Glenburgie 2011 The Fishes of Samoa 12 yo

 

 

 

59,8°

Distillery : Glenburgie - Speyside

1st Fill Bourbon Barrel

Independent Bottling 

By Archives 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2024

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

The Fishes of Samoa collection launched by Archives, a Dutch bottler founded by the same people who launched Whiskybase, has a really good reputation. Personally, I have never been disappointed. Here we have a relatively young Glenburgie, aged in a first-fill bourbon barrel for 12 years, 7 months and 17 days. 223 bottles are available for sale, with a very attractive alcohol content. 

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Immediately, yellow fruits, thick honey, mellow touches, mirabelle and greengage plums, straws, earthy notes, pencil lead, mineral notes, limestone, chalk, lemon slices, peppermint, wood wax, ripe apricots, waste oil. On the palate, crème brûlée, egg custard, crisp green apples, liquorice sticks, beeswax, light woodiness, candied peaches, all sprinkled with cinnamon, pepper and cloves, mashed banana. Beautiful finish, powerful and long, punchy, bread dough, marzipan, ginger, blood oranges, slivered almonds, reeds. Vanilla and mint.  

 

In Short, 

A very good Glenburgie, a little fruit bomb, and as it is young, with some more original, vegetal, metallic and mineral notes. This makes for a Glenburgie full of character, but where the fruit is by no means neglected. My only slight reservation is that I would have liked to taste it with six or seven more years of ageing. But the advantage is that it is very inexpensive, and there are even a few bottles still available, so now is the time to grab a bargain. 

Score : 89

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping : 

 

                                           La Fonda - Kaleidoscope

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

Bruichladdich 2002 The Fishes of Samoa 16 yo

 

 

 

60,9°

Distillery : Bruichladdich - Islay 

1st Fill Sherry Hogshead

Independent Bottling 

By Archives 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2019

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

Founded by Whiskybase.com in 2011, when they opened their shop, Archives has produced half a dozen bottlings displaying the Bruichladdich brand. This one is the second oldest, yet it appears to have undergone exactly the same maturation as its elder, in a first-fill Sherry cask. I suspect a Pedro Ximénez cask. It is part of The Fishes of Samoa range, which features a different fish from this archipelago on each label. 230 bottles were produced and sold out very quickly.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Very dense, deep sherry, dark, black earth, rich and wet. Pungent red fruits, gooseberry and blackcurrant, wine lees, hot chestnuts, charcoal, thorny wood. Water gives it a lovely breadth, bringing out the cereals and a touch of iodine. A forest in autumn, on a humid day. Mushrooms, moss and soggy leaves. On the palate, it's much fruitier, syrupy, liquorous. Crushed fruits, blueberries, blackberries, morello cherries. Intense, vinous spices, paprika, cardamom, cumin. Very long, intense finish, burnt caramel, heather earth, black tea. The fruits are now cooked. Tart. A hint of fuel oil. Very slight bitterness from the wood at the end.

 

In Short, 

Like its big sister distilled in 2001, this is an outstanding bottling. The Sherry is very deep and expressive. The distillery hallmarks are very discreet, but add depth to the whole. It's magnificent. Of course, I'd love to say that this little thing can be found very easily in any liquor store at a low price, but that's not the case. In fact, it's best to forget about it.

Score : 91

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                       To Be Listened While Sipping :

                                       Villagers of Ioaninna City - Father Sun

Bunnahabhain 1987 The Fishes of Samoa 25 yo

 

 

 

50,2°

Distillery : Bunnahabhain - Islay

Dark Sherry Cask

Independent Bottling 

By Archives 

Limited Edition

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2013

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Almost Unpeated

 

 

 

It was the Dutch website Whiskybase.com that launched the Archives range in 2011, when they opened their shop in Rotterdam. Since then, its success and reputation have never been denied. With over one hundred and twenty different bottlings, The Fishes of Samoa range features a different fish design from the archipelago on each label. Here, a Bunnahabhain aged for almost 26 years in a Dark Sherry cask. Only 233 bottles were produced. By the way, I'd love someone to explain to me what Dark Sherry is.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Very round, very tasty sherry. Raspberry, pumpkin and a hint of iodine. Icing sugar. Blueberries, gooseberries. Grenadine. Ripe damsons. Hazelnuts, peanuts, cashew nuts. With a pinch of salt. By adding water, the sherry becomes deeper, spicier, earthier. Freshly waxed leather. Blackcurrant jelly, raisin pudding. A wisp of smoke. A splash of lemon water. A mouthful of blackberries, choking on them. Wine lees, heather earth. At the end it becomes leafy, laurel I'd say. Then it moves towards fermented fruits. On the palate, the wood stands out, a damp, spongy wood, with spices and vinous notes, muscat grapes and strawberries. Dark chocolate, hazelnut coffee. Very smooth, but long, persistent finish, bursting with red, even exotic fruits, cranberries, kumquat, prickly pear. Blood orange. Tannins. Dates on the tip of the tongue.

 

In Short, 

I may sound over-enthusiastic, but I loved it. I find that old Bunnahabhain has a profile that marries beautifully with very rich sherry. Another magnificent success from the Archives range, and a good reason to be up to your neck in debt, since this expression has obviously been sold out for a long time, and prices on the secondary market are prohibitive.

Score : 92

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

   

                                          Camel - Lunar Sea

Bruichladdich 2001 The Fishes of Samoa 18 yo

 

 

 

56,3°

Distillery : Bruichladdich - Islay

1st Fill Sherry Hogshead

Independent Bottling 

By Archives 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2019

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Totally Unpeated 

 

 

 

It was the Dutch website Whiskybase.com that launched the Archives range in 2011, when they opened their shop in Rotterdam. Since then, its success and reputation have never been denied. With over a hundred different bottlings, The Fishes of Samoa range features each time a different design of a fish from the archipelago on its label. This limited edition of Bruichladdich is the oldest from this distillery offered by Archives, with only 249 bottles produced.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Woody sherry, red fruits and honeysuckle. Cherry, gooseberry, damsons and vinous hints. At the same time, a gentle iodine breeze. Raspberry, blackberry, cranberry. This sherry is really something. Tannins, blood orange. A whiff of ether, a medicinal and salty note. Pomegranate syrup. Moist rock, some cereals and honey. Floral fragrances, daisy, hyacinth. After a long moment, the balance is struck between the very tasty sherry and this mineral, salty, medicinal iodine character. On the palate, a delight of blackcurrant juice, syrupy at first, then drying out, black radish, candied ginger. The spices rise, pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, bay leaf. Cocoa, earth, Cahors wine. A touch of bitterness. Quite a long finish, once again heavy with ripe and heady fruits. Pumpkin, butternut, dried mango. I'm very impressed. Nuts at the end.

 

In Short, 

It's really very, very good. You can hardly recognise the distillery, but the influence of the sherry gives a magnificent result. Unfortunately, this bottling has been sold out for a long time, and the few still available are prohibitively expensive.

Score : 91

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                            To Be Listened While Sipping : 

                                            Eagles - Hotel California