Whisky : Paul John Peated Select (Batch 1; Oct. 2013)

Country/Region : India

ABV : 55.5%

Cask : Ex-Bourbon (?)

Tasting : Neat in a Glencairn @ Home

Nose : Rich tea and tobacco leaf waft out of the glass.  There is an herbal bay leaf note and a bit of dried parchment paper.  In the background are sweet spices: cloves, coriander, and white pepper. 

Palate : The mouthfeel is oily and coats the tongue.  A mild tobacco smoke leads the way, at turns its salty and sweet.  A dry meaty leather and a faint mineral copper hit towards the back of the palate.  There are sweeter hints of vanilla and dried orange peel.

Finish : Excellent length as oily spice hangs on the tongue.

Score : 6

Mental Image : Pipe smoke on the front porch, old fashioned in hand.

Something Better : Amrut Peated Single Malt (similar orange, more citrus, more brine less tobacco) 

Something Similar : Westward American Single Malt (similar tobacco/spice, less meat/smoke)

Something Worse : Paul John Bold (not as rich, similar smoke, hints of tobacco)

Notes : Beautiful rich tobacco smoke and sweet orange give this dram its lovely profile.  The oily and viscous mouthfeel ensure that the flavor notes slide across the palate smoothly, coating every surface of the tongue.  I know this sort of thick feeling whisky is not for everyone— chill-filtering is sometimes employed to neutralized such viscosity— but I absolutely love it.  This whisky is thick and chewy, the sort of heavy dram perfect against the cold or the rain.

I ended up with this bottle while I was searching for a heavily peated Amrut.  I did not find what I was looking for— and wondered how this other Indian distillery might be.  I was vaguely familiar with Paul John as the number two exporter of Indian Single Malt, but I was unfamiliar with the quality or the flavors.  I definitely lucked out with this bottle, even after trying more of the Paul John range, this remains perhaps my absolute favorite.

When Paul John began appearing in a few local specialty shops, I immediately picked up a back up bottle of the Peated Select.  You can never tell how long a distributor or a shop is going to carry any one particular brand, so I made sure that I could freely share with friends.