LMdW Artist Series #12 – The beautiful Bowmore 20+ year

The 5th La Maison du Whisky’s Artist Series #12 at Paris Whisky Live 2022 was an absolute stunner! What a beautiful Bowmore… read on….

Bowmore 20+ year (2001/2022) 1st Fill Sherry Cask No 102 54.8% (LMdW Artist Collection #12) 665 Bottles. Eur 999

  • Nose – Sweet marshmallows on a campfire
  • Palate – Fabulous silk, salted caramel, then chocolate, smoky and sweet
  • Finish – Delicious! More fruit than fire

Elegant and incredibly special – this Bowmore was such a treat! I truly wished I could have sat down and enjoyed this one in a much more leisurely way than a simple sniff and swish!

What more do the folks at LMdW have to say (courtesy of Google translate)?

  • Nose : both rich and subtle. On the first nose, notes of particularly oily peat (olive), saline (shellfish) as well as a delicate smoke strongly imbue the taster’s olfactory memory. Allowed to breathe, fresh fruit (pear, apple), dried fruit (walnut, almond), dark chocolate and citrus fruit (lemon, grapefruit) accompany delicious spices (cardamom, green pepper, clove). Gradually, the nose evolves towards exotic tones (kiwi, pineapple, passion).
  • Appearance : intense golden yellow.
  • Palate : racy, airy. Full of dynamism, the attack on the palate is marked by a more herbaceous peat, liquorice but also drier (twigs), which has lost none of its magnificent initial maritime character. Revealing notes of vanilla and wax (lustrous wood), the mid-palate gradually becomes tenderly chocolatey and minty. Both crunchy and luscious, the finish is fruity (Mirabelle plum, pears).
  • Overall : long, refined. Wonderfully malty and iodized, the start of the finish evokes a sunny cove. Over time, the fragrant curls of a Havana cigar float in the ambient air suddenly refreshed by a sea breeze. Gourmet, the retro olfaction reveals notes of prune cake, but also lemon meringue pie. The empty glass is intensely peaty, medicinal (balm) and camphoric.

I absolutely adored this one! 

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LMdW Artist Series #12 – The Bunnahabhain 40+ year

At approx 44 years, every element of this whisky expressed its age…. it was a treat to have this wee teasing taste! All I could wish is perhaps one of these years to have a focused evening of just LMdW Artist Collection whiskies, not mixed in as mere sniffs and sips with hundreds of other experiences!

Here is what the folks at LMdW have to say (courtesy of how Google translates)….

  • Nose : ample, deep. Incredibly fresh, the initial nose is at once vanilla, lemony, minty and honeyed (acacia). After aeration, a green and rural landscape emerges. Dandelion flowers, scents of buttercup and honeysuckle divinely perfume the surrounding atmosphere. Farther away from the aromatic palette remains the imprint of a diaphanous peat. Wonderful.
  • Appearance : old gold with green reflections
  • Palate : rich, concentrated. Remarkably saline, the attack on the palate is marked by flavors of glasswort and green liquorice. Slender, the mid-palate reveals an invigorating malty bitterness. Then, spices (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg) spread voluptuously on each side of the palate. Gradually, fine particles of soot and dust appear.
  • Overall : long, fresh. Adorned with a delicate exoticism (pineapple, plantain), the start of the finish recalls the liquorice stick glimpsed on the attack, which closely links these two tasting sequences. Infused with plants (chamomile, sage), the aftertaste takes on bright green hues. Resplendent with maturity, the retro-nasal olfaction evokes blocks of dry peat rich in silt and algae. From the empty glass escape aromas of precious wood, hemp and dark chocolate.

Curiously I didn’t mention much peat influence in my notes, however, with a quick sniff and swish, this isn’t surprising to miss certain elements – particularly when in a “mass” tasting environment.

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Birthday Chorlton – Bunnahabhain 18 year 53.4%

In many ways, this was the most interesting whisky we tried in an extra special Chorlton birthday quartet. This was exactly why it was the 1st expression that led to acquiring three additional bottles and several evenings of tastings – from London to Mumbai – where we sniffed, swished, and savoured our way through these unique bottles.

