Paul John Unpeated Single Cask #1444 59.7% abv

This is the second of the single cask bottles I purchased after being wowed by this brand, with there commitment to producing top quality single malts.

It is an unpeated and as with the other single cask it is non chill filtered with no added colouring, matured for around 6 years before being bottled at cask strength.

What more could you ask for from a distillery in a limited release and these are very limited, with there only being about 180-210 bottles per cask due to the extremely high evaporation rate (angles share) during maturation.

Like the previous bottle it comes in a nice presentation box, looking classic but contemporary at the same time.

Nose: First thing I noticed is how rich the fruit is, ripe bananas, morello cherries, plums, a subtle citrus note can be detected with time, with the fruit is a complementing sweetness, vanilla & molasses sugar, a very soft spice with some almond notes and barley coming through towards the end..

Palate: how big is that spice explosion, it’s warm and sweet, there’s some stem ginger to give a little kick, then as the spice settles you get some dark chocolate and a hint of lime, the oak appears towards the end, you just don’t want it to end..

Finish: This is long with the stem ginger and oak giving way to that warm sweet spice again..

Another great experience just as I’ve come to expect from Paul John, there commitment to quality can not be faulted. I must say I was surprised by how different the nose was to the palate this time, being a little more subdued in the exotic spices etc.on the nose, only to be hit by some of the biggest spice explosions on the palate so far from Paul John. I’m also impressed with how they have managed to pick the perfect moment to bottle were the high alcohol percentage adds another dimension to the palate, not over powering the whole experience which I’ve had from some malts.

All in all I must congratulate Paul John for producing some of the best malts I’ve tasted this year, for a distillery that is still only a infant in most people’s eyes. They have produce a remarkable malt and kept the quality up since they first launched. In my eyes they have brought an almost perfect package to the market, amazing quality and at a price that is hard to believe once you’ve tried them.

Sláinte..