Carpathian Madeira | Whisky Lady

Getting “tips” from fellow whisky aficionados is part of any Whisky Show experience. Over lunch, you share a table, exchange a few impressions about highlights and lowlights. One such tip was to check out the whiskies from Romania.

The Whisky Show introduced Carpathian whiskies as follows:

The launch of a single malt whisky matured in Romanian wine casks is a world first. Alexandrion Group, with award-winning wines from Dealu Mare, uses its own barrels to age whisky, an exclusive collaboration blending Romania’s rich wine heritage with premium whisky craftsmanship.

Unlike the wee stalls in the Nordics Zone, this was a full-sized booth, ready to welcome many visitors. It was a popular stop, clearly attracting the curious or people who were tipped off like us!

As our guide poured, he shared the approach to their expressions is direct – only single malts, all are matured in ex-bourbon barrels for 4 – 5 years, then finished for a year or so in different casks. Each cask brings variances, even if matured similarly, hence every bottle includes the year, cask number, etc.

What did we explore?

Carpathian Cognac Finish (2023) No of Casks 19 40% Bottle 1040 of 9809

From their Romanian Wine Collection, we tried:

Carpathian Fetească Neagră Finish (2024) Cask No 6409 46% Bottle 58 of 460

From their Spanish & Portuguese Wine Cask Collection, we sampled:

Carpathian Portuguese PX Finish (2024) Cask 4684 46% Bottle 333 of 482
Carpathian Portuguese Madeira Finish (2023) Cask 5363 46% Bottle 225 of 421

Plus one of their Peated expressions:

Carpathian Bourbon Peated (2024) Cask No 2973 46% Bottle 230 of 321

Everything except the Romanian Wine Cask Finish was listed at GBP 49.95 in the 2025 Whisky Show price list.

Carpathian Cognac Finish (2023) No of Casks 19 40% Bottle 1040 of 9809

Whilst we only had a brief sniff and swish, we found it rather agreeable. An easy-drinking dram with apples, honey, bright and uncomplicated. Overall, we thought it was a good introduction to their whisky range.

I couldn’t find more details on their website, beyond the fact that they have recently won an award for this expression! However, they link to the Iconic Drinks online shop, which shared the following tasting notes, roughly translated by Google from Romanian to English:

Nose – Intense, with notes of apple, banana and pineapple
Taste – Vanilla, honey
Fishin – Sweet, round and complex

Looking back on our experience, these notes more or less align with our impression. Except I would describe it more as approachable than complex.

Carpathian Fetească Neagră Finish (2024) Cask No 6409 46% Bottle 58 of 460

We then moved on to a Romanian Wine finish expression. This piqued my curiosity as I’m unfamiliar with Fetească Neagră aka “Black Maiden” wine, which is from a black grape grown in Romania. It nearly fell out of production during the Soviet period; however is known to be resistant to both cold and drought, producing dry, demi-dry or sweet wines with deep red colour, blackcurrant on the palate.

So what impact did this Fetească Neagră cask finish have on the whisky?

It was subtle on the nose, a warm red wine hint, light pepper, and sweet. On the palate, the wine influence was subtle, overall fruity, sweet, and enjoyable, with the gentle honeyed sweetness carrying through on the finish. Nice!

Their official tasting notes shared:

Nose – Intense, with hints of black pepper, cloves and candies.
Taste – Medium body, vanilla, raisins, bananas and pineapple.
Finish – Sweet, rich and complex

I found it more nuanced than intense, and didn’t find the “rich and complex” finish, though the sweetness was certainly present!

Carpathian Portuguese PX Finish (2024) Cask 4684 46% Bottle 333 of 482

Based on our conversation, this expression spent 5 years in an ex-Bourbon barrel before finishing for 2-3 years in a Portuguese Pedro Ximenes cask. On their website, it seems related expressions spent a shorter time in an ex-Bourbon barrel, only 3 years, before being finished in a Portuguese PX cask. Such variation is to be expected with their approach! So.. on to our impression…

The first whiff greeted us with wood varnish, very wood-forward, spicy, and intense. Our initial sip was more restrained than anticipated, a subtle merging of wood, dark fruits, and vanilla ice cream. The finish was dry and a bit spicy. It was an interesting mix of youthful vibrancy and hints of more mature dimensions.

Their official tasting notes shared:

Nose – Intense, with tobacco and woody notes.
Taste – Vanilla, figs.
Finish – Sweet, round and complex.

Though the previous expressions were also described in the official tasting notes as “intense”, this would be the first time I found it too! Though I didn’t note tobacco and figs specifically, these are certainly in keeping with our impression.

Carpathian Peated (2024) Cask No 2973 46% Bottle 230 of 321

I asked about the peat – was it imported from Scotland, local or…? Turns out they use Belgian barley for this expression and Scottish peat.

In our glasses, we found light peat and sugary sweet on the nose, sweet spices on the palate, joined by a gentle peat, closing with a nice smoky cinnamon on the finish. It was the style of peat I prefer – less intense and more approachable than some peat power-packed, ashy expressions.

What more do we know? Not so much. Whilst I found different Peated expressions on their website – a 40% and a cask strength expression, not this specific ABV!

In their online spirits shop, there was a description for the Peated 46% in Romanian, with tasting notes roughly as:

Nose – Delicate and sweet, with notes of vanilla, caramel and candy.
Taste – Notes of peat and chili pepper.
Finish – Long, intense, persistently smoky.

I would agree that it is indeed more delicate; however, based on our short sniff and swish, I wouldn’t describe the finish as intense or persistently smoky!

Carpathian Madeira Finish (2023) Cask 5363 46% Bottle 225 of 421

Our final whisky from Carpathian and for the day was their Portuguese Madeira finish.

We found it warm and fruity on the nose, quite “jammy”. On the palate, I dubbed it a “proper whisky” – rewarding with subtle nuts and more pronounced berries, which continued to a sweet finish. It was my favourite of all the expressions.

Their official tasting notes shared:

Nose – Intense scent, with hints of white pepper, oak, honey, raisins and candies.
Taste – Honey, raisins, red grapes, raspberries and a light nutty aroma.
Finish – Sweet, long and complex.

Whilst my notes were limited, it left a positive impression of being a satisfying close to an excellent day.

This experience closed our 2025 Whisky Show Day 1 explorations. We tallied up our tastings for the day and had covered around 55 expressions. Nearly all were sampled with a sniff, swish, and spit approach to ensure we were still standing by the end of the day!