Craft Works: Rage

Craft Works Rage

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Nose: Sweet and spicy. Loads of red berries with hints of herbs and pepper. Just a touch of nougat and red wine jelly. The nose comes out of the bottle hitting you like a sledgehammer. Palate: If the nose was sweet and spicy, the palate is spicy and sweet - loads of herbs and pepper, a touch of chilli, and some liquorice. Then comes the fruit - loads of raspberries, cherries, and blackberries, with a sweet malt and brown sugar note hanging in there somewhere too. Mouthfeel: Thick and oily. Finish: This finish is quite long, and full of flavour.…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Definitely. It's intriguing well past the last drop in the glass.

Bruichladdich: Octomore 9.2

Bruichladdich Octomore 09.2

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Nose: Rich, smokey, sweet, and dark. Like opening the lid on a barbeque after you've left a rack of lamb glazed with berry jam on the grill for just a touch too long. Jammy (mixed berries), meaty, and a little ashy. Palate: Straight up, this is quite a dark, closed whisky; with ash, meat juice, some cloves, and pepper, being the mainstay on the palate. Add a dash of water though and you get a whole lot of tart raspberries and sour cherries on the palate. The ash turns more earthy and medicinal - going from barbeque to beachside camp…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Probably - not my favourite Octomore, but still a good whisky.

Puni Alba (2016 Batch 1)

Alba Puni

Nose:  Spicy, dried fruits, mixed herbs, dates, and smoked almonds.

Palate:  Earthy, herby, a little spicy – also a little sweet.  There are some berry and plum notes.  Some faint cereal notes – a mixture of Weet-Bix and All-Bran.  Traces of the peat casks that some of the whisky was slumbering in hang around.

Mouthfeel:  A decently medium weight in the mouth with a soft and silky feel.  A slight alcohol burn.

Finish:  This whisky has a fairly long finish.  Spicy, full of peat, and the earthy notes from the palate continue right through.

[divider]

This whisky is a non-age statement un-peated Italian blended whisky that was aged in a combination of ex-Islay peated Scotch whisky casks, and Marsala wine casks.  It was bottled at 43% ABV with no added colouring, and no chill-filtration.

This is an interesting whisky; a blend of malted barley, malted rye, and malted wheat that was aged for three years in Sicilian ex-marsala casks before being finished in ex-Islay peated Scotch casks.  The spice from the rye is quite prominent throughout, as is the peat notes from the peated ex-Islay Scotch casks that it was finished in.  There is also a sweet fruitiness that lasts most of the journey as well, undoubtedly from the three years it spent in the Sicilian wine casks.

Although I first tasted this whisky at Whisky Live, it is hard to truly appreciate a whisky when you’re drinking that many of them so close together.  Never the less, it captured my attention, and after acquiring a bottle of it, I presented it in a couple of European whisky tastings that I held – where it was generally warmly received.  Although it was against some other intriguing competition from Goldly’s (Belgium), Slyrs (Germany), Millstone (Netherlands), Floki (Iceland), Mackmyra (Sweeden), and Santis (Switzerland); there were a few people that rated it as their favourite, and most people thought it was reasonable or better.  After the tastings, I sat down with what was left and gave it some due consideration on its own.

If you haven’t seen a picture of the Puni distillery, prepare to be amazed – the distillery building is more what you’d expect from a modern-art gallery than a whisky distillery.  Absent are the pagodas and chimneys, present is an almost mesh-like cube situated in the idyllic countryside of the northern Italian Alps.  The distillery gets its name from the nearby Puni river.  The surrounding region has been growing rye since the times of the Roman Empire, and it is this rye that Puni has malted and used in this whisky.  The amazing cube distillery building houses not just the distillery, but also warehousing where some of the Puni whisky slumbers, whilst the distillery also uses abandoned WWII-era underground bunkers to age the rest.

Whilst I could not say that this whisky has been one of my favourites, I am by no means going to struggle to finish my bottle of it – it’s both a pleasant whisky, whilst also being full of character.  The world would definitely be a better place if more whiskies had both of these attributes.

Nose:  Spicy, dried fruits, mixed herbs, dates, and smoked almonds. Palate:  Earthy, herby, a little spicy - also a little sweet.  There are some berry and plum notes.  Some faint cereal notes - a mixture of Weet-Bix and All-Bran.  Traces of the peat casks that some of the whisky was slumbering in hang around. Mouthfeel:  A decently medium weight in the mouth with a soft and silky feel.  A slight alcohol burn. Finish:  This whisky has a fairly long finish.  Spicy, full of peat, and the earthy notes from the palate continue right through. [divider] This whisky is a non-age…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Probably; I may even buy another bottle - although it's worth noting considerable differences between batches.