Bunnahabhain 18 year (28 Feb 2002 / 2021) Sherry Butt 53.4%

What was our impression from London in October 2022?

  • Nose – Initially very ‘fresh’ yet shy, red delicious apple skins, a hint of sherry, dry wood, a bit of tobacco leaf, something a touch sharp, then started to open up further with banana cake and brown sugar, shifted again to sour cream
  • Palate – 1st sip was harsh then it mellowed into a spicy fruity smoothie, caramel, oily with substance, then roasted nuts
  • Finish – Spice and smoke that gradually sweetens

It was full of contrasts – shy on the nose but forceful on the palate, kept shifting and changing. It is also one of those whiskies you need to spend a bit of time with… try only once and you would miss its quirky chameleon character.

The longer we spent with the Bunnahabhain, the more we appreciated it. For one London-based Whisky Lady, this was the clear favourite.

We also thought it would go well with cheese… which is exactly what I tried later in Mumbai – definitely works – particularly a nice sharp old cheddar.

How did this contrast or compare with our Mumbai tasting experiences just a month later in November 2022?

  • Nose – Lemon, mint, vanilla, asparagus, mushrooms, stewed cherries… though a bit shy it kept moving around and revealing different elements the longer it was in the glass… next was camomile, waxy, biscuits, tinned peaches, marscapone
  • Palate – Honey, apples, some forest moss and more mushrooms, pine, green chillies, milk chocolate, nutty… take too large a sip and you would be greeted with a brushfire!
  • Finish – Cloves, star anise, pine needles, green chillies, very dry, edging towards smoke

Just like our 1st experience, this Bunnahabhain is not to be underestimated. It captivated us with its curiously shifting character. For most, this was the favourite and our only regret was having to split 100ml between 8 ladies! We would have loved to add a bit more to our glass and settle down with it, see if it continued to morph or rested on a few elements.

Did this contrast much with the gents? For the most part, we agreed, adding a few further observations from our experience:

  • Nose – Began with very light iodine that one gent described as what he typically expects from a Bunna – iodine without the heavy peat of other Islay whiskies – then shifted into fruits like pomegranate, then a cantaloupe, a hint of rye bread, some raisins, followed by a camomile-based herbal tea (think Sleepy Time!)
  • Palate – Incredibly sweet, well-rounded and well-balanced, loads of different kinds of honey, milk shocolate bars
  • Finish – Very long, subtle spices

There was no doubt this is a complex whisky, well worth taking time so that could evolve through its different dimensions.


What did David have to say? The following is an extract from his email…

And, lastly, we have the official festive special – an 18-year-old sherry cask Bunnahabhain. Please note that this is available to pre-order (see note below), and that my tasting notes aren’t super-considered as I’m just going off my brief notes from the cask sample.

So, the nose on this starts with sea air, light wax and mandarin, before richer notes of buttery brioche, praline and milk chocolate covered raisins appear. Just a touch of smoke too: cigar and joss stick.

For the palate I see I’ve written “Lovely!” in my notes… Again it starts in a very clean and crisp way (red apple, pink grapefruit) before the richer development (toasted nuts, honey, Daim bars, cinnamon pastries). Slight smokiness and orange marmalade in the aftertaste.

This is proper Bunna, a great example of the distillery style, and the sherry is beautifully integrated. We got 322 bottles from this sherry butt at 53.4% and they’re available for £150 each.

I purchased this in June 2021 from Master of Malt for GBP 151 as had missed the original Chorlton direct offer in December 2020.

We’ve enjoyed exploring Chorlton’s La Nouvelle Vague series:

Here is the full set of Chorlton‘s sampled til date from the L’Ancien Régime series:

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London Whisky Show – Gordon + Macphail Discovery

I’m an unabashed Gordon & Macphail fan, so quite early in our explorations at the London Whisky Show, I made a “beeline” to their area! To get the full experience, we started at the beginning…

For the uninitiated, the Discovery line was created for just that – a place to begin your discovery of whisky at a reasonable price point. They colour code their offerings to help guide the approach… On offer was:

  • Green for ex-bourbon casks – Glenallachie 14 year 43% (approx GBP 50)
  • Purple for ex-sherry casks – Bunnahabhain 11 year 43% (approx GBP 46)
  • Grey/off-white for smokey/peaty – Caol Ila 13 year 43%

My starting point was naturally the ex-bourbon expression.

