Paul John Edited

I recently hosted a Paul John evening for some close friends. Given the consistently high performing Amrut, the other Indian single malt, hopes were quite high for this too.

I've tasted the Paul John Brilliance before and thought it was a decent dram. Though, mind you, I liked it a touch less when I had it the second time around at the tasting. I think maybe the oxidization had intensified the vanilla too much.

Anyway, enough on the Brilliance. Let's talk about the Peated Select. Given that we all (and by that I mean somewhat seasoned whisky drinkers) gravitate towards peat and cask strength spirits at some point in our journey there was understandable anticipation on what this bottle held.

Using the same base spirit as the other expressions the Peated Select includes spirit distilled from imported Scottish barley. It is also bottled at a reasonable cask strength of 55.5% (compared to the miserly 46% of the Brilliance and Edited - it's locally available expressions). My sample was from a brand new bottle.

Nose: Peat. Quite sweet. Nuts. Lots of vanilla. Peaches. Oak. Cinnamon. Melon. Musk. Smells quite full bodied. Chocolate. Cherries. Fruit basket. I really like this nose. It doesn't hold back. Captures, what I now feel is the distillery character, and layers an earthy peatiness on top. 23/25

Palate: Firing on all cylinders. Peat. Mango. Banana. Pineapple. Spices. Oak. Cinnamon. Chocolate. Licorice. Caramel. Quite full bodied. The spices spike and then mellow. The fruits remain consistent through out. It doesn't give up flavors that easily but that just means you have to spend some time with it. 23/25

Finish: Long. Garam masala. Oak. Peat. 23/25

Balance: 23/25

Strength: Perfectly bottled at 55.5% - I really feel this is a good strength to truly appreciate this spirit. 25/25

Variety: Coaxing flavors from this one is a bit taxing. I would have liked more. And believe me, I tried. 20/25

Quality: Smells and feels top draw. 24/25

Harmony: No off-notes and performs quite consistently over time. 22/25

I would buy another bottle. For sure.

Based on my scores I give this whisky 91.5 points

The Edited is a whole other animal, created with peated spirit (although only 15% of the composition and moreover coming from Scotland). It was bottled at 46% without chill filtration, just like the Brilliance. It matured on bourbon casks.

Sorry, but this one simply stinks. I get the smell of rotting wood and leaves, a forrest after a shower of sour rain. Underneath some malt, it is true, but slightly burned. Loads of earth and even coals. Then some chocolate kicks in, but I simply cannot find this nose pleasant.

On the palate, this continues, although some honey does make amends. But again the fruity hardly has any chance to get past the peat, which translates into a somewhat soury medicinal note. That does not have to be a bad thing per sé – au contraire – but it does not seem to work in this case. Mildly tannic. Nutmeg and ginger are the spices on duty.

The finish is the only part of this whisky that I really enjoy, because of its length, spiciness and mild smokiness.

Whisky guru Jim Murray gave this one a Liquid Gold Award and no less than 96.5 points in his Bible. It is not the first time that I could not disagree more with good ol’ Jim. Available for less than 50 EUR, but for me the weakest link in the series.