Tipsy tawny trifle

A truly boozy aroma greeted the Panel, as we found plums soaked in madeira wine, cherries in rum and bourbon-infused hot cross buns. On the palate, a tipsy tawny port and orange trifle was joined by banana pancakes laced with orange liqueur, plus an egg-drop soup with crispy fried wonton strips. After reduction, the scent evolved into hickory wood chips, blackberry jam, peanut butter brittle and a bubbling brown sugar caramel sauce. To taste, we dipped a rum-spiked chocolate chip cookie into a cranberry sauce which had been served with a liberal dash of port wine. Following nine years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, we transferred this whisky into a first fill American oak oloroso hogshead.