Advent Calendar 2: Peat Bomb 8 Year Old
Advent Calendar 2: Peat Bomb 8 Year Old
#Sample 2
I couldn't find much information about Peat Bomb 8 Year Old. According to the listing on Master of Malt it is from the Whisky Bombs brand. The blurb for this bottle is:
Do you love whiskies that pack a big ol' blast of smoky brilliance? Then Peat Bomb is a single malt that's well worth a look! This expression is an 8 year old single malt from an undisclosed distillery on the isle of Islay, and as the name suggests, it's mightily peaty indeed. Earthy smoke, bonfire embers, simmering spice – it's all there and more.
It is bottled at 40% ABV. I could not find out if it is chill filtered, or if it uses artificial colors.
#My review
Nose: Apple cider, light shellac,faint peat smoke, Brunswick stew.
Palate: peat, smoke, raw hardwood, heavily charred bbq meat, burnt sugar, toasted chestnut.
Finish: thin, watery finish of lingering mixture of wood smoke and charcoal smoke. A bit like you had a wooden spoon, set it on fire, let it burn a bit, blew it out, and then used it to eat some soup.
Notes: When I first opened the sample I was immediately hit with strong peat, which was no surprise at all. What was surprising is that after letting it rest the peat on the nose became very subdued. Even more surprising was how all of that immediately went out the window once I tasted it; the palate, at least, absolutely lives up to the name.
If you don’t mind the peat it’s quite an easy sipper. Presumably this is helped by the low ABV; while the lack of alcohol burn makes it easy to drink, it also leaves it thin and, imho, somewhat disappointing. All bark with no bite, if you will.
Although there were a few notes I found somewhat off-putting (the raw hardwood and burnt sugar on the palate weren’t great, and the lingering char on the finish was borderline unpleasant), it wasn’t a bad dram (assuming you enjoy peat). Aside from the nose (which promised a lot more than was actually delivered) it was a bit simple, though, and the thin, watery consistency really hurt my enjoyment.
Score: 6.6/10
This one sounds a little rough. I like peat, but I find I acclimate to it hard after first couple sips, so it's nice to have something else than just peat in there.
They can't all be winners, but overall the advent box you have looks great, pretty good selection of stuff in there. Wife got me the world whisky version a couple of years ago, and I had good time with that.
Yeah, I didn't love this one, but I didn't hate it either. The nose was the best part.
That's what I like about the advent calendar concept. I'm going to be trying a bunch of things i'd never pick on my own. If I find a handful of new drams that I enjoy I'll count it a resounding success!
Another good review. Where do you like to be with ABV? I’ve found right about 48-55 is a good spot for me.
I think it depends. I've had a couple at 43% that didn't seem too diluted, like Laphroaig 10 and Caol Ila 12. I probably would prefer them a bit stronger, but its not objectionable at that level. Macallen 12 year double cask felt a bit bland to me, and it may have been in part due to the 43% ABV.
I've only had a couple that were above 55%. Most of them I alternate between adding water and drinking neat, except for a MacDuff IB bottled at 64.5%(!) that's just too raw at that ABV.
Maybe I am a gluten for punishment, but some heavy hitters on my bar currently:
Elijah Craig BP A122 @ 60.43% B523 @ 62.1% Private Barrel @ 63.35%
Larceny BP @ 61.3%
Laph 10 CS @ 58.6%
WT RB @ 58.4% (WTRBrye @ 56.1%)
OF 1920 @ 57.5%
JD SB BP @ 64.85% this is good stuff. You drink it and go this is what Jack Daniel’s should taste like.
I am a big fan of Maker’s Mark CS proof at around mid 50’s.