We were transported to Bella Italia as we baked a Torta Bertolina, a traditional cake from the Lombardy region in the north of Italy that is made at harvest time using a grape called “uva fragola” (strawberry-grape). Very small and very aromatic, a fruity sweet explosion in the mouth just like those grape-coloured lollipops we had as children with a lingering refreshing aftertaste.

Water added aromas of orange blossom and apricots like in a muscat wine while on the palate the elegance and fruitiness of a Mirabelle plum brandy. Following fourteen years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, we transferred this whisky into a 1st fill Sauternes barrique.