Yeun Elez 2018 Edition exclusive 4 yo

 

 

 

53,1°

Distillery : Warenghem - France

Ex-Armorik STR Cask 

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2023

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Peated around 50 ppm

 

 

 

The Warenghem distillery in Brittany is more than a hundred years old, and has been producing Whisky under the Armorik brand for about fifteen years. In 2020, it's new, these gentlemen are experimenting peated Whisky, with the Yeun Elez brand. Barley is imported from Scotland, as peat bogs are protected in France. Subsequently, two limited editions came out. This is the second one, resulting from a maturation of 4 years and 3 months in a single STR cask, that means Shaved, Toasted & Recharred. The result gave 234 bottles. It is not mentioned whether the bottling is cask strength.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Very oaky and smoky, soft and dark wood. Black fruits, forest berries, heather, quite thick peat but it does not seem so strong. Gingerbread, marzipan. A bit vinous too, tannins, rich earth, blackberries. On the palate, a bit light, very spicy, cloves, cumin, nutmeg, cardamom. It's rough, splinters, biscuits, cereals in the background. Ripe wheat. Short final, nevertheless pleasant, chocolate, a small explosion and then nothing. Black grape. Prune. 

 

In Short, 

The cask leaves little room for the distillate. It's intensely woody, a bit chocolatey and forestry. I'm not thrilled at all because the wood is quite invasive, it makes you think of virgin casks, which I'm not a fan of. The peat is quite dry, more from the Highlands. It's not very complex and the price is far too high in my opinion. OK, it's a Single Cask, but very young and with a very cask-driven maturation that prevents any subtlety. If you make a Single Cask, you try to do something sensitive, original, rare. Here, it's coarse.

Score : 85 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

                                           Les Wampas - Manu Chao