mellow leathery-earthy funk.

Score: 6/6-

Mental Image: Mouse’s Old Shoe Pastry Shop

Narrative & Notes: Rip open the copious plastic packaging, and Japanese confections jump right out— hello, Tokyo Banana! The aroma was loaded with sponge cakes, icing sugar, sweetened condensed milk, tinned peaches, caramel, pastry cream, and orange or strawberry flavoring. Yeasty and funky at times with caramelized milk sugars and hints of slightly sour cream or bruised boozy fruits. The palate was thick and rich with gooey caramel, slightly bitter dark chocolate, creamy dulce de leche, and an old dirty leather shoe. Moments of earth were interspersed with lychee and guava in a sugary pandan syrup, fried donuts spiced with cardamom, and hints of strawberries with pastry cream. The finish was medium-length with fruit, sponge pastries, and a mellow earthy-leathery funk.

Another fascinating malt from Michel Couvreur and one I suspect to be somewhat divisive. A definite funk on the nose and palate drifted between yeasty dough, leather, slightly sour milk, and bruised, slightly overripe fruits. The funk was not dominant; it never overpowered, but it was often there, checking in on the other flavors and seeing how things went. The nature of it seemed to depend on whether it combined with creamy caramel, sweetened condensed milk, and dulce de leche or with fruits, pastries, or earthy-leather. I thought it worked pretty well due to the overarching complexity and thick, viscous mouthfeel, though I can see why some might interpret the same notes as being a tad sulfurous and less pleasant.

Overall, I did not expect golden promise barley and port to play quite so nicely together. While I suspect some might find this a tad funky, perhaps even sulfurous, I found it delightfully intriguing. Not a boring whisky.

Image Credit: Malt Whisky Paris