Let me shift to the Barleywine lane. Speyside barrel aging intrigues me particularly because Speyside is fruitier and definitely more vanilla-forward than the hardcore Islay stuff. 2019 vintage. The beer is basically lucid although it's difficult to verify because the tint is deep dark brown. Even a ruby reflection shines in the beer. Attractive for sure. Carbonation is weak. A minuscule-bubbled off-white lace ring wafts neatly on the top. Date, fig, vanilla, orange peel; those are my first takeaways of the scent. Fruity whisky, no ice, just a drop of water mixed. Prune and brown sugar should definitely read on the list, as well. And oak barrel goes without saying. Very nice. Very very nice. I hope that the flavor cocktail proves as seductive as the olfactory provision. Oooohh yess. Here we go. Copious date, somewhat less fig, but a good load of prune, single malt whisky, vanilla, old barrel, soaked oak... Beautiful! 🤎🤎🤎 The body? Yes. Full. Sufficiently full. The finish maintains the balance between dried fruity Barleywine parameters and the Speyside whisky slam. Appealing. Long duration in the end. No question about it. The mouthfeel is full, a tad sticky, still more lip-glueing though. Barrel aged and slightly soaked woody. Soft this is. Balmy like the night. And smooth. Slow sipper. Sinks down neatly in 25°C but I can imagine how well this would perform in the winter when firewood is in flames and the outdoors temperature is damn low.