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| Original photo provided by Tim Grant and used with permission. |
What is it?
Distillery: Paul John
Name: Peated Select Cask
Make: Indian Single Malt Whisky
Extra Info: The Paul John distillery is situated in Goa, on the west coast of India. This is my last review of the standard Paul John range which consists of the expressions: Brilliance, Classic Select Cask, Edited, Bold and the subject of this review, Paul John Peated Select Cask.
Why did I buy it?
I didn't. This is a review of a sample bottle kindly provided by Paul John. I usually only review full-size bottles since I can take my time and drink as much as I need to finalise my impressions. That is more difficult to do with a sample bottle, but I have done my best.
What did I think of it?
Presentation: Paul John whisky has an unusually uniform design language across their entire range. In fact, it can be difficult to distinguish between expressions from a distance, since the label differences are very subtle and the colour of the whisky look very similar. Bottled at 55.5% ABV.
Appearance: All the whisky in the Paul John range looks the same golden hue to me, but Paul John proudly claim their whisky contains no artificial colouring and are non-chill filtered. I can only assume that some form of distillery wizardry must take place to achieve such a consistent colour across the range.
Aroma: A beautiful combination of sweet fruits, caramel and faint smoke; less smokey than you would expect an expression with 'Peated' in the name to be.
Flavour: Powerfully spicy, not for the faint hearted. Beneath a strong cooling menthol hides a sweetness that reveals itself if you hold off swallowing. Chocolate coated liquorice, black coffee and woodchip smoke.
Finish: A long lasting smoky slap on the tongue.
Would I buy it again?
Yes, Paul John Peated Select Cask is a great single malt but it may scare off drinkers not used to a particularly lively cask strength whisky. It has a pleasant nose, a dramatic flavour, a nice long smokey finish. I would pick a bottle of this up for myself or recommend it to a sceptical peat whisky fan. So which Paul John expression is my favourite?
My pick would have to be the Classic Select Cask, it is a little more balanced than the Peated Select Cask but both higher alcohol expressions from Paul John are excellent. A special thanks to Paul John Whisky for providing the samples for these reviews.
My pick would have to be the Classic Select Cask, it is a little more balanced than the Peated Select Cask but both higher alcohol expressions from Paul John are excellent. A special thanks to Paul John Whisky for providing the samples for these reviews.
Disclaimer: I do not claim to have the nose and palate of a Master Sommelier, however, I am working to train my senses to better identify whisky aromas and flavours. Consider all my whisky 'Impressions' to be a work in progress and I hope to come back to each of them in the future to see if I notice anything different. Most importantly, I'm not just throwing around random aromas, flavours and adjectives for the hell of it; I am trying really hard to critically describe each whisky I taste - WhiskyDad.
