Blackadder Black Snake Vat No. 2 Fourth Venom Single Malt Scotch Whisky (70cl, 60.5%)

This is a cask-strength single malt from independent bottler Blackadder International, made from whisky from an undisclosed Scottish distillery. Black Snake uses a vatting system in which whisky first matured in first-fill ex-Bourbon casks is married and matured further in Sherry wood. Vat No. 2 Fourth Venom was finished in an Oloroso Sherry cask and bottled in September 2017 at 60.5% ABV, with an outturn of 466 bottles. The nose is fresh banana and pear, growing oilier and creamier with a little water. The palate is spicy, with grapefruit peel, juicy pear and oily bitterness. The finish is dry and moderately long, with fruit, spice and gentle oak.