Bakery Hill Cask Strength Peated Malt

Nose: Oily, rich, mineral-tinged peat smoke. Dried apples and pears reconstituted in whisky and barbecued over coals. Root vegetables baked in a hāngi [earth oven]. An old greasy coal-fired traction engine. Oak casks and a concoction of herbs and spices (anise? arnica?) and balsamic pine-resins. Adding water releases lighter fruity notes, a definite hint of coconut, and melds the nose into a gentler and more musky/fruity personality. Palate: The entry is big, but not aggressive, and shows pine-tar, charcoal and oak tannin but there is no heat or astringency at all. The character is fundamentally sweet, fruity and malty and on each sip it takes a moment for the peat-smoke notes to appear. When they do they are lightly spiced and oily. There are black-tea and licorice notes in the later palate. The neat texture is oily and rich. With the addition of water luscious stewed fruit notes emerge and the texture becomes irresistibly creamy and velvety. Finish: Medium/long. Oily herbal/smoky flavours with a bouquet of baking spices. A gentle smoke-tinged resinous flavour is the lingering aftertaste. This whisky does not have a strongly peated profile and not surprisingly it is like the Bakery Hill 46% peated expression but with a more intense and defined character. The thing to realize is that although this is at cask-strength, it has a very gentle style. On first nosing, lovers of peated Scottish whisky may question if it is peated at all. The smokiness is unusual as it does not have any of the frequently encountered medicinal, maritime or bonfire notes. The smoke component is not at all bombastic but instead provides a concentration of subtle aromas and tastes. I actually thought the 46% expression had more noticeable smoke, and indeed if you add a few drops of water to this it does amplify the smoke a touch. This whisky made me imagine what I think an industrial or construction site would have smelled like in the 1800s - all oil, earth, wood and smoke. The closest Scottish single malt I can think of as a comparison is Ben Nevis. Like that distillate, this is fundamentally an earthy whisky with just a little smoke. At around 60% abv (batches vary) this is exceptionally approachable. You can quaff this neat like water and it is just soothing and warming. Supurb craftsmanship. If only it was not so ruinously expensive this would be a fixture in my collection. Together with the unpeated cask-strength expression, this is the shining star of Bakery Hill's range. Tasted from a 50ml distillery-filled miniature. "Very Good" : 85/100 (4 stars) --------------------------------- Addendum: This was the last of 5 distillery-bottled miniatures in a tasting set I bought recently. Until I had tasted these my experience with Bakery Hill was limited to the standard Classic Malt expression and a range of 6 experimental caskings I tasted at an event a while ago. I was not particularly impressed with what I had tried before and I was hoping that the samples of their core range would provide a better picture and maybe change my opinion, and that is what happened. In my opinion Bakery Hill is at its very best at cask strength, whether it is the Classic Malt or the Peated Malt. Their whisky is crafted to be easy to approach but that can result in an expression that seems a little too laid back at lower strength. At high abv the story is quite different with more concentrated aromas and flavours being displayed, but the alcohol presence is still very easy and gentle. If you can find either of the Cask Strength expressions for a reasonable price I would recommend a taste.

The final dram of the lot and my 2nd favorite. As mentioned in my review of the Sovereign version of their whiskey their typical style of peated whiskey is the lighter peated profile. Almost reminds me of Highland Park in a way (the peat profile) which is why I liked this range. The last dram of the flight of several was an excellent end to the tasting. I really enjoyed sitting back and chatting to David. He even invited my two kids in and chatted away to them and let them have a look round the distillery. Top bloke! Anyhow this is similar to the std 46% peat dialled up a notch. As David mentioned you get almost a 'snap crackle pop' bursts of flavour on your tongue which a few drops of water evened out. All in all I'm impressed by the craftsmanship. The lighter style of whiskey is not my preference but David won me round. He waited for several years before releasing any whiskey and his patience, chemical /food science background and attention to detail really shine through in the whiskey. I'm looking forward to trying the tasting pack I bought with friends back in NZ.

Ok - so some redemption here. Wasn't a fan of the standard Peated Malt, but at a higher % alcohol some inroads have been made. Much more potent bite on the nose - much more smoked/campfire. Palate is slightly more oily with a confusion of flavours - hint of spice and smoke. A more drawn out finish than the standard. Reminds me more of an Irish Peat like Connemara.