The 2023 release of M Black refines its brooding language even further — a whisky of smouldering composure, where peat is not just flavour, but philosophy. Bottled in a jet-black Lalique decanter, it’s both art and artefact. A dram for the collector who appreciates silence as much as sensation.

In the glass, it shimmers with the depth of black amber — the kind of colour that pulls you inward. The nose is smoky elegance: charred citrus peel, dark incense resin, burnt clove, damp forest floor, and aged pipe tobacco. There’s a tension here — between brightness and earth, between fire and ash. Hidden beneath it all is a restrained sweetness: medjool date soaked in port, maple-glazed pecans, and candied ginger rising like perfume from smouldering coals.

The palate arrives like a slow exhale in candlelight — controlled, intense, and mesmerising. Bitter dark chocolate melts across the tongue, followed by plum reduction and black tea tannin that grip the edges of the palate. A wash of ashen minerality coats everything — like drinking from a stone carved in silence. The peat is sinuous and refined — less a blaze, more a breath: sultry, slow-moving, and ever-present, winding around notes of sandalwood, molasses, and burnt orange marmalade.

Mid-palate deepens with roasted pecan, fennel seed, aromatic char, and a breath of coastal air. There’s structure here — a whisky that has shape and form, like sculpture you can taste. Every element feels aged in meditation. There’s no rush, no excess. Only weight, space, and clarity.

The finish lasts forever — long, reverent, and softly smoked. Aged oak, dried citrus, sweet pipe ash, and a final whisper of spiced fruit. This is whisky not designed to impress in a crowd, but to unfold in solitude. M Black 2023 doesn’t shout. It hums. A monastic whisky, meant for deep reflection, and for the few who understand silence is the highest luxury.