First of all, no this bottle has nothing to do with wriggly little pink bugs.

Wormtubs are classic bits of distilling equipment and the distinctive, heavy, robust flavours they create are prized by whisky fans. Yet, those long copper coiled tubes housed in cold water in a large vat are sadly too rare these days as many favoured more modern and efficient condensers. They're the vinyl of the whisky world.

This expression takes some beautiful whisky that was at least ten years old from a distillery in Speyside that uses wormtubs (that we can't name, but we think there will be a few among you who can work it out), reracked into first-fill sherry casks before bottling. It's bottled at natural cask strength without any added caramel for colouring. Find us another whisky this cool at this price that showcases the beauty of the 'tub like this.

Nose: There's a distinct forest floor note as well as layers of dark chocolate, flamed orange peel, punchy cassia, and smoky oak.

Palate: Through more sherried influence come flavours of salty jerky, caramel, tangy dried cranberries, and oily walnuts.

Finish: Long and rich.

Overall: Rich, dense, and moreish. We'd happily sit in a big ol’ tub of this.

Speyside

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