DIPPER’S DRAM 4.325 Antipodes SMWS

Colour: deep gold.

Nose: complex, lively. The first nose is characterised by notes of malted barley, pineapple, coconut and rice pudding, gradually becoming medicinal (ointment), finely peated and rooty (gentian). Allowed to breathe, a fine layer of green liquorice and spices (pepper, nutmeg) coats the taste buds. The exotic (passion fruit), deliciously fruity (pear) and mentholated aroma palette continually becomes more powerful.

Palate: clean, invigorating. On the attack, particularly expressive flavours of pineapple appear alongside more herbaceous (peppermint), empyreumatic (eucalyptus) and lemony notes. On the mid-palate, this thundering entrance gives way to a malty and earthy (iodine peat) sequence whose bitterness brightens up the flavour palette. Before becoming more unctuous, the end of the palate is vanilla, fruity (pear), nobly spicy (saffron, ginger) and liquoricey.

Finish: long, dense. Deeply intertwined with the end of the palate, the start of the finish ventures into new floral (lavender, violet) and honeyed (acacia) registers. The salty end of the finish reveals an incredible vanilla and herbaceous (basil, oregano) freshness. On the retro-nasal olfaction, notes of rush, bamboo shoot and reed evoke a lakeside landscape. The empty glass is musky, camphoric and malty.