Maison Benjamin Kuentz Uisce de Profundis 3 yo

 

 

 

40°

Distillery Officially Unknown - France

Bourbon Casks

Independent Bottling 

By Maison Benjamin Kuentz

Limited Edition 

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2021

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

It was back in 2020 that the crafty Benjamin Kuentz revealed his plans for a whisky aged under the sea. At the time, it wasn't necessarily an idiotic attempt, as barrels had been lowered under the sea in collaboration with Amphoris, a slightly mad company, and La Prohibition, a whisky bar in the heart of Paris. The next Batch, which dates from 2021, is already less interesting, because it wasn't casks but bottles that were plunged under the sea, 20 metres deep in the waters off the island of Ouessant in Brittany. It was this Batch that I tasted. Of the 800 bottles that were immersed, only 318 came out worthy of drinking. The whisky is 3 years old, which is very young, and was aged in simple Bourbon casks. It was immersed in the sea for one year, which seems a long time to me. The distillery involved is secret, but according to an auction website, it is Grallet-Dupic, a distillery in Lorraine that produces the Rozelieures brand. It doesn't say whether the whisky has been chill-filtered, coloured or not, or whether there's an ounce of peat inside. I think it's a product marketed for people who don't know anything about whisky, and so would never ask. On Whiskybase, it says that this product is Cask Strength and Single Cask, but I don't believe it. Cask strength whiskies that are 40° are at least 30 years old, and they are never exactly 40°.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

The nose is fairly sweet, delicious vanilla, shortbread pastry, some yellow fruits, plums, pears, bananas. But there's also a lot of unrefined Guerande sea salt, coarse salt, foam, sea spray, sea breeze, it's intense. Guano and limestone, mud and shellfish. On the palate, it's disappointing, you get the impression of drinking seawater, there's a hint of vanilla, but that's all, salt is all that's left, but with a slight bitterness, seaweed, sea urchins, light spices. The finish is very short, falling apart quickly, quite rocky, quartz, pebbles, sandstone, the bitterness is a little stronger, it feels like having gravel in your mouth.

 

In Short, 

Out of respect for my readers, and out of respect for Whisky, I have to be honest. The nose seemed fine to me, you could really feel the Bourbon influence, and what's more there was a nice salty character. As soon as it hit the palate, however, it was a disaster, the aromas collapsing and leaving only alcoholic seawater. The finish is very short and bitter. Moreover, I was shocked to learn of the price of this very mediocre product, not even on a par with a Talisker Skye. This is an astronomical price, at which you can buy 25-year-old single casks from excellent distilleries. Don't buy a 3 year old at that price, I'm sorry but it's a rip-off, pure and simple. It's all the more outrageous given that Benjamin Kuentz has launched an online fundraising campaign to finance a new batch of this mixture. If he's getting funding, why are the bottles so expensive? I'm curious to know what his margin is.  

Score : 77 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping : 

 

                                           Soldat Louis - Du Rhum des femmes

Maison Benjamin Kuentz La Prohibition Histoire de fût Edition 1

 

 

 

54,6°

Distillery Officially Unknown - France

Sweet Sauternes Wine Finish from Rousset Peyraguey in France

Independent Bottling 

By Maison Benjamin Kuentz

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2023

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Almost Unpeated

 

 

 

The Maison Benjamin Kuentz has been around for ten years or so, the idea is to defend French whisky by offering bottlings from exclusively French distilleries. The downside is that the origin of the juice is often kept secret, as it is here, but fortunately some well-informed people were able to tell me that it comes from the Bercloux distillery, located in the Cognac region and which has been making whisky since 2002. It's a slightly reduced single cask, aged around 7 years, and the cask used to finish it is a barrel of sweet Sauternes wine from the Rousset Peyraguey estate. The wine has been matured under veil to bring out all its flavours. I don't know any further details about the maturation process, but this is a very rare bottling, of which there are very few left. The name of the bottling is La Prohibition, in honour of a whisky bar in Paris that I recommend.

Let's Taste It : 

Quite mineral on the nose, with white fruits such as lychee or plum, yellow apples, notes of limestone, gypsum, light iodine breadth, ethereal vanilla, a zest of lemon. Young wood, various cereals, oats, wheat, barley, dried sultanas. On the palate, the influence of the wine barrel is significant, thick wax, margarine, fermented fruits, bananas and mirabelle plums, pumpkin, relatively discreet spices. Well-tempered finish, shortbread biscuits, mountain honey, slight woody bitterness, a few grains of salt, pork rind.

In Short, 

It's not bad, but it's still a French whisky, with a few flaws. I found it rather fatty and waxy, and the wine wasn't perfectly integrated. Otherwise, the nose is pleasant, the alcohol is not too noticeable, and it's pleasant to drink. I have no idea what the asking price was, but in any case, it's impossible to find a bottle today, even at La Prohibition.

Score : 85

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

                                           Brunelle - Je Pars