Kornog 6yo PX Butt (Whisky Exchange Exclusive)

Kornog 6y PX Butt (Whisky Exchange Exclusive)

Official bottling 
Single malt - Brittany
Straw
60.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peanuts, white spirit, autumn leaves, petrichor, peat, oak chips, hints of yoghurt. With water, peanuts, tyre rubber, petrichor, lemon zest. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, astringent, mouth coating, warm. 
Tasting:  Bitter sour. White spirit, autumn leaves, petrichor, sultanas, lemon zest, hints of smoked bacon. With water, cream, petrichor, yoghurt, hints of tyre rubber. 
Finish: Medium. Peanuts, germolene, autumn leaves, lemon zest, petrichor. 

Comments: 

Well, it must be a refill PX butt. Lots of smoky creamy lactic notes, not much of the raisins or red fruits that one might reasonably expect. Good level of complexity, nicely stripped back dram.

Verdict:

I like this.

Kornog 13yo 2007 Sauternes Cask

Kornog 13yo 2007 Sauternes Cask 

Animal Spirits
Single malt - Brittany
Mahogany
57% ABV
Dram

Nose: Leather, peat, vanilla, orange peel, smoke, cinder toffee, tyre rubber. With water, raisins, candied oranges, vanilla, butterscotch. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, loosens, astringent, warm. 
Tasting:  Salty sweet. Peat, smoke, peanuts, leather, hibiscus, orange peel, cinder toffee, rubber bands, wet stones. With water, rubber bands, raisins, candied oranges, peanuts. 
Finish: Long. Peanuts, wet stones, rubber bands, smoke. 

Comments: 

Cask 937. Sweet wine cask on peated distillate can be hit or miss. This one is sort of a hit, I guess - lots of sweet floral notes that float on top of robust peat. I can’t tell whether the sulphur is from the wine cask or from the distillate. From a Singaporean bottler that’s new to me. 

Verdict:

I like this.

Glann ar Mor Single Malt

Glann ar Mor Single Malt

Official bottling 
Single malt - Brittany
Pale gold
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemon zest, passionfruit, leather, grapefruit, malted grains, papayas, hints of fresh cut grass. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, tingly, cool, loosens slightly. 
Tasting:  Sour. Grapefruit, papayas, lemon zest, malted grains, jasmine, leather, milk chocolate, vanilla sponge. 
Finish: Short. Malted grains, leather, milk chocolate, fresh cut grass, hints of passionfruit. 

Comments: 

Quite a lactic dram, but it’s not sickly, like it often is. Instead it’s almost herbal, and the milk undertone somehow morphs into a milk chocolate note that is really rather good. Very pleasant stuff.

Verdict:

I like this.

Kornog Peated Single Malt

Kornog Peated Single Malt

Official bottling 
Single malt - Brittany 
Pale straw
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Pineapples, leather, peat, preserved lemons, candied oranges, sea salt, hints of green papayas. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, syrupy, tingly, cool. 
Tasting:  Salty sweet. Sea salt, leather, candied oranges, smoke, peat, preserved lemons, hints of germolene, hints of malted grains. 
Finish: Medium. Preserved lemons, pineapples, leather, peat, hints of sea salt, hints of green papayas. 

Comments: 

Saline and savoury, with gentle but assertive peat, this French whisky also has some citrus and mouth puckering notes. Unusually good as an aperitif with some ice - and I don’t say this often about whisky. 

Verdict:

I like this.

Kornog 15yo 2005/2020

Kornog 15yo 2005/2020

WhiskySponge, Decadent Drinks
Single malt - Brittany
Orange gold 
50.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Leather, green olives, sea salt, pears, peat, tobacco leaf, hints of asparagus. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, astringent, mouth coating, warm. 
Tasting:  Salty sweet. Green olives, pears, white grapes, magic marker, peat, hints of sultanas. 
Finish: Long. Green olives, sea salt, white grapes, lemon zest, leather. 

Comments: 

My first whisky from Whisky Sponge. Those bottles generally retail at a premium, but this one was for charity, and I managed to snag a sample. It’s very savoury, the normal fruit from these whiskies is hidden under a layer of savoury, briny flavours. It’s not so coastal like the Scottish malts are, instead it’s herbal, with a fair bit of umami. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Kornog 5vet Deiz Ha Bloaz

Kornog 5vet Deiz Ha Bloaz

Official bottling
Single malt - Brittany
Pale green
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peat, smoke, orange peel, lemon zest, strawberries, prunes. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, oily, tingly. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Prunes, plums, strawberries, marmalade, peat, smoke. 
Finish: Short. Peat, marmalade, plums, hints of soy sauce. 

Comments: 

This distillery shuts next month, August 2015, due to EU denomination of origin laws that will require a change to production methods. What an absolute shame. This whisky was bottled to celebrate the distillery's 5th anniversary, it won't see it's 16th. The whisky is fragrant and fruity, but wreathed in smoke and peat. There's a savoury edge. Pretty good stuff.

Verdict:

I like this.

Kornog Taouarc'h Trived 10 BC

Kornog Taouarc'h Trived 10 BC

Official bottling
Single malt - Brittany
Straw
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peat, smoke, grapefruit, olive oil, orange juice, pears, hints of lemon zest.
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens slightly, syrupy, slippery .
Tasting: Bitter salty. Pear, smoke, grapefruit, olive oil, lemon zest, sea salt, hints of peanuts.
Finish: Long. Peat, ginseng, pears, hints of sea salt.

Comments:

Doesn't matter where a whisky comes from (the French can make good whisky, for sure), all that matters is how it tastes. This one is really quite peaty, with swathes of smoke and bitter peat overlaying some salty, slightly fruity, tart spirit. It's good stuff, but might have benefited from aging a little more. I think it's between 5 and 10 years old, closer to 5. Nice salty tang though, great touch.

Verdict:

I like this.

Kornog Taouarc'h Kentan 13 BC

Kornog Taouarc'h Kentan 13 BC

Official bottling
Single malt - Brittany
Golden
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peat, smoke, orange juice, salt caramel, grapefruits, black pepper, hints of vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, turns watery.
Tasting: Bitter. Peat, smoke, orange juice, salt caramel, grapefruit, vanilla, bitter gourd.
Finish: Short. Peat, black pepper, bitter gourd, grapefruit.

Comments:

Whisky... from France! Well, Bretons are Celtic too. Anyway, this is a salty, tart, smoky, peaty concoction, with lots of fragrant bitterness. Bitterness is a flavour too, not something to be avoided. This whisky is well layered and very enjoyable.

Verdict:

I like this.