60°
Distillery : Caol Ila - Islay
Sherry Butt
Independent Bottling
By Asta Morris
Limited Edition
Single Cask
Bottled in 2020
Peated around 38 ppm
Asta Morris is a company founded in 2009 in Belgium by Bert Bruyneel. A
hundred bottlings were carried out over time, before the company
diversified into Rums, Gin and Armagnac. Here we have a young Caol Ila
aged in a Sherry cask and sold in 524 copies. It's a Single Cask, but we don't know if it's reduced or cold filtered,
it's a shame anyway.
Let's Taste It :
A rather fruity first nose, on yellow plum, plantain banana, and even a
little guava, then the smoke rises, fine ash which
could fill an ashtray, finally it gains momentum, pear crumble, cooked
cherries, a drop of fuel oil. Dusty iodine in the background. Discreet
woodiness. Cocoa powder. In the mouth, the fruits stand out, on a layer of
vanilla, and the robust spices, cumin, pepper, cardamom. At the end
nutmeg dominates with small hints of chocolate. Tingling finish, long, on
berries, humus, heather, bark, chestnut puree. As an after-glass,
molasses and caramel.
In Short,
I consulted Ruben's notes, and he rated it relatively low,
because he thinks it doesn't smell enough of Sherry. Which is true, but
for me it is a quality. In the other Sherry-aged Caol Ilas that I have
tasted, the distillate loses some of its markers in the process. Here it
is not the case, we have a nice balance between iodine, smoke and the Sherry fruits. In addition, the alcohol is really well integrated
despite a dizzying rate. The final is really successful on this point.
Finally, the quality-price ratio was really nice when it came out. I
say "was", because now that it is sold out, it has become less
interesting.
Score : 89
To Be Listened While Sipping :
Soley - I'll Drown
No comments:
Post a Comment