Mini SBT from Goblin-san

A blind sample from my malt friend Goblin-san arrived after some time. I was grateful and took on the challenge. (What follows is my blind tasting notes.) ・Mini SBT from Goblin-san The aroma initially had strong oaky characteristics, but over time this diminished, replaced by gradually intensifying notes of orange and loquat fruits. There was a strong, appealing honey aroma reminiscent of Frangelico, with hazelnut, pencil shavings, a subtle dashi-like quality, cinnamon apple pie, a vegetal character, a Danish-style maltiness, nuts, richness, and a faint peat in the background. On the palate it was smooth with viscosity, spreading into a rich, fruity depth reminiscent of apricot jam. Notes of nuts, slightly raw oak, richness, a touch of bitterness, and later a hint of oiliness and peat. 【Good/Very Good】 Low ABV (43-46%). While not dominant, the cask character reminiscent of new wood and pencil shavings led me to predict Japanese whisky. The fruitiness felt like a relatively mature Speyside bottling. I was unsure how to rate the faint peat and stronger oak notes. If Japanese, it would likely be a 1990s watered-down bottling, but I found it surprisingly complex and rich for that category. Difficult to say... ・Prediction 1. Yamazaki 2. Hakushu 3. Yoichi I sent my tasting notes and predictions via email. The correct answer was... Glencaudam GLENCADAM 1966-1988 22yo CADENHEAD for MIZUHASHI 56% This was Glencaudam 1966 bottled by Cadenhead for Mizuhashi. Despite being a legendary bottling, it was surprisingly different from the expected characteristics of its age, region, and distillation date. (laughs) I had narrowed it down to Japanese whisky based on its woody direction, but everything was off. While I rarely make big mistakes regarding ABV, this time I thought it was low strength but it was actually 56%. Perhaps due to bottle aging, it felt surprisingly soft and mellow. I wrote that if Japanese, it would seem like a 1990s watered-down bottling but found it too complex and rich for that category. I should have analyzed this discrepancy more deeply. Now that I think about it, considering its complex richness, it's not surprising it could be a 1960s bottling. Particularly the strong woody character and its accompanying rawness/bitterness, which I find slightly unappealing, might have masked the old-world character and potential of the whisky. I need to improve my ability to identify elements emerging from these less appealing characteristics. Thank you, Goblin-san, for letting me try this rare bottling.