The View from the Golden Promise is a chance to see the bottles under the hammer at finespirits.auction in a new light. For this special edition, it wasn't an expert from the bar, but Jean-Marc Bellier, an expert from La Maison du Whisky boutique on rue d'Anjou in Paris, who lent himself to the game of tasting these 3 unique bottles of the sale.
NEISSON Jeroboam Armada 2000
Martinique, Rhum Agricole - 48.2%, 300cl
Single Cask Limited edition of 1 bottle
LMDW exclusive
Colour: mahogany. Nose: rich, complex. The elegant first nose reveals superb notes of ripe mango, flowering geranium and blood orange. Allowed to breathe, heather honey, lavender, noble spices (saffron, cardamom) and blonde tobacco add nobility to the aroma palette. Palate: delicate, nuanced. With an especially velvety texture (peach skin, mango flesh), the attack is also oily (black olive) and apricoty. Next come notes of toffee, grated ginger and cane sugar.
Finish: well-balanced, well-rounded. The powdery (cocoa), vanilla and delicately tarry start of the finish is gradually covered in a fine layer of liquorice (zan liquorice sweets). At the end of the finish, orange
CHICHIBU X OGATA 7 YO 2014 Tasogare
Japan, Single Malt - 64.2%, 70cl
Single Cask #3560 - Bourbon Barrel
Limited edition of 163 bottles
Colour: pale gold. Nose: fresh yet heady. On the first nose, an oily, peppery and salty peat takes up the olfactory arena and becomes increasingly more sophisticated as it is allowed to breathe. Notes of white fruit (peach, pear) and cut hay are expressed to the full. The balance is outstanding.
Palate: full-bodied, smooth. On the attack, the oily and salty peat takes on empyreumatic tones (ash, sleet). The very malty, vanilla and infused (verbena) mid-palate becomes more herbal (clover, lucerne), liquoricey and chocolatey.
Finish: long, silky. Refreshed with juicy pear and green liquorice, the start of the finish is not only peaty but also mentholated, rooty (gentian) and malty. With a lovely grainy texture (barley, rice), the after-taste is mouth-watering (coconut milk, samphire) and herbal (reed, gorse).
CHICHIBU X OGATA 7 YO 2014 Akatsuki
Japan, Single Malt - 63.4%, 70cl
Single Cask #3405 - Bourbon Barrel
Limited edition of 198 bottles
Colour: deep gold. Nose: refined, complex. Fragrances of honeysuckle, vanilla, candied lemon and acacia honey bring the aroma palette lots of nobility. Allowed to breathe, it releases subtle spices (cardamom, musk), porridge notes and exotic fruits (pineapple, green banana).
Palate: lively yet full. Continuing on from the vanilla, fruity, herbaceous and syrupy (crisp grape) nose, the attack is delicately liquoricey. Verbena and sage flavours spread out abundantly.
Finish: long, fresh. With its notes of absinthe and aniseed, the finish is the logical continuation of the mid-palate. Malty and lemony flavours then pair wonderfully with a fruity (pear, apple) and vegetal (tobacco) after-taste
