My first and only visit to Bruges in Belgium happened over ten years ago and lasted just a few days. Nevertheless, the city’s claimed its place in my heart forever! So when I learned much later that Bruges had its own whisky distillery – a father and son operation going by the name of Brugse Whisky Co. – I made my move straight away. The bottle I ordered comes from Dutch indie company The Barrel Baron, whom I first got to know via the amazing Cley single cask they released three years back in 2021. Continuing that course, this here whisky comes from yet another minute craft distillery, albeit not one based in Rotterdam but in Bruges. Its most distinguishing feature, I would say, is the fact that it was matured in a special cask that I had never before encountered in the whisky world: Naranja (i.e., orange licqueur). This has given the spirit a one-of-a-kind fruitiness with – surprise, surprise! – lotsa orange fruit notes … and much more! If that sounds intriguing to you, there is but one hurdle: as is often the case with The Barrel Baron’s limited editions, this particular bottle sold out on pre-orders already; as did their next joint bottling with Brugse Whisky Co. which will soon see the light of day in the form of an independently bottled Belgian single malt whisky drawn from a Moscatel Cask. But worry not: Cause on the one hand the Brugse Whisky Co. also has its own bottlings available. And on the other hand I’m sure that their successful collaboration with The Barrel Baron will span across more than just two sought-after releases. So keep your eyes open and be quick the next time!

by Tobi

---

Eye: The liquid in the bottle is shiny brown. It harmonizes wonderfully with orange label on the front.
Nose: As soon as I take a sniff, a thick n’ gooey sweetness rises from the glass and floats into my nostrils. Sponge cake, vanilla pudding, and marzipan are the first aromas I recognize. Then, jellied fruits follow after (mostly oranges and tangerines, but also apples, peaches, and dark grapes). Everything’s covered by a crunchy blanket of caramelized brown sugar and sprinkled with a pinch of spice. The latter, however, only becomes apparent after a few minutes of breathing.
Palate: At 58.6 per cent ABV and 4 years young, this Naranja cask-matured powerhouse certainly packs a lot of punch and muscle. In regard to its character, the sweet and salivating whisky has a licqueur-esque fruitiness, an advocaat-ish creaminess, and a perfume-y touch, too. I taste jaffa cake, orange sticks, gummi bears, raisin bread, grape peel, burnt almonds, brandied peer, and caramel sauce … topped off with clove and juniper. Despite the heftiness it possesses, the drop also has a certain elegance to it.
Finish: Towards the end, the dram buckles up and then fades nicely with orange, grape, lemon, and cowberry. While the well-pronounced fruit notes are the finish’s most striking quality, they’re not the only part in the mix. Further in the back, there’s also biscuit, toffee, honey, cream … and sugared latte macchiato!

---

---

Type: Single Malt Whisky
Region: Belgium
Age: 4 years
Alc. volume: 58.4 per cent
Cask type: Naranja cask
# of bottles: 160
Bottle size: 0.5 litres
Price range: ~85.00 Euro
More info: https://www.brugsewhisky.be/ (Distillery) ; https://barrelbaron.nl/ (Bottler)

*** I bought the bottle as a regular customer from The Barrel Baron. ***