66.238 Blackbeard’s booty

Description

It’s been a minute since we’ve seen a Distillery 66 bottling at this age, and I would dare say that this was worth the wait. The three years of further maturation in a refill Trinidad rum barrel has delivered a perfect integration of tropical notes and typical 66 smoke: banana ice cream and pina colada on the beach with the saltwater blowing past in the breeze thanks to that pirate ship creating choppy waves off the coast. A bit of dry smoke (ash and honey-glazed smoke) which showcases the distinct qualities that Highland peat holds compared to a mossy, boggy peat. Bacon charred to a crispy quality next to a leaking engine. An absolute steal at $199 and perfect for sharing amongst friends.

Oooh-aaargh – Captain Blackbeard’s cheroot-slavered, rum-soaked whiskers shook as canons fired from the ship’s deck – quick, fetch the apothecary! Battle over – time for barbecued prawns on the beach. The palate gave us sugar-coated fennel seeds, jellied liquorice, banana fritters, cough sweets and “drinking piña colada from a farmer’s welly boot” – only distant memories of gunpowder. The reduced nose had engine oil, putty, vanilla fudge and “wiping up spilled rum with a chamois cloth”. The eminently quaffable palate now combined garibaldis and brown sugar with sweet smoke, tar and ash. After eight years in ex-bourbon wood we transferred this into a refill Trinidad rum barrel.