Secret Spirits Advent Calendar Day 25 – December 25th

1980 “The Samaroli” 33 y.o. (Samaroli)

Cask #34 Blended Malt Bourbon Cask

43% abv

Score:  92/100

A whisky from the Secret Spirits Advent Calendar First Edition.

And this, my friends, is where we part ways.  If you’ve been dramming your way alongside with your own advent calendar you’ll likely have some idea of what I mean when I say that I’m actually a little sad not to have a new bottle to open tomorrow.  That’s ok.  It’s been a fun ride.  I think we’ll finish off this series with a bit of a recap and an overall score for the calendar.  Watch for that in the next couple days.  In the meantime…let’s check out our final dram from behind door number 25.  A little something special for Christmas day.

This is a 33 year old blended malt called “The Samaroli”.  Blended malt meaning, of course, that this is a blend composed of only single malts, no grains in the mix to water down the character.  As I’m writing this (Christmas eve, 2014) I have no idea what casks have gone into this particular expression.  You may recall that Samaroli has another nifty blended malt called Evolution that we looked at a while back.  That whisky was built from some pretty spectacular casks from days gone by.  Seeing as Samaroli have declared 33 years to be the youngest cask in this vatting, I can only imagine that this one also contains some stunners from eons ago.

Either way…this is a beautiful whisky.  Rich and seductive.  A perfect conclusion to a wonderful journey.  Well done, Secret Spirits.

Nose:  Oh wow…fantastic nose.  Good nougat with fruit.  Dunnage.  Orange.  Some cherry and toffee.  Chewing gum, fruit candies and the sweetest melange of spices.  Lots of fruits, but more fruit salad than overtly tropical.  A lovely soft almond note.  Did I mention fruits?

Palate:  Sweet, syrupy fruits and a touch of licorice.  Orange and citrus pith.  Slight waxy with a nutty background.  Oak and grain are clear and clean as individual notes.  Surprisingly mouthcoating for a rather anemic 43% abv.  Dries out into a paper-like note.

Thoughts:  Reminds of a lovely old Bruichladdich I’ve tried.  Slightly better nose than palate (especially at the back end), but overall a very special whisky.  The nose here is probably the best in the calendar.

Bonus:  My mate, Jonathan, and I are gonna blog on these drams side by side through the season.  Here’s a link to his notes on the same whisky at SingleMalting.com.

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt