Tastes

Color: rosy caramel Nose: warm, spiced malt, stewed raisin, toffee, candied orange peels, little bit of tropical notes like banana and a hint of pineapple Palate: medium bodied, sweet malt, honey, mineral grape skin, mango, sultanas and toffee again Finish: really long, fragrant lingering spice, a whisper of peat smoke, little hints of banana, malty backbone Impression: picked this up in Europe for 46 euros, a steal compared to US prices. Really nice scotch and a big step up in complexity from the 12. Very enjoyable and not overly thin or light, has a nice meaty body while keeping the smoke/peat subtle.

Color: pale golden straw Nose: orange, stone fruit, honey, golden raisin, lemon, hints of cinnamon, butter biscuit, warmed oak Palate: lemon, malt, jasmine, honey, baking spice, hint of brine, dry leather Finish: long, spicy, and aromatic, like the last bite of ginger cake with candied orange Impression: delightful scotch for the price, lighter and more floral than my usual favorites but quite delicious, improved significantly over several months after opening

Color: toffee caramel Nose: dominant sultanas, vanilla cake, ginger, citrus peel, brown sugar, leather Palate: oily smooth, sultanas at first give way to herbal minerality, then a waft of smoke, sultanas returning at the end, bit of a burn Finish: long, more raisin at the forefront, bits of smoke, hint of sulfur, moss Impression: this is a really nice 12 year whisky. It has definite complexity in the way the palate layers evolve. Fairly heavy on the sherry cask profile, has the complexity I love in Islay malts but the drinkability that comes with low peat ppm. May be one of my new favorites.

Color: amber caramel Nose: cereal, honey, lime, pie crust, barley, lemon meringue, Palate: pineapple, wet stone, malt, rum cake, lemon, medium body Finish: long, the malt and stone linger with a spice laced warmth Impression: a nice dram on the lighter/sweeter side with some interesting flavors from the rum casking. Once or twice this tasted fantastic for some reason (must have been whatever flavors it was playing off of following a meal), but most pours have been just decent. Doesn’t live up to its price point in my opinion.

Color: Honey Caramel Nose: toffee, sultana, lemon, cinnamon biscuit, wet stone Palate: light and creamy, sweet, raisin and malt, dusty parchment Finish: hot and fiery, vegetal peat, smoke, medicinal, brine and driftwood, bit of honey Impressions: younger sharper whiskey, no age statement, diluted nicely with a little water, a little too medicinal for me but otherwise a fine islay, a small step up from the 10 year which has been my recent favorite

Color: Pale Chardonnay Nose: sea spray, pear, iodine, burnt caramel, peat fires Palate: fresh, oily salt and malt, roasted apple, mineral honey Finish: long and hot, peaty, heavy satisfying smoke, peppered honey, lingering iodine Impression: Really excellent. Fierce and complex and delicious. Makes you feel like a Lord of Islay on a long, stormy night. My only critique is it’s not gentle on the head the next morning, even in small drams.

Color: honey amber Nose: Cereal, honey, sulfur, orange blossom Palate: Smooth smoke, malt, toffee, oily, vegetal peat Finish: Matchstick ashes, smoldering peat fire, toasted almond, wet stone Impression: Delicious, modest smoke and peat, the age shows in the smoothness, wish for a bit more complexity

Color: Warm amber Nose:salt air, honey, leather, thin citrus Palate: spring water and brine, malt, charcoal, stone, wisps of smoke, heather Finish: warm and long, peat smoke, more leather, earth, caramel.