Puni is one of the most interesting producers of Italian whisky. The Ebenspergers have not only built an architectonic jewel in the wonderful landscape of the Venosta Valley, in South Tyrol, but they have also repurposed some dreadful historical bunkers of the Second World War as much more pleasing whisky cellars. Puni uses only Italian raw ingredients for their spirits and two tradition Scottish pot stills for distilling them. Their whisky is unfiltered and without color additives. Even the bottle is the product of an exclusive design: an unmistakable and really successful shape.
The Aura is a 2019 limited edition of 393 bottles. It’s a single malt aged for two and half years in ex-bourbon casks and four further years in ex-Islay casks (whose origin is not declared). Bottled at cask strength of 56,2% ABV.
- ABV: 56,2%
- Casks: ex-Bourbon/ex-Islay
- Age: 6,5 years
- No. of Bottles: 393
- Price: €50 – €100
- Availability: low
TASTING NOTES PUNI AURA LIMITED EDITION 1
Naso
powerful and alcoholic with plenty of peated notes over a sweet background of honey, nuts, and caramelized red apples. Great character.
Palato
it starts with sweet suggestions of honey, butter, English biscuit, dry and candied fruit, but soon an overcharged peat rocks our palate with lots of ashy and medicinal phenols. Salty and mineral.
Finale
good persistence. There’s some cereal youth, but also plenty of hot and peppery spices in the finish. Also, more red apples, some leather and tobacco, and tons of peat in closing with a smoky salty sweetness.
Puni adds to its range a very interesting new bottle, alas in a limited edition. The Aura is a young powerful whisky with a quite elegant and surprising profile for its age. Despite not being made with peated malt, the maturation in ex-Islay casks gave it a profile that reminds of other peat bombs like the Octomores and the recent Kilkerran Heavily Peated, but it also boasts a unique italian character. Try to get a bottle before they run out of it!
RATING: 88