GlenAllachie 14 year 43%

  • Nose – Yum! Initially a bright toffee, cream, and butterscotch… then it was joined by young orchard fruits – like a granny smith apple – some honey then again shifted to vanilla cream
  • Palate – Soft and creamy, like having a delicious cream puff that dissolves, some praline followed by more vanilla and a hint of malt and nuts join the desert approach
  • Finish – Buttery goodness, rewarding with more vanilla with fudge

Having recently had a few newer styled GlenAllachie which tend to have a heavy play with sherry, I could immediately tell this was more “classic” in style. Our tasting guide confirmed this was indeed their approach – hence only ex-bourbon.

For us, this was a delightful ‘day malt” and a lovely way to ease into further whisky explorations. it has a nice ‘clean’ approach and a lovely dram worth repeating in a different environment than sniff, swish, and spit!

What about the sherry expression?

Bunnahabhain 11 year 43%

  • Nose – No doubt there was a sherry stamp! Yet joining it was also vanilla, sweet caramel, and a hint of something like nutmeg, cloves, and a bit more saline or maritime
  • Palate – Quite dry, dark chocolate, cinnamon, dark fruits like figs or plums
  • Finish – Sweet spices, dry fruit

Quite a solid expression. Curious to know more? Check out what Gordon & Macphail have to say here.

I admit that I skipped the Caol Ila as didn’t want to shift into peat so early in the day.

So then… where did our whisky wanderings take us next?? To explore Gordon & Macphail’s Distillery Label series!

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Islay Duo – Bruichladdich vs Kilchoman

When the weather is wet, cold and miserable, there is nothing like a bit of peat in your whisky to pick you up! While we still have a few more days of summery weather, our last selection of the evening from a Drinks by the Drams Single Cask Whisky Advent Calendar turned to a pair of peaty Islay single casks, bottled by the folks over at Master of Malts:

  • Bruichladdich 16 year (2002) Single Cask 62.6%
  • Kilchoman 6 year (2012) Cask 405/2012 56.9%

We began with the Bruichladdich….

Bruichladdich 16 year (2002) Single Cask 62.6%

  • Nose – Initially greeted us with some maritime sea spray, then the peat subtly surfaced more and more, a lovely herbal sweetness, toffee… then after the initial sip, we were rewarded with sweet maple bacon, sweet grass
  • Palate – Yum! Such delicious peat – Montreal smoked meats, roast pork, tobacco, frankly just very tasty!
  • Finish – Really long lovely smoke 
  • Water? I felt no need to add however one of my tasting companions did and shared how it made the whisky much sweeter

For me, this was a singularly fine specimen from Bruichladdich! We speculated it must come from the “Port Charlotte” line – clear stamp of peat but not amped up like an “Octomore”!

What more do we know? Here is what the folks over at Master of Malt have to say:

A wonderful bottle of Bruichladdich, bottled by yours truly – that’s right, it was bottled by Master of Malt! This 16 year old single malt was distilled on Islay back in July 2002 and filled into a refill sherry hogshead, where it slumbered until January 2019, when we bottled it up at cask strength, with no chill-filtration or additional colouring.

Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt

  • Nose: Apple and dried pear, golden syrup over steamed pudding, thick vanilla and toasted almond, then freshly polished wood and light wood smoke.
  • Palate: Toasted barley, brown sugar, vanilla and lemon peels lead. Plenty of earthy spice and oak shavings emerge underneath.
  • Finish: Lasting citrus sweetness and vanilla-y barley.

As on September 2022 it is still available for a whopping Eur 210!


What next? We moved on to the Kilchoman…

Kilchoman 6 year (2012) Cask 405/2012 56.9%

  • Nose – Iodine and bandaid adhesive, smoke meats and spice, pastrami and toast
  • Palate– Sweet and peat, some spice, young with the wood element clearly showing through
  • Finish – Warm and lasting

While we couldn’t say for sure, it was clear this had something more than an ex-bourbon cask at work. Was it sherry or something else? Who knew but it added a nice sweetness.

