April fools is upon us, and instead of the not so funny April fool prancks, jokes etc, TWE are releasing a special whisky, which is not a bad idea, isn’t it?
The whisky However has a catch, befitting April fools, it really isn’t what it seems to be. Maintaining the mystery, the label of the bottle has been printed with an ink sensitive to UV light, hiding details until a torch, included with every purchase, reveals the hidden text. A visible statement declares ‘Extremely young, I wish I were older’ as a tactic to retain the illusion of the whisky’s true age which is really 30 years old. nice one. The distillery is not revealed however, you are welcome to guess…
There are only 869 bottles, priced at £150, on sale on the Whisky Exchange site, live NOW!
I was fortunate enough to receive a sneak peak of a sample, hence my tasting notes.
April Fool’s Whisky (TWE 2021) , 51.7% , 30 yo Speyside
Nose: Starting off with a sweet and citrusy sponge cake (mostly orange) with some lemon rind on top, with further nosing the next layer of vanilla cream/creme Anglaise. There’s also some orchard fruit going on, mainly on pear and nectarine balanced by ample spice in the form of crushed black peppercorns, ginger, and some wood. It feels quite bright for a 30-year-old, as there’s not an awful lot of wood influence here.
Palate: A bit perfumed on the first sip: the Palate is big and deep with baked lemons, and more of the sponge cake from before, hints of cocoa and some chocolate, then getting spicy with mint, pepper, and ginger powder – quite savory. There’s also a creamy edge t it when the spiciness mellows down, then we’re back to licorice/anise towards the ending.
Finish: quite herbal, with aniseed/licorice, along with the black pepper, and creme de menthe, and some oak.
Conclusion: This is quite a complex whisky, but it takes time and patience to fully enjoy. I would have loved to see more wood in this 30-year-old, that would certainly score higher in my book. If you enjoy a spicy edge with quite some pepper/mint/ginger this one’s up your alley. I can see people relating to this quite a bit. But for me, It’s not exactly my preferred profile.
Score: 88/100
Available from the TWE site from today at 0600 am GMT , 08:00 IST