Blue Hanger 26 Year Old Edition #14 Berry Bros. & Rudd (70cl, 45.6%)

Blue Hanger Edition #14 is a blended malt bottled at 45.6% abv in a 70cl bottle, with an outturn of 2,500 bottles. It is a marriage of seven casks: six ex-bourbon hogsheads and one single ex-sherry butt. The youngest whisky in the blend is 26 years old, and some components reach 34 years. The name honours Lord William Blue Hanger, an 18th-century dandy known as one of the best-dressed men of his day and a regular guest at Berry Bros. & Rudd at 3 St James's Street. Milk chocolate and soft caramel open the nose, easing into citrus peel and stewed fruits, with the sherry cask adding quiet depth. The palate is unctuous and oily, with barley sweets, orchard fruit and caramel. Baking spice leads into a finish of mellow chocolate and sweet fruit.