What would you think of another little trip kind of around the world


May 6, 2024

	What would you think of another little trip kind of around the world?
	And we set off from France, as usual…

A Roborel de Climens 'Finition Tourbé #0001' (46%, OB, France, Cuvée Ephémère, +/-2023)

A truly unique culinary approach, yet this creativity is also part of the charm of these editions. It's a French malt, aged for 30 months in French oak barrels, then refined for 6 months in a Sauternes cask (Doisy Daëne, actually a Barsac, but Barsac is a type of Sauternes s you know), and then 12 months in a peated Islay cask. What a recipe! Colour: pale gold. Nose: of course, it's the peat that dominates, as expected. However, there is a nice balance with notes of quince from the Sauternes, as well as hints of honey and chamomile. The combination offers a somewhat camphor-and-menthol aspect which, I wonder, may stem from the peat + Sauternes mix. It's fresh, lively, even poetic. Mouth: I didn't expect it to work so well on the palate, and I wouldn't hesitate to compare it to a young Kornog Sauternes cask from quite a few years ago. Some salt, Williams pears, a bit of salted butter caramel, a more subdued honey side but with more tangerine, maybe that's the sémillon. Looks like Doisy Daëne is almost entirely sémillon. Finish: quite long, fresh, still slightly salty, this time with also some smoke and camphor, plus those pears. Comments: I wasn't too keen on the idea at first, but I absolutely love the result. Almost like molecular whisky à la elBulli. I hear it has become a museum?
SGP:653 - 88 points.

The English Company 11 yo 'Batch 1' (46%, OB, England, bourbon, 2466 bottles, 2022)

Some say there will soon be sixty (60) distilleries making whisky in England alone. Colour: pale gold. Nose: It's soft, with acacia honey, lemon balm, the coconut from the bourbon cask, the vanilla from the same origin, tarte tatin, pistachio... All of this is really pretty, elegant, gentle, easy... Mouth: The influence of the cask is quite pronounced, starting off very well with apple, beeswax, and fresh mint, but then becoming a bit more tart, with notes of peach skin, cherry stems, nutmeg, white pepper... Finish: medium length, balanced between woody and yellow fruits and honey notes. Grapefruit in the aftertaste. Comments: It's really well done, it's just a pity that the woody notes are a bit too pronounced, like in an overly steeped, very good tea.
SGP:551 - 83 points.

The Oxford Artisan Distillery 2019/2023 (54.5%, Berry Bros. & Rudd, Collective #1 The Pioneers, rye, England, hogshead, cask #21)

We've already tried some excellent rye from Oxford. Colour: white wine. Nose: right, cereals, rye, wormwood, fennel, chalk and old-school anise-driven Eastern-European 'Kräuter Likör'. Some lamp oil too, paraffin oil… There's something dry and less bready than we would have expected. With water: bowls and bowls of caraway and cumin. Shall we call it aquavity? Mouth (neat): anise bread, pine needles, varnish and paint, bitter herbs… And Dantziger Goldwasser. Do you know that dazzling liqueur? With water: once again this very herbal side that's very dominant. More anise bread – also anis bredala as we say here. This is almost Christmas. Finish: long. Caraway, aniseed, rye bread, four and chalk. Comments: I'm not sure I'm getting everything here, but it's a mighty dram for sure.
SGP:471 - 84 points.

Bimber 2017/2023 'Imperial Stout Beer Finish' (56.8%, OB, England, LMDW, cask #259, 257 bottles)

