Whisky: Penderyn 8 Year (2013), SMWS 128.16 “The Magic Faraday Tree”

Country/Region: Wales

ABV: 61.4%

Cask: First Fill STR Barrique

Age: 8 Years (Distilled 31 March 2013)

Nose: Fruity candies, subtle tobacco, tinned tropical stone fruits, slightly metallic, fruit cocktail.

Palate: Full-bodied, syrupy, big tinned tropical stone fruits, coconut, peppery and spirited, lacquered wood, tobacco, cotton candy.

Finish: Medium to long, slightly drying with woody tannins, syrupy tropical fruits, and a spirited peppery prickle.

Score: 7 (84)

Mental Image: Family-sized Halo-halo Bowl

Narrative & Notes: The aroma presented a sugary grab bag of candied delights— fruit punch, strawberry banana, and White Rabbit candies with subtle tobacco in the background. Tinned lychee in syrup mixed with canned peaches to produce a slightly metallic but syrupy sweet fruit cocktail and moving in the direction of a great big bowl of halo-halo, a Filipino dessert best enjoyed in a giant shareable bowl. Full-bodied with massive tropical fruit candies and desserts; with lychee, jackfruit, coconut, and peaches, it was back to the halo-halo bowl for seconds. A touch peppery and youthful, perhaps overly so at times, with lacquered wood, cotton candy, and tobacco hanging in the background and coming on stronger for the finish. The finish was medium to long with syrupy tropical fruits, drying wood tannins, and peppery spirited prickle.

Youthful and vigorous, if this was not so prickly and peppery, it would have been, in the words of a good friend, an absolute banger. Instead, it was just lovely and even better on the rocks.  It took quite a bit of water to tame the young malt, too much perhaps, because calming the spirited prickle muted some of the absolutely fantastic tropical fruits. It mimicked some of what I loved about my favorite Penderyn, SMWS 128.8, but never quite reached the same heights.

Overall, immensely tropical and fruity, but untamed.