As for the Kilchoman? The folks over at Master of Malt also had something to share:

A single cask bottling of tasty Islay single malt from the Kilchoman distillery, bottled for Drinks by the Dram! This one was matured for 6 years, from July 2012 to August 2018, which included a finishing period in a red wine cask, before being bottled at cask strength.

Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt

  • Nose: Scones, jam and clotted cream – a classic combo. Lasting earthy peat and some tobacco notes later on.
  • Palate: Digestive biscuits, salted butter, raspberry and soft sandalwood hints.
  • Finish: Clove, cinnamon, barley, smoke and oily walnut.

It is now sold out, however, when it was available it was priced at approximately Eur 92.

And there we have it, three pairs of samples explored and enjoyed!

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Kilchoman Tequila Finish 53.4%

It has been a while since I sat down and properly tasted a Kilchoman… in truth, I don’t think even once since meeting Kilchoman’s charming founder Anthony Willis in the Spirited Stories tent at The Vault Biennale. I will fully admit to a certain fondness for Kilchoman – in part as this Islay distillery is part of the ‘new generation’ of distilleries who have proven with an eye to quality and artistry, you don’t need to wait more than a decade to produce a fine dram.

So what did we think of Anthony’s experiment with Tequila? Did it need salt and lime to knock back as a shot? Or favour an extra anejo? Or reveal little to no influence of the agave finish at all?

Kilchoman 8 year (11 Dec 2012 / 15 Nov 2021) Bourbon Cask No 824/2012, Tequila Finish 53.4% (50 PPM) TWE Exclusive, Bottle 147 of 267

  • Nose – Ripe mushy bananas, a fruity sour mash, leafy and a bit vegetal, saline with light hint of smoke, we even speculated if there was a touch of black salt? However the more time it spent in the glass, the more it opened up… shifting into candied red apples, marshmallows, then more tropical fruits
  • Palate – Unmistakable peat and sweet, powerful yet exceedingly well balanced, chewy with a good mouthfeel, some pepper and sweet spices, perhaps a bit of that agave element subtly peaking through
  • Finish – Sweet red cinnamon candies, followed by a nice agave finish
  • Water – Not necessary but holds well with a splash, becoming more herbal

So…. does the tequila work? Yes… as it has only a subtle influence rather than being very pronounced unbalancing the other elements. And that was the success here – everything in perfect harmony – sweet and salt, peat and sweet, spice and herb – all working together.

What more do we know? As usual, Kilchoman peats to 50 PPM and in this case used an ex-Bourbon cask for 8 years before finishing for approx 8 months in an ex-Tequila cask. It reminded me why Kilchoman has made its mark – there is no dramatic heavy peat here – instead, the peat provides a lovely interplay with the other cask elements.

I noted down the official tasting notes from the bottle:

  • Nose – Malted hay and tropical fruit sweetness
  • Palate – Herbacsious with layers of fresh fruits and burst of agave
  • Finish – Waves of agave freshness with soft sweet peat

In large part, I would agree with the notes… however, personally found the peat more pronounced on the palate with the agave much more subtle.

Talisker, Kilchoman, Stauning

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The Whisky Warehouse No. 8 – Braon Peat 57.5%

Last in our Whisky Warehouse No. 8 quartet was a contrast between Braon Peat and Inchfad! I’d hoped to try Braon Peat but alas after ordering was informed it was no longer available – sigh… so the Inchfad 14 year was sent instead. Whereas with the Miltonduff substitution – clearly the PX Sherry 14 year trumped the ex-Bourbon 11 year, it was the opposite here – Braon Peat had the Inchfad beat!

So…. what did my tasting companions think of their dram?

Braon Peat Batch 7 (15 April 2019) 57.5%

  • Nose – First whiff was smoked bacon, apples, sweet beef jerky then back to apples and pears
  • Palate – An explosion – very sweet, peat, “full meal deal!”, meaty with a great mouthfeel
  • Finish – Smoke and spice and everything nice with a long finish

In short, they loved it! They particularly enjoyed how it was sweet peat, perfectly in balance.

