Pliska XO
Pliska XO is a Bulgarian, ten-year-old Brandy with an alcohol content of 40%
Matured in barrels from local oaks growing in the Bulgarian forests (on the slopes of the Strandja mountains)
Capacity: 700 ml
Purchased in 2017
It is made of „wine distillates originating from Great Preslav – a region with magnificent wine traditions, fragrant with flowers, fruits and the sun”, about which the producer informs us on a very nice, cardboard packaging.
Another quote: „Pliska XO is the essence of sunny and friendly Bulgaria in a glass. Its taste stays in the memory for a long time „… let’s see if it really will.
Beautiful, bulky, transparent bottle with a huge natural cork stopper of golden color.
Color: brown – like a strong tea essence
Tasting notes
Nose: at the beginning, unfortunately, despite the ten years of ageing time, alcohol punches your nose. I do not recommend using hand-warmed Cognac glass. A Glencairn glass would be much better. After just a few minutes, the bouquet opens beautifully. Butterscotch, white chocolate, raisins, hazelnut – it comes to your mind right away. Then, there is vanilla, orange peel and liqueur cherries. I haven’t found this imitation of cola, which is often characterized by young Brandies and cognacs. It smells beautiful, but a bit too alcoholic. 21.5 / 25
Palate: here, the alcoholic content is much better hidden. Raisins in chocolate, coffe-liquor candies, earl gray, sweet Sherry, marzipan, wood, white grapes, very sweet. 22.5 / 25
Finish: bitter black tea, yeast, Porter Beer, brown caramel, vanilla. Pretty long. 20/25
Balance: very good Brandy, but a bit uneven (differences in hiding the alcohol within the smell and the taste; sweet taste, bitter finish; 10 years of ageing, and you can still feel a slight lack of maturity). Fantastic flavor is undoubtedly its greatest asset. During the tasting, Cognac Hennessy XO always came to my mind, but it is eight times more expensive than this one. 20/25
Overall: 84/100
We read on the packaging that this Brandy is going to delight the most demanding connoisseurs and fans of Brandy. Well … I’m definitely not a connoisseur, but I consider myself as a Brandy fan indeed 😉
I will not say that I am „delighted”, but for sure, not disappointed at all! The value for money definitely encourages you to buy it. Even if this Brandy would cost twice as much, it would still be worth buying.
Price: about 20 €. I bought it in the Biedronka store, in Poland for PLN 59 (about 15€)
I would highly recommend
More pictures here