In a way, for whisky, which is essentially distilled beer, finishing in beer casks could make more sense than in wine casks, right? Not too sure about my theory though... Colour: pale gold. Nose: ah there we have it, tapioca and polenta, white chocolate, rice pudding, very smooth sake, marzipan, orange... It's really amusing and pretty. Especially since I'm not sure I've ever tasted an Imperial Stout. With water: a hint of gunpowder, it's then very yeasty (baker's yeast), followed by cocoa and rather heady flowers. For example, lilies (royal ones, ha). Mouth (neat): It's really very good, just a bit strong. The unexpected freshness makes you think you could sip it like a spritz, but not at all. With water: very surprising and very good. Lots of clementines, Suze, verbena from Velay, all of that works very well. Finish: the same. Comments: the only problem is that it doesn't bring back the dark beers I used to drink when I first went to Scotland over forty years ago (yeah). Mackeson Stout for example - I used to believe it was Scottish, ha, I'm just realising it wasn't as we speak. But this slightly mad Bimber makes for a rather fantastic achievement.
SGP:652 - 88 points.

English beer, they say…

Filey Bay 'Porter Cask' (50%, OB, Spirit Of Yorkshire Distillery, Special Release, England, 2000 bottles, 2024)

I'm sure I never, ever tried a Porter. They say they've been using Rip Curl beer. I thought Rip Curl were rather famous for their bikinis, no? But long live co-branding, I prefer Rip Curl to Bentley or Aston (when it comes to co-branding, we're not talking cars). Colour: pale gold. Nose: once again it's a little subdued, with cocoa, wheat bran, toasted cereals, then green banana and apple. It's pretty pleasant. With water: soft, with notes of brioche, biscuit. Vanilla and honey. Mouth (neat): it works very well on the palate, more so than on the nose, it's more expressive. White and yellow fruits, peanut butter, mirabelle plum liqueur... However, its youthful character is also evident. With water: simply don't add water, or if you do, just a tiny drop. Finish: medium, with hints of cake, chalk, cocoa. Comments: it's very well done. All that's left for me is to find some Rip Curl Porter, although I doubt we can get that in France. We tend to prefer surfing.
SGP:551 - 85 points.

Perhaps a little German…

St. Kilian 'Rich & Smoky' (46%, OB, Germany, peated, +/-2023)

They've used some Scottish peated malt (54ppm) and matured the distillate in 70% bourbon and 30% sherry. They're using Scottish pot stills too, no Müller or Holstein (we've got nothing against Müller or Holstein, naturally). Colour: pale gold. Nose: the malt may well have lost quite a few ppms in transit, but it is still a clean, Scottish-inspired, so coastal, apple-and-lime-driven malt, with lovely medicinal, mentholated touches and the expected oysters and langoustines. Behind that, apples and peaches. Mouth: it's more on 'sweet ashes', plums, lemon and mint cordial, chalk, paprika, saffron… It's a tad soft, I believe they may have wanted to bottle this at 50% instead. Just an idea. Notes of crayons. Finish: medium, brighter, with more ashy lime and peated apples. Something like that. Seawater, manzanilla and one olive in the aftertaste. Awesome finish. Comments: it is not Port Ellen but I really like it. I really believe a few extra-watts would do it much good.
SGP:656 - 83 points.

Good, someone tells me we've got room for a last one…

St. Kilian 2019/2022 'Signature Edition Eleven' (46.2. OB, Germany, 8340 bottles)

Matured in Jack Daniel's barrels (brokered by Keith Richards, I suppose). Colour: white wine. Nose: pure barley and ripe apples, plus touches of pastry dough, grist, a tiny touch of eucalyptus, sauna oil and some rather delicate peat smoke. This cannot be ex-54ppm peat, and the Jack behaved. Very nice. Mouth: simple barley eau-de-vie with some smoke and ashes. The thing is, we enjoy simple barley eau-de-vie with some smoke and ashes. As well as little plums, plasticine, salty mussels and grey pepper. Finish: rather long, very pleasant, with some crème de menthe and eucalyptus cordial, plus ashes and just ripe apples. Comments: the difficulty lies in the fact that one can't help but compare these young peated whiskies from the continent to the great whiskies of Islay. Therefore, we must try to remain 'neutral', acting as if one has never tasted peated whisky before (I know, it's really hard). In any case, I am very fond of this well-balanced St. Kilian.
SGP:555 - 85 points.