ELEGANTLY POTENT
Are you into punchy aromas of wetsuits, bonfire ashes, vintage car engines and lemon yoghurt? If so, Cask No. 16.101: A tour of the Mad Hatter's hipflask might be the whisky for you. This Bold & Peaty offering comes from a Highland distillery that recently decided to stop producing peated whiskies altogether. However limited in quantity, this is a big whisky that is made for those who adore the kinds of flavours that involve getting your hands dirty!
Tasting Notes
The neat nose presented a medley of the elegant and the potent. Chamomile tea vied for supremacy with bacon jam and flaming hay bales – quite the aromatic spectacle, we thought. We also got wetsuits, bonfire ashes, vintage car engines and lemon yoghurt. With water it revealed roast beef, toasted almonds, freshly surfaced roads and pork scratchings. The palate was full of sweet peat smoke, brisket burnt ends, coal scuttle vibes and pickled brambles. Reduction enhanced the texture and elevated the spicier notes. We found tabasco pepper sauce, petrol, strong menthol lozenges, molten roof pitch and iodine-soaked hessian. We agreed it was a doolally whisky! At the time of tasting, this whisky was a whopping 66.1% ABV. We brought it down to 57.1% (100 British proof) for greater balance, while ensuring that we retained the wonderful high impact flavours. This was matured in an American oak ex-oloroso butt for eight years before being transferred to a second fill Spanish oak ex-oloroso butt.