Highland Queen Majesty Burgundy Cask Finish

A complex, Single Malt Scotch Whisky by MacDonald & Muir Distillery in Highlands, Scotland aged in ex-Bourbon barrels & finished in ex-Burgundy wine casks. It has an aromatic birth with notes of red fruits, malted barley, hints of white chocolate & butter; while a complex life adds notes of marzipan, almonds, salted butter & more red fruits; that led to a balanced death of medium length. October 2020 / September 2022

Picked this up at the closest Total Wine about two weeks ago. This is my third tasting. The first two were very unsatisfactory, with the wine component dominating everything. Now that it has rested and oxidized a bit, the nose is still dominated by the burgundy wine, but there’s a little malt and some sweet nuttiness in there too, it’s hot on the palate with sweet red wine and nuts, the finish is long, spicy and oaky.

Smell is extremely sweet with a touch of sourness. Almost good. Quite a bit of bite and warmth. Not terrible but sort of plain. More mouth tingle than flavor. Overall not bad, not great or complex. Would buy again for the price though.

Hard to argue with the taste at a sub $20 price point. But in this case.. you get what you pay for. Tastes fruity and somehow musty. Like those weird candied fruit things on top of fruitcake.