Red wine and brine in the old coal mine

Sand and seashells crunched beneath our feet as we stepped into the darkness. Wafts of heather smoke billowed from deep below, bringing aromas of grilled pork chops, oregano and samphire sautéed in salted butter. Venturing deeper we uncovered cherries being washed along in a stream of pinot noir wine. Our faces were blackened with cocoa powder and coal dust. A dash of water released walnuts infused in rich sherry, and scatterings of orange peel on smoked salmon canapés. Our mouths were coated with a sticky mix of chimney soot and honey by the time we discovered smoked bacon, glazed sausages and praline-filled barnacle shells. At 19 years of age, we combined selected casks from the same distillery. We then returned the single malt into a variety of different casks to develop further. This is one of those casks.