Long Pond Planteray (Kentucky Cask) VRW 2017

This is a Long Pond carrying the VRW marque, distilled in 2017 and aged seven years in a single Kentucky bourbon cask, bottled by Maison Ferrand under its Planteray brand. Long Pond is the historic Wedderburn house, funky and fruit-forward, and this release stays dry and lean rather than rounded.

Distilled from molasses on a double-retort pot still and matured in ex-bourbon wood, it shows ester, banana, pineapple and tropical fruit on the nose, then mango, tropical fruit, ester and pineapple on the palate, finishing on overripe tropical fruit, tannin and oak. Bottled at 51.9% and certified unsweetened, it leans on a lean, bourbon-cask backbone with some heat and wood grip, the esters overripe and the fruit pronounced. Opinions vary, but most find it a solid, dry Long Pond that suits focused sipping or bold cocktails for drinkers who want ester character with a clear bourbon-cask frame.