Puni Distillery was founded in 2010 in the Venosta Valley, the middle of the Italian Alps, by the Ebensperger family. Two years later, in 2012, it distilled its first whisky in two copper pot stills. That whisky had a mash bill made up of malted barley, malted rye and malted wheat. The Puni Alba was one of the first two whiskies made by the distillery, released in 2015 (the other being the Nova). Alba, of course, is one of the names Scotland was known by in the centuries leading up to England’s first major invasions (900-1286) by Edward I. It has since been adopted by English-speaking scholars to apply to a specific Scottish political period in the High Middle Ages. Alba is also the Italian word for dawn. Puni uses both of these references highlight both the dawning of a new era in Italian whisky and the fact that it was finished in casks previously containing scotch from Islay after maturing for a few years in ex-marsala casks from Sicily.
Distillery: Puni
Country: Italy
Age: NAS
Strength: 43%
Price: $66.23
Maturation: ex-marsala and ex-Islay scotch casks
Location: Glorenza
Nose: Smoke, lemon, cumin, fennel
Palate: Prune, smoke, spice, citrus
Finish: Fruit, ash
Comments: Batch 03. This bottle of the Alba is several years old already and currently discontinued. FYI, their website is also much improved since we first reviewed the Nova in 2020.
Adam – Points for creative bottle design, reminiscent of a copper pot still or something tossed out of a war trench. I’m still surprised at how Islay-smoky it is, something I was not expecting. There’s a bright citrus to the Puni Alba as well; I wouldn’t go far as to make any associations with Ardbeg but the nose at least might be a distant second cousin to the Uigeadail. I also get they are trying to help bolster a young whisky with multiple wood influences, which gives both pros and cons. It is casually drinkable but the youth shows on closer inspection. The citrus from the nose hits big on the palate along with some spice and char that transitions into a subtler fruit finish buttressed by ash, a curious mix from the Marsala and Islay influences. Thankfully neither of those elements is strong or stays around for very long and leaves rather cleanly. I can see some of the elements they’re trying to play with here and I am looking forward to exploring some of their other offerings in the future.
Kate – The Puni Alba smells like liquid smoke. Not smoke smoke. Once it settles down some Lemon Pledge comes out on the nose. I do not like this.
Henry – An interesting nose of fennel and herbaceous notes overlaid with Islay lemon oil and brine. A sour acridity on the palate, with notes of overripe fruit and dryer sheet perfume.
Ben – On the nose, I can see the smoke coming from a campfire. The Puni Alba has the smell of furniture that’s been both in the smoke and in the rain. There’s overripe fruit on the palate.
A sweaty, smoky sunrise.
Bill – It’s almost like they didn’t cut this right, so they decided to add a bunch of smoke and char to cover it. There’s a big sugar here, right next to a fire that’s just been put out with water. Acrid.
Mike – I get campfire on the nose. It’s been a Pun-y whisky, tainted by a Marsala cask.
Evelyn – It’s like I just licked an ash tray.
Sam – The Puni Alba is like an old shale roof, just after the rain, with a little bit of stuff growing on it. Like turnout gear at firefighter school. Smoke and sweat. A sweaty, smoky sunrise.
Kim – It’s like drinking liquid smoke. Very acrid and fake smoky. I’m left with the taste of an ashtray in my mouth. I’m sure there’s a redeeming quality to it, but I can’t find it.
