Paul John Christmas Edition 2020

Local stores have a limited selection of Indian Whiskies. Most of what they have had has been Paul John, so I've had the Nirvana, which for an 80 Proof $26 whisky holds its own. Neither great nor bad, and it's certainly something I'd drink if offered, but it's not something I'm likely to buy again. Then, they had a Select Cask, the Christmas 2019 and the Christmas 2020, all of which I kept an eye on. I was kicking around the idea of purchasing a Christmas bottle for the holiday even back in September, but $85 seemed like a lot for a brand I wasn't all that familiar with. Cut to November, they all went on clearance for 50% off, so I bought all of them. I opened the Select Cask first and was impressed enough that I started looking forward to this. The problem with the select was a lack of balance, and that problem doesn't recur with the Christmas 2020 edition. I was actually planning to open this last night when we were hosting Christmas Eve. My dad was going to be here for the Eagles game anyway, and my brother-in-law was supposed to come as well, and if you follow my reviews, you'll recognize these are my two primary drinking buddies. But then my brother-in-law and his wife came down with COVID and my dad offered to pick my sister up to bring her here and drive her home, so he wasn't drinking, and my plan to pop this bottle went awry, so I actually opened it last Sunday instead. But I'm tasting it again tonight because my wife got me some fancy new Peugeot tasting glasses, theses ones with the dome in the middle and the metal base to put in the freezer to chill the whisky without having to add ice, and I wanted to test them out, so here we are. Sitting around, quite full still from dinner last night, watching Limitless on Disney Plus with Chris Helmsworth, and swirling Paul John Christmas 2020 in my glass. The nose is lovely and rather unique. It's a mixture of candied tropical fruits and a slight hit of peat. My wife made these candied oranges over the past week, and there's a mix of citrus in there along with a little bit of clove and cinnamon that certainly makes me wonder if they specifically created it to feel like something one would drink on Christmas or if I think that because the word Christmas is printed on the side of the bottle. The palate itself goes heavy on those same spices with the clove being prominent and combining with the citrus to give it a mulled wine sort of feel that's quite lovely on the tongue and carries through to a nice spiced finish. Overall, I'm happy to have this and might consider purchasing next years, even at SRP. Having nabbed this for $42.50 feels like a great deal, and I'm certainly happier with this than I was with the Paul John Select Cask. The 2019 remains unopened in my collection and might end up being next year's Christmas Eve/Day dram if I can't get my hands on the 2022. The 2021 Christmas Edition appeared briefly, but there were only 6 bottles in a store near me and it wasn't a priority, nor do I feel too bad about missing it. It's certainly not a whisky to go out of your way to come by, but if it's in front of you and you're looking for something for the holiday occasion, I'd certainly say, "Go for it."

Toffee, cherry, peat, smokey.

Toffee, baking spices, malt, berries, fruit cake, toasted nuts, figs, light and soft, medium length finish with light spices and fruit. Thanks to @ContemplativeFox for the sample.

Nose grapefruit, something floral, and light peat. The nose reminds me a bit of Springbank 15. On the palate citrus fruit, vanilla, light peat. I'd like to spend more time with this one, although I don't believe I've ever seen this release around here. Thank you @ContemplativeFox for opportunity to try this one!

Rating: 16/23 I've heard good things about this release. I've been wanting to try a Paul John release since I've been generally pretty happy with other Southeast Asian whiskies (i.e. Amrut and Kavalan), but most of the Paul Johns aren't rated that highly.Also, this gave me an excuse to open a new bottle on Christmas. N: Kind of light. But there is some stuff going on. I get lots of vanilla. But then there's an interesting tartness. It isn't so much citric as it is kind of waxy and grainy. What's weird is that the grain is more like rye than malted barley. Some malty sweetness builds in another layer, leading into a smokiness that is suddenly everywhere. It's a dry smoke with faint peat herbaceousness. It certainly isn't barbecue smoke. It also isn't terribly strong. Faint meatiness is here from the young distillate as well, unfortunately. P: The flavor is still light. It has malt, vanilla, fruits (tangerine, lemon pith, tart cherry), mild spice, some toastiness, and a layer of peat smoke haphazardly smeared across it. It's like it's trying to be Amrut Fusion, but it isn't as full, balanced, or complex. The raw distillate isn't entirely covered up, so there's a little alcohol meatiness coming through (it's faint and not too bad though) and just a general watery character. It also borders on harsh at times. OK, I am starting to realize that there is a substantial layer of dry peat to this, which does make it less watery. Still, it's not exactly full of flavor. F: Not a very strong profile. The smoke is there with the malt and fruitiness. A faint chocolate flavor. A touch of spice here and there. That tart flavor that is the most unique thing about this is gone. - Conclusion - This is certainly a good whisky, but it tastes young, even for Southeast Asia. The alcohol is biting without having the fullness, viscosity, and richness it needs to make that acceptable. The flavor is actually fairly light and lacking in particular personality. It does have a fair amount going on, but it's sort of like the generic forms of several styles were mixed together. This is no Cadenhead's Tullibardine 25 (19/23). It is better than Buffalo Trace (I think a 13/23 or something thereabouts). This is pretty competitive with Russell's Reserve 10 (15-16/23). There's just enough of a sort of cleanness to the flavor here that I'm pushing it into the 16 bucket. With all of the excitement and scandal about whiskey bottles being emptied and refilled with inferior product, my experience with this does make me wonder briefly (not actually, but) whether my bottle is a fake. It is by no means bad, mind you, but I feel like the hype is high for this one and I really don't get anything close to the decadence I read about in other tastings.

N: Toffee, vanilla-banana pudding, some tropical fruit, hint of smoke. Mango, caramel, baking spice. Stewed stone fruit, cinnamon candy. Sweet pipe smoke that's like a lovely swirl of caramel and tobacco. P: Caramel, slightly sour tropical fruit, rich and sweet stone fruit, fresh red berries and cherry, vanilla, swirl of that tobacco smoke from the nose. Hot mid-palate with cinnamon and baking spice sitting on top of roasted pears. Finish ups the heat with cayenne at the edges of the tongue, but also soft, ripe pear, lychee, and a touch of bitter wood. Picked this up on a whim on Christmas Eve after having seen a favorable comment or two. I can't think of anything I would change about this whisky and have thoroughly enjoyed it through the holidays. It's just a lovely pour each time. Seriously thinking about grabbing another bottle to carry through the rest of the winter. _________ A few regular Distiller reviewers are chatting in real time on a new unofficial Distiller Community Discord server. Please join the conversation: https://discord.gg/fzhzwHHX. (Link is good for 7 days - please comment if it's expired when you try it.)

You really can’t go wrong with any edition in this series and while this isn’t the best of the bunch it’s the one I have to hand. Ginger and orange on the nose, orange rind and crackling clove spices on the palate - it’s as Christmas as Mariah Carey roasting on an open fire. “Baby it’s Cold Outside” would have been over within a verse if the singer’s response to “My mother will start to worry” had been “Have some Paul John and curry.” Why yes, I will have just another drink. Merry Christmas Distiller gang!