An Irish Distillery 1990 The Fishes of Samoa 31 yo

 

 

 

52,9°

Distillery Officially Unknown - Ireland

Bourbon Barrel 

Independent Bottling 

By Archives 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2021

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

Created in 2011, Archives, the dutch trading company, have released several single Malts from Ireland without ever revealing the name of the distillery they come from. But we can make our own investigations. In 1990, only 2 Irish distilleries made Single Malt: Cooley and Bushmills. In 2012, Cooley was sold to the Japanese Beam Suntory group. Its former owner, John Teeling, was no longer allowed to use the name of the distillery, but he still owned all the old casks, the oldest of which dated back to 1987. He could therefore have sold some of them to the gentlemen of Archives after 2012, without them being able to use the Cooley name. That's why I think it's Cooley, and the distillate doesn't really look like Bushmills, but of course I could be wrong. In any case, this is a 31-year-old aged in a single Bourbon cask, from which only 141 bottles were released. It is part of The Fishes of Samoa range, and as with all the others in the same range, the label features a fish from this archipelago, in this case an Acarauna Major Pinnis Cornutis, designed by Mark Catesby.

Let's Taste It : 

Vanilla and mango, a few other tropical fruits, banana, papaya, pineapple, a hint of lemon, cereals in the background, bursts of honey, floral and gourmet notes, flan, custard. It's slightly iodised, evanescent, a breath of fresh air, coconut. On the palate, candied corn, crème brûlée, exotic fruit festival, sweets, buttered bread, cut hay, delicate woodiness. The spices are barely perceptible, but give a fine breadth. Fairly long finish, slightl liquorice, fried butter, lots of vanilla and white fruits, honey, heart of palm. A delicate bitter note at the end.

 

In Short, 

An excellent bottling, delivering a full palette of tropical fruits. But that's not all: there are also costal, buttery and even cereal notes. In short, a real festival, with perfectly integrated alcohol and magnificent balance. Another great success from Archives. It's all the more sad that this little marvel is no longer available anywhere, and in any case the release price was far too high for me.

Score : 90

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Caro Emerald - A Night Like This