Origin: Speyside (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 54.5%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Bourbon barrel
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: Whisky Facile
Average price: € 260.00
Official website: Whisky Facile
As their Copperworks hits the market, we’re delighted to catch up with one of the most tantalising bottlings in the recent past from Whisky Facile, now not just a blogger, whisky influencer and the crush of a few teenage girls in Milan, but an IB for all intents and purposes.
It’s spelled Aldunie and reads Kininvie. Or rather, Kininvie with a teaspoon of Balvenie, which belongs to the same group as Glenfiddich. This single cask is a former Bourbon barrel, filled in 1997 and bottled before it was 26 years old, at 54.5%ABV in 171 bottles still available.
Whisky Facile has already offered a 25yo in its Space Whisky Odyssey: a Ben Nevis ex-Bourbon that was memorable, to say the least. Let’s see if we’re on the same level.
Tasting Notes
The colour is gold.
The nostrils are immediately caressed by a fleeting impression of aniseed, supplanted by a fruity ensemble of yellow apple and peach and a creamy side whose contours are clearly defined by custard. A balsamic touch traceable to liquorice and one of wood traceable… to wood (genius!) are taken over by spicy notes of pepper and nutmeg. The dry biscuits we did not eat at breakfast and we find them here, stable throughout the course of the olfactory analysis, together with a vanilla whose effluvium grows in intensity minute by minute. The peach in syrup reminds us that sweetness is everything.
On the palate, it is a suave symphony, perfectly tuned in terms of taste harmony, between hints of fruit (apricot and peach in particular) and cream (custard, vanilla and zabaglione). A reminder of granny smith apple degreases and refreshes, while orange peel introduces citrus sensations that add, if possible, a quid of pleasure. Jasmine broadens the fan to a possible floral dimension, while peach in syrup holds high the flag of glucose.
The medium-long finish sings a song with stanzas of vanilla, custard and peach in syrup with a refrain of pepper. And off to karaoke (and whisky) again.
As tasty as desire and as delicious as that Christmas dinner which, even on Boxing Day, sadly seems like a distant memory, this Aldunie is a whisky you would never want to stop drinking. Congratulations to those who distilled it, but especially to those who, after a long and, we imagine, agonising wait, managed to bottle it at its peak.
Vote: 90/100