Delicate masculinity

The nose delivers light, delicate smoke (long-emptied ashtrays, abandoned kilns) pleasantly balanced by creamy toffee sweetness. Rich sweet notes also run through the palate – toffee, dark chocolate and fig; hints of fino sherry and Marmite leave a dry sensation on the finish. The reduced nose balances sweet cocoa, brown sugar and golden syrup on toast with slightly more stereotypically masculine suggestions of gun powder, old wooden chests and bacon butties. The palate still finds toffee and buttered toast but there is now also a more medicinal sweetness, like throat lozenges or Fisherman’s Friends and after-traces of tarry ropes, putty and grilled sardines.