If I were in charge, inaugural releases would always consist of refill bourbon so that the distillery character gets as much spotlight as it can. Simply to show what you’re about and not hide anything behind the influence of previous cask contents.

Of course, this might be a terrible thing if regarded from a marketing perspective, because quite a few distilleries are pretty shit when it comes to three year old whisky. Especially, and this makes it an even worse decision, the small distilleries that are trying to take a grassroots, old fashioned approach to whisky-making. Maybe it’s a good thing I’m not in charge of much…

I got wind of the Bruges Whisky Company through WhiskyCenter.com, from which I got a few samples of things they’re importing a while ago. Apart from that, I met the people behind the company at the Dutch Whisky Festival in 2022. We got to try some cask samples that were insanely peppery and, to be fully honest, not that good. It was with some apprehension that I tried this one.

Sniff:
Going in with low expectations, as said, seems to not have been necessary. The nose is surprisingly gentle for a whisky at over 60% alcohol. There’s something on the nose that I can’t pinpoint but do like. Like hibiscus, red citrus, myrtle (Cap Corse?) or something like that. I guess this must be the utterly mental combination of casks.

Sip:
Youthful and rye-like, with quite a punch. It takes some time for your palate to start sending distress signals, but they do come. So the gentleness of the nose seems to be a deception. Barley, rye, white pepper, some other rye spiciness like myrtle.

Swallow:
The finish is very dry, but very flavorful too. Very much like the nose, with Cap Corse and orange. Not overly intense in the long run and still on the rye side of things, even though it’s not.

As said, going in expecting this review to never appear on the blog, anything good is something of a happy accident. In this case it actually is! Not up to a level that I’m running to the store immediately, but I’m still quite thrilled with this! I think the maple syrup cask made sure that there’s some sweetness, but the combination leads to that orang-y spicy combination of flavors and scents that I quite enjoy!

Fun stuff!

85/100