Whisky : Flóki Sheep Dung Smoked Reserve

Country/Region : Iceland

ABV : 47%

Cask : Virgin Oak

Nose : Sweat, old gym clothes, salampas patches, and wet dog— there are loads of interesting weird notes on the nose.  Beech wood, fresh leather, and hawthorns are more normal, but new plastic, shrink wrap, cleaning solvent, and bandaids make for an odd combination.

Palate :  On the one hand, lovely notes of kumquat, dried persimmons, and salted turnips, are fairly tasty.  On the hand hand, carrot juice, prunes, burnt hair, and Ikea are less strictly appetizing.  The vegetable sweetness on this is almost a bit overpowering and does not play nicely with hints of hot plastic.

Finish : Medium to short hawthorns and dried fruits.

Score : 1 (but if we add the fun factor, 9)

Mental Image : Microwaved carrot in plastic wrap.

Something Better : Caol Ila 6 Year SMWS 53.276 (similar wet dog, more maritime/medicinal)

Something Better : Eigashima 5 Year Cask Strength (similar carrots, more cake/frosting) 

Notes : We did this bottle as a special treat at the end of a tasting one evening— it was, to say nonetheless, divisive.  I found it to be gag worthy— the notes of plastic and carrots were just too much for me to handle— it was as if someone melted a plastic kitchen utensil into the pot in which they were sautéing a mirepoix.  However, others thought it was actually not bad, maybe it was even a little bit nice with the woody-leather-ammonia scent of a long stroll through Ikea.  A few pinned the Flóki as the distilled spirit of Chinatown; the wonderful melange human, animal, and plant odors, dried fruits, industrial cleaning supplies, and stewed vegetables.  I cannot say it struck me with quite the same nostalgia or sudden craving for dim sum brunch, dan tat, or late night noodles.

This was beautifully weird and the perfect dram for someone who thinks they have had everything.  So even though I really disliked it, and would never purposefully pour some to relax with, I know I will drink this again (we did not finish the bottle).  This is not a bottle you buy because you want something amazing, though it may be the best sheep dung smoked single malt out there, it is a bottle you buy because it is fun, it is strange, and while you might just enjoy it— I can guarantee you will enjoy sharing it with others.

Finally, I think it is absolutely worth highlights the attention to terroir inside of the Flóki.  This product is distilled from Icelandic barley, malted with local sheep dung, distilled in Iceland with Icelandic water— and it is even a single cask product (so your experience may vary— maybe you’ll get a better cask).  It is very much a local project, though I hope Iceland doesn’t taste like this, I will be curious to see what else comes out of the distillery.