Background:
It’s early spring and my wife and I are on vacation in the Bahamas. Since I’ve traveled quite a bit in my day, I usually know well beforehand whether or not to expect any good whiskey at my destination.
I wasn’t expecting much in Nassau.
A buddy of mine had just recently returned from the Bahamas, so before I left, he reminded me of the likelihood that I will just have to drink some rum punch and be satisfied.
I was actually prepared to do precisely that.
(Although, I did carry a small sampler or two of Old Line’s Armagnac Cask Finish Single Malt along with me, courtesy of a friend… I generally don’t like rum all that much)
It was the final day of our trip and we were walking through the streets of Nassau. It had been a long day at the beach, so the only thing on our minds was food.
She was hungry… I was hungry… and we were doing the typical couple thing where we can’t quite decide what to eat (her fault, of course). We are now rapidly approaching the stage where I just pick something and say this is what we are eating.
Yes. I should have been searching for a decent restaurant to placate us both (and I’m sure that’s what she though that I was doing on my phone, but I’m me… so I had to try… just once to see if there was anything approximating a whiskey bar nearby, because then I could potentially cure both my hunger and my thirst.
And what do you know? I stumble across an absolute gem.
Needless to say, my wife is pretty fed up with me at this point, because not only did the bartender spend more than fifteen minutes trying to find my whiskey (they actually have an impressive collection), but this place didn’t even have food!
So obviously my wife is still hungry, I’m still hungry… AND I’m disappointed that I won’t get that whisky.
then there’s still the bartender who is probably frustrated that I would come in near the end of her shift and ask for something that apparently no one ever orders. She had to request help from both of her coworkers and even rang the sleeping manager in an attempt to locate the elusive bottle.
I really wanted this dram.
After spending all day at the wet beach and now being hit by the chilly evening wind, I was really in the mood for a mature campfire-esque single malt, yet with enough fruity palate complexity to match the occasion.
When I saw this expression on the whiskey list, I knew that it was just what I needed.
Unfortunately, after nearly twenty minutes of the cold shoulder from a certain someone and simultaneously feeling like a pain in the a** to my bartender…
I was still out of luck.
Me, my wife, the bartender, her coworkers, her manager… everyone is unhappy.
..at least until she found it.
The Review
Age: 17yrs
ABV: 46% (92 proof)
Color: Mahogany, Red Tint
Nose: Mesquite, Roasted Apples, Light Peat
Palate: A ton of honey, but not too sweet.. heather, cherries, banana, sweet cream.
Finish: medium-long, honey sits on the tongue and expands, lasts for quite a while. caramelized pears fade into a subtle, but sufficient smokiness. golden.
Rating: 8.9/10
Note: Did not try with water (I was afraid to ruin it, given the circumstances…)
Disclaimer: All bartenders were tipped well in the making of this story.
