Score
7.88
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Bottle enjoyed at Cantillon. Clear yellow pour with a fleeting white head. Light and interesting whiskey bouquet. Oh man, this is really good. It has mellow mature whiskey highlights that blend seamlessly with the orange citrus notes. It’s balanced, complex, lively and delicious. Not overly carbonated but not flat, just right. Great body and mouthfeel.
Blend of lambics aged in French (!) whisky barrels, a recent addition to Cantillon’s steadily growing range. Pale greyish white, thinly moussy, feebly structured and quickly dissolving head, pale orange-tinged ‘old gold’ robe, misty. Aroma of unripe apricot, dry hay, indeed recognizable malt sweet whisky (but not so much the alcohol), cumin cheese, old walnut, dried celeriac, old green tea, wood, mugwort leaf, touch of Maggi, even processed fenugreek. Crisp and dry onset, unripe stonefruit, dried grapefruit peel, medium carbonated with vinous but notably astringent mouthfeel – bone dry from the start; bread-crusty backbone dried by lactic acidity and woody tannins, unripe and bitter dried fruitiness continuing with indeed retronasal whisky effect, ‘distorted’ by the lambic into a ‘dark green’ kind of aroma reminiscent of cumin and fenugreek again – though a touch of more whisky-associated peat is also noticeable. Long, dried-fruity, tannic but satisfying and complex finish. Not an easy one, powerful, robust and quite unique, but surely a true delight to even the most hardened lambic geek.
Bottle at the brewery. Vanilla, funk, oak, leafy notes, soft herbal, bourbon. Very old grain whisky. Medium sweet and sour, but also some bitterness. Over medium bodied. Lovely.
EB Quintessence Trip April 16-19. Wow! I had my doubts but the whiskey character on this one is amazing. Nothing too intense but enough to add another level of depth to an already amazing gueuze.