cognac #5 "Bûche de Noël" (XO) - Malternative Belgium - 44%

Ruben Luyten, www.whiskynotes.be, 30/11/2020:

Nose: a profile that I haven’t seen before in cognac. Much drier than the Chollet and hard to describe. Cigar boxes, Colombo spice, whiffs of smoke and something of black olive tapenade in the background. Lots of nutty notes and walnut cake. Some floral touches but hardly any fruits here.
Mouth: same thoughts, this is far from the fruity profile that we expect from VT. Quite sweet and nutty. Caramel sweetness and cinnamon rolls. Tobacco and walnut cake again. Orange peels. Sweetmint, hints of gingerbread.
Finish: not too long, still on sweet spices, chocolate mints and oriental pastries.
Interesting, it’s quite far from the style Vallein Tercinier became famous for but it’s interesting nonetheless. Darker, definitely sweeter and more wintery in a way. Good value for money.

Serge Valentin, whiskyfun.com, 20/11/2020
This new blend is said to be 20 years old, more or less. Bûche de Noël means yule log, so we might be too early with this one, but this is Vallein-Tercinier and we are Whiskyfun, capeesh? Colour: amber. Nose: cognac provençal? Funny that I would find liquorice and black olives in this one, a touch of aniseed (there, pastis) as well as almost tons of black nougat. This should count as one of the twelve desserts of Christmas – a Provençal thing indeed. Mouth: a tad gritty at first (crikey, I might have said armagnac), then very chocolaty, with various fruit fillings, prunes perhaps, rum (rum’s not a fruit, S.), some coffee, some praline, more nougat, a little tobacco, and a good glass of middle-aged rancio from Rivesaltes. No, that’s not quite in Provence anymore. Finish: rather long, chocolaty, with raisins and rum. Sultanas, ripe peaches and melons are coming in the aftertaste, together with a little mint. Comments: just excellent, very ‘full’, whatever that means. I’ll keep a few cls for Christmas eve.
SGP:551 - 88 points