Hazelnuts bob on a chocolate loch

In an oiled cedarwood rowing boat, we drifted over the loch, dipping digestive biscuits and caramel wafers into the molten chocolate. Rose petals fluttered in the breeze, landing on a feeder stream of sticky Pedro Ximénez sherry, as candied hazelnuts and watermelon sweets bobbed in our wake. Arriving at rhubarb crumble island, we pulled up on a beach of hazelnut spread. With a little water, toasted almonds and coconut macaroons tumbled down a hill, bouncing off hibiscus and tangy orange trees. Finding a fine picnic spot, the Panel opened flasks of green tea and snacked on cinder toffee and milk chocolate buttons. After spending 18 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, this was transferred to a first-fill American oak PX hogshead for the remainder of its maturation.