Review #2: Samaroli 2008
We were introduced to Samaroli as the Italian house that makes the rums-to-collect by bartenders at the San Francisco rum/tiki institution Smuggler’s Cove. Once we discovered their scotches, we were sold. Their bottles generally run in limited editions of just a few hundred each, and their peated scotches and rums easily rank as my top favorites.
In this review, I taste their 2008 first edition (2015) made to commemorate the year when the proprietor Silvano Samaroli turned over the reins to his successor Antonio Bleve.
Samaroli 2008 Whisky Review
- Score - 8/108/10
Overall
Tasting Notes
This is a complex whisky that transforms during a tasting. It’s very hard to place a distinct flavor, and the ethereal taste seems to meld into different flavors while you sip. The first note for me is always a soft smoke but it turns toasted marshmallow-y and a bit like strawberry balsamic.
Sometimes, I taste dark chocolate. The end tends back toward smoke, with a pop of peat and ginger. The mouthfeel is light and delicate – not meaty and muscular, so be warned if you’re looking for a heavy-hitter.
Overview
Complex and changes flavors, with a smoky overtone throughout. Unfortunately very difficult to procure.
Quick overview of our scoring system
Additional Information
- ABV: 43%
- Just one of 600 bottles.
- 7 year old whisky, speyside.
About Samaroli
- Established in 1968, Samaroli is the first non-Scottish and non-English independent Scotch whisky bottler
- One of the early pioneers of bottling cask strength whiskies in the 1980s and also one of the first to embrace no age statements transparently
- Samaroli is known for their Laphroaig bottlings, including one that went for 60,000 British pounds in a recent auction
- Silvano Samaroli recently passed away in 2017. Although he had given over management to Bleve, he was still heavily involved in the blending until his passing, thus catapulting many pre-2017 to collector’s items.