South Shore 2008 Valinch & Mallet The Peat(y)ful Pack Madness 13 yo

 

 

 

52,9°

Distillery : Lagavulin - Islay 

Ex-Boubon Cask and Rum Caroni Finish

Independent Bottling 

By Valinch & Mallet Limited

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2021

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 38 ppm

 

 

 

In this new range called The Peat(y)ful Pack Madness which was released in January 2022, this South Shore is in fact a Lagavulin, no need to keep the suspense any longer. The particularity is that, after having staid for more than 8 years in a classic Bourbon barrel, it followed a second maturation in a Caroni Rum cask for nearly 5 years. Caroni is a rum distillery located in Trinidad and Tobago closed in 2003, and since its closure it has been the object of a cult to such an extent that we will soon be able to compare it to Brora or Port Ellen. Therefore, the 292 bottles produced were quickly sold out. The label is illustrated by the artist Laura Paperina, it is a universe both surreal and from the comics of our childhood.

 

 

 

Let'sTasteIt : 

Very sweet on the nose, so much so that it's amazing with Lagavulin's peat and character. The peat is smoky, boggy and stony, but it's also smooth and as if tamed by the Rum. A few fish sneak through the mire. Seafood. Nice sugary fullness, cane sugar, reeds, candied rhubarb. Some white fruits, plums, grapes, banana. Very suave and silky on the palate. Rose Loukoum. Fruits take flight, lemon, papaya, maracuja. Spices not too invasive, cumin, nutmeg, grey pepper. Thick peat. Long, beautiful finish, well crafted, with earth and gravel, charcoal, limestone, Greengages. Liquid honey. Scallops.

 

In Short, 

I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive about trying it, as the rum-whisky combination rarely works for me. But here, it's perfectly executed, it's a very fine piece of work. The peat is softened, and the fruits are increased tenfold. It's not too sweet, that's fine. On the other hand, the price hurts, but who cares, since it's already sold out everywhere. They should have sold it for even more, in fact.

Score : 89

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                          Of Monsters and Men - Lakehouse