What do the folks at Whisky Warehouse No 8 have to say about their Braon Peat?

The latest batch of Braon Peat lives up to its name ‘peat drop’ because ‘peat as peat can’ applies here! There aren’t many whiskies that showcase their peaty side with o much impact in the glass. This is mitigated with a little thinning, but then it’s not that much fun anymore. You’re really looking forward to the coming winter time with horiztonal sleet showers and cold feet. These will be the moments when you want the Braon Peat in your hip flask.

  • Odour: Warm smoke with some dry dust, oily-fleshy with sweet molasses notes, machine hall, slightly herbal like dried oregano.
  • Taste: The peat notes are in the foreground, the whiskey comes across as a bit meaty, while at the same time surprisingly herbal, as if the meat had been previously marinated in mallow leaves. Although one searches in vain for fruity notes, the whiskey has a slightly sweet taste. With dilution, some malty crispness is revealed and the peat notes are less meaty.
  • Finish: Oily, intensely peaty with some black pepper and long lasting.

As for the Inchfad? It was more or less what we found when tasting with an earlier set.

What more did we have in our WW8 Regions set?

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Dynamic Duo 2 – Bunnahabhain 25 year vs Tobermory 20 year

For our next dynamic duo, we went to independent bottlers – both new to me! From what little I could find, both seem to be German based… and were chosen by our whisky guide to contrast and compare drams in their 20s from Islay and Island.

Now I must admit, I’ve had a mixed relationship with Bunnahabhain – particularly their older whiskies which haven’t always lived up to expectations. However I’m always game to be be pleasantly surprised!

Bunnahabhain 25 years Single Cask (2016) 47.7% (Wiebers Brothers)

  • Nose – Citrus, hay, honey and yoghurt, very light toffee, milky and a bit shy, mineral, musty
  • Palate – Surprisingly light and effervescent, then took a slight odd turn – was that sweet pickles?? Followed by some cayenne pepper, tangy, more of that mineral quality, a tough vegetal
  • Finish – Verbena and cayenne

This definitely fit into the category of “ya gotta work it”… what was interesting is how the empty glass held more aromas than when it held liquid.

I still haven’t been able to find any details on Wiebers Brothers with this having a mere 120 bottles. We aren’t sure when the bottle was originally opened however it is possible it was for some time or not… one never knows the impact of oxidation on a whisky’s character.

Tobermory 20 years (1996/2016) 58.8% (The Alambic Classique Collection)

  • Nose – Lemon balm, beeswax, fresh, sweet grass, honey, fresh raw cashew nut… it began evolving becoming fruitier
  • Palate – Quite a contrast to the aromas! Sweet spices, pink and white peppercorns, lots of character without heat, beautiful and well rounded, light cinnamon
  • Finish – Wonderful! The flavours just carry on and on and on….

Once upon a time, we discovered “mouth breathing” whisky – where you take a good waft of aromas then swig and then breath, seeing what the whisky has to say. In this case, it was like having a lovely aromatic hookah.

Some whiskies are all the nose with the palate a pale shadow, others are the reverse. That would be the case here – an absolute stunner on the palate – really outstanding. This is also one of those drams where just a little goes a very long way – particularly with that remarkable finish. A true class act.

Alambic Classique has been an importer and wholesaler of specialty spirits since 1981, and is also an independent bottler for rare and exclusive single malt whiskeys from Scotland. Our bottle was from their Special Vintage Selection – cask strength, uncolored and not chill-filtered.

What more do we know about this one? It a bourbon barrel from a single cask with 247 bottles.

If you haven’t already gathered so far  – the Tobermory was for us the clear winner!

What else did we explore that evening at The Union Jack in Berlin?

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The Whisky Warehouse No. 8 – Bunnahabhain 14 year 56.7%

Long back, a very talented multi instrumental, multi country music buddy encouraged “Bunna” explorations as his kind of Islay – not really peaty but having substance and character to spare. Over the years, I’ve had mixed experiences – some excellent, some so so and some that didn’t quite do it for me.

