Origin: England
Type: English Single Malt Whisky
Gradation: 58.5%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Blackadder International Ltd
Average price: € 100.00
Official website: www.blackadder.nu
Vote: 91/100
PERSONAL NOTE: as you may have guessed, this day marks the blog’s first anniversary.
Around August 2019 I joined Rosencrantz and Il Bevitore Squattrinato on this adventure, and by the first of February this year we were already celebrating our 100th review with a collective tasting of Blackadder’s The English 5yo (preceded by our first exclusive interview with Blackadder’s own Hannah Tucek).
When I think about what has happened since February I get the shivers, but what matters is that we have almost quadrupled the number of articles and our beloved founder has become known as one of the funniest and most interesting whisky tasters on the Italian web (and beyond) [Ok, ok, I’ll raise your allowance – Rosencrantz].
In addition to the many unabashed reviews, there are also news, translations, interviews with producers, distributors, bottlers and leaders in the world of Italian whisky. In short, from being a small pastime among friends, this blog has become a daily read for a few thousand enthusiasts. We could not be happier than this!
Since we chose a Blackadder for our 100th article, for this anniversary I thought I’d go back to their warehouse to fish out another dram out of the usual canon. And indeed, I think I succeeded.
This tasting comes from the May 2018 EMB 6 cask, which produced 620 bottles belonging to the Peat Reek Embers Special Reserve series. All that is known about the spirit is that it is 8 years old, went into ex-Bourbon casks, finished in ex-Sherry casks and comes from Islay.
As you will see, all the seething soul of the beloved little island in the Atlantic Ocean can be perceived in this dram.
Tasting notes
Canary yellow in the glass, bright and clear despite the old-school approach.
As soon as you put it in the Glencairn after opening the sample, the alcohol is proud, penetrating, and brings with it a very powerful and burning smell that really reminds one of the burning embers of the peat fumes mentioned in the name. So goudron, boiling asphalt, smoked meat. With a great deal of patience and attention, the alcoholic power manages to thin out and a profile rich in spices (mace, aniseed, liquorice, charcoal) and sherried scents appears, but without any liquor-like heaviness. The peat also becomes more ethereal, oceanic, and herbaceous, even balsamic, scents appear, which then turn to earth, smoked wood and liquorice root.
In the mouth it’s oily, layered but not heavy. Layers of leather and peat alternate with buttery biscuits and scones sprinkled with nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. When the alcoholic power subsides, it develops a briny finish with citrus, tobacco, leather again, salt flower chocolate and various increasingly light and delicate peat nuances.
The finish, in perfect countertendency, is very graceful, clean, and invites you to repeat the tasting rollercoaster, but you have to go slow because the alcohol throw punches!
A discreet bomb, to be drunk very slowly and patiently.
This Blackadder is a great little miracle of art and passion, chiselled with patience and love without any technological help or secondary correction. It embodies the spirit of Islay to perfection, roaring when it must and cuddling when it can.
Cheers to Blackadder, to Islay and to our little blog!
Reviews of Blackadder whisky in the blog:
Blackadder The English 5yo