Mortlach 22, 1998, 2020, 56.4 %, Sansibar, Black White Art, WB196275

This one is bottled by Sansibar. To be honest, Sansibar bottlings hardly impressed me; given the price tag, I was rather disappointed. The bottlers pay more attention to their artistic labels than to the content. Hopefully, I'm wrong about this one, because I bought two of these incredibly expensive bottlings. But that said, it wouldn't be the first time I spent a lot of money on a hunch and ended up disappointed. Sadly, I'm used to that.

Nose: Cellar mustiness, forest floor, sharbat, sugar water, diluted rum. Perhaps Feuerzangenbowle or punch? Shoe box, hmmm... with new or old shoes? Socks... perhaps sweaty. Wet animals, cat, dog... vodka.

Palate: Somewhat spicy, ginger or chilli? Black pepper. Plot twist: sweetened tea, slight bitterness, some herbs, perhaps lovage. Savory... allspice and nutmeg. Cinnamon spice and a bite of wet paper. Spice again.

Finish: Chilli, rocket, the spicy kind, not the mild cultivated variety. Some

unpleasant off-notes in my opinion, like stale wine, not sour but doesn't make you happy either.

Nose is great but improves with water, the palate on the other hand becomes bitter and grapefruit seeds. Sweetness almost vanishes. Tastes like yoghurt when mould is forming or apple sauce shortly before spoiling. Maybe there are some fans of this taste, maybe I have bad taste... but as a great man once said: Bad taste is simply the truth before it should be said. Mel Brooks

90/88/84