Black Gate: BG032 Hybrid Cask

Black Gate BG032 Hybrid Cask

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Nose: Raisins, prunes, spicy fruit rolls, plums, mixed berry jam. Dark and rich with a hint of sweet spices. Palate:  Basically what you get on the nose is what you get on the palate, with a boat load of black plums and some more red fruits joining the party; a hint of tart cherries showing up as well. Mouthfeel:  From the nose and the palate you might be expecting a whisky with the weight of concrete, but the whisky is surprisingly not so. It's definitely not a thin whisky, but is only what I'd describe as medium weight. There's a…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Ooh boy would I - numerous bottles of this stunning whisky have been purchased by me for doing just that!

Bruichladdich: Octomore 2.2

Bruichladdich Octomore 2.2

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Nose:  Wet timber, moss, ripe grapes, and mixed red-berry jam.  Also, unusually for an Octomore, there is quite a prominent amount of newmake spirit and paint-stripper on the nose.  Also a hint of some portwine jelly.  Given a bit of a breather, the paint-stripper and newmake spirit dies right off, with the berries and jelly becoming far more prominent. Palate:  Very sweet, with a hint of peat.  The grapes and mixed red-berry jam from the nose are quite bold on the palate.  Thankfully the paint stripper has departed, although there is still a hint of some newmake spirit at the…

The Ninja's numbers - A completely subjective score.

Nose
Palate
Mouthfeel
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Balance

Bruichladdich: Octomore 4.2

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Nose:  Honey snaps (biscuits), malt, vegetal peat, wet leather, and something strangely like jalapenos and over-ripe green grapes.  Sweet yet also tangy at the same time.  Also some floral notes hovering around the back, and a faint traces of vanilla pods and fresh cut grass. Palate:  Creamed honey, vanilla, and a strange mixture of something florally and briny vegetal-peat notes.  Super sweet, yet also quite peppery. There's also some pear cider and lemon zest floating around, and some candied ginger - and just a touch of Kakadu plum. Mouthfeel:  Mid-heavy weight, and very slightly both oily and syrupy.  A bit…

The Ninja's numbers - A completely subjective score.

Nose
Palate
Mouthfeel
Finish
Balance

Bruichladdich: Octomore 7.2

Bruichladdich Octomore 7.2

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Nose:  Peat, salty beach water, bran flakes, and mixed berry sorbet.  Also a hint of a wine glass that has been left overnight. Palate:  Quite maritime for an Octomore; salty and hints of iodine.  Quite smoky, and spicy.  Burnt ANZAC biscuits and mixed berry jam. Slight traces of vanilla. Mouthfeel:  Reasonably thick and slightly oily, with a bit of warmth. Finish:  Decent length on the finish.  Dry and spicy, with lots of dried berries - strawberries, raspberries, red currant.  Also a slight hint of chocolate and hazelnuts. [divider] Octomore 7.2 is a 5 year old single malt from Bruichladdich on…
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Bruichladdich: Laddie Classic Edition_01

Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Edition_01

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Nose: Lots of fresh malt on the nose of this one, along with apples - both red and green, some pears, a light touch of both vanilla and honey, and the faintest waft of some floral notes. Palate:  The palate pretty much continues on from the nose - everything that is present is in the nose makes an appearance in the palate, with perhaps a bit more fresh malt, a light touch of sea-breeze saltiness (very light), a touch of nutmeg, and the slightest sense of something nutty such as slivered almonds.  There's also a bit of oak spice right…

The Ninja's numbers - A completely subjective score.

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Palate
Mouthfeel
Finish

The New Zealand Whisky Company: Dunedin DoubleWood 15 Year Old

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Nose:  Rich caramel, rum & raisin sponge cake, sultanas, dried red berries. Very sweet. Palate:  More caramel up front, joined by sticky toffee and golden syrup - which replace the rum & raisin.  The sultanas and dried berries are joined by a whole pack of dried mixed fruits.  There's also a slight hint of some spice; cinnamon and nutmeg.  Like a good Irish potstill, some of these flavours just won't sit still. Mouth Feel:  Thick and chewy.  Very creamy. Not even a hint of oil, and no burn at all either.  Quite firm and dry. Finish:  The finish is extremely…

The Ninja's numbers - A completely subjective score.

Nose
Palate
Mouthfeel
Finish