Bunnahabhain 14 year (24 Oct 2002 / 31 Oct 2016) Bourbon Hogshead No. 3048, 56.7% 307 Bottles

  • Nose – Initially greeted us with quite a distinctive coconut oil… which settled down into salt water taffy, candied guava, fresh bread, orange comfy or cointreau, even a bit of coffee candy, swirling about with a hint of smoke too – more like an echo or subtle embers than a live burn…overall leaving an impression of fruity
  • Palate – Silky smooth… some salted caramel, spicy desert, herbal, buttery… with a wee bit of even peanut butter, richly rolling around nicely on the tongue
  • Finish – Lovely and long, delicious
  • Water – No need… truly

I have to confess that this is without a doubt the best Bunnahabhain I’ve had in a long time. Even better as it sits in the glass, opening up more and more. While a different character, there was an element of the lightly salted ‘buttery’ quality that made us think of the insanely delicious Aveux Gourmands.

As for the folks at Whisky Warehouse No. 8? I’ve taken the liberty to ‘google translate’ my way through Julia’s terrific tasting notes:
Whiskeys from Bunnahabhain are always good for a surprise and this single barrel is no exception. Anyone who wants to deduce the taste from the nose impressions of this bottling will be amazed at how different the whiskey ultimately behaves on the palate. At least one can rely on the well-known attributes of most Bunnahabhain bottlings: hardly any wood, a little salt and a good balance of all aromas.
  • Nose: Soft and fully ripe fruit notes such as cherries, star fruit and lychees. Underneath there is a layer of salty peat that has a slightly medicinal effect, but also a damp campfire that was already burning the day before.
  • Taste: Spicy like in a hay barn, herbal notes like dried thyme and thistles, slightly nutty and almond-like, the fruit notes linger in the background, but they now appear much fresher and crisper. The peat and smoke notes also remain surprisingly restrained.
  • Finish: It is especially the herbal notes that stay on the palate for a long time and become dry towards the end. Very late, a pinch of fleur de sel tickles the taste buds.

What about other Bunnahabhain explorations?

My “Last Chance” set also contained:

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The Whisky Warehouse No. 8 – Glenturret 8 year 57.5%

This would be my 3rd Glenturret 8 year from an independent bottler! We were rather impressed by the North Star’s Glenturret – which was distilled the same month as this Warehouse cask and bottled within a month of each other. I’d also had the pleasure of trying Chorlton’s Ruadh Maor aka peated Glenturret.

So what about this one from The Whisky Warehouse No. 8?

Glenturret 8 year (Dec 2010 / Apr 2019) Bourbon Hogshead Cask No. W8 181, 57.5% 330 Bottles

  • Nose – Even before putting in the glass, we had a whiff of our wee bottle and went – Mmmm….sweet smoked bacon! And then into the glass it went and… huh? Where did the delicious aroma go? Instead we found a brine, hay… predominantly cereals like hot (slightly boring) porridge, wet fall leaves, rubber gum… is that gym shoe? Curious
  • Palate – Ah.. now here is the light peat smoke, bay leaves, cinnamon spice, a bit of ginger bread… not a heavy peat, more like peat ‘adjacent’
  • Finish – It does last…

Let’s be honest, we were a tad disappointed. I happened to have the North Star Glenturret bottle handy and pulled it out to compare, making my virtual tasting companions a wee bit jealous. Yup! There were all the fabulous elements we enjoyed about the Glenturret – a nuanced peat, tasty cereals, maple bacon… We dismissed the Glenturret and moved on to our other minis..

However a funny thing happened along the way… as it patiently sat there… an amazing alchemy with air took place. We returned for a revisit and we delighted to discover much that we enjoyed in the North Star was now present! Where had all those lovely qualities been hiding?

  • Nose – Gingerbread joined the light puff of smoke,
  • Palate – Some cheese, smoked meats chased by cinnamon spice
  • Finish – Remained dry and long

Even on the first go, we enjoyed the palate more than nose alone… however with the revisit it was clear this had all the makings of a rather enjoyable dram. Certainly one to wait for it…. wait for it… as it just might be “Legend… wait for it…. dary!

Curious about other Glenturret experiences?

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