Penderyn 8 Year (SMWS 128.16 "The Magic Faraday Tree")

 The second of two Penderyn bottles just released by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), an offering I couldn't resist, being (a) partly Welsh myself, and (b) a lover of the two Penderyn bottles I've had so far. 

Here are the official notes on this one:

An instantaneous torrent of pure fruit juices! Straight away the panel detected mangos, guava, watermelon, pineapple and banana puree. Exotic and deeply concentrated with further notes of blackcurrant, cola cubes and baked apples. Water brought a sudden and impressively clear rummy note, along with sticky toffee pudding, date molasses and bubblegum. The palate was like un-diluted diluting juice! Extremely thick, syrupy and concentrated. Plum jam, confit melon, pineapple juice, elderflower cordial, gooseberry fool and blowtorched mango. Water brought more impressions of various fruit jams and preserves. Also marshmallows, nettles, bramble leaf and overripe cherries and plums. 

Whoa! Torrent of fruit juice! Rummy notes! It sounds intense. Aged 8 years in a first-fill wine barrique, Shaved/toasted/re-charred, bottled at 61.4% ABV, let's get Welsh:

Nose: One of those occasions when the official notes are right on the money. Tons of fruit juice - pineapple, waxy guava (LOTS of guava), and unripe banana are the biggest ones. I've never had such a strong guava note in a whisky before. Also lots of wood here - fresh cut and also old and polished. 

Then: coca-cola notes (the danker ones - roots and herbs). An earthy, almost smoky note - the usual "funky" quality I detect in Penderyn - like earth/loam where vegetables are grown. Tomato or grape vines - the actual stems. 

Mouthfeel: Despite what the official notes say, I find this having a strictly medium body, albeit rather oily. 

Palate: This *really* diverges from the nose - and betrays, significantly, the STR cask. Smoke, wood shavings, sawdust... tomato juice ("V8"), flower (petal and stem both), earth, root, bark, and fruit skin - the bitter part of the fruit. Sweet tropical fruit (banana flambee and guava juice), followed by marshmallows and herbs. Cherry... and cherry pits. Cherry cola. 

Finish: Last forever! I get smoke, toasted wood/marshmallow, blueberries and blackberries, and a root- or bark-derived bitterness like you get with an amaro. An absolutely succulent, delicious finish. 

Verdict: Completely different than the other bottle. This is complex, offbeat, and kind of strange, but I really like it. Full of unusual angles. A real win for me - highly recommended. Amazing that an 8 year whisky can taste this complicated. What a cask this must have been!