Tastes

If you like sherry casks, you’ll love the PX and oloroso influences here. It’s got dark fruits, raisins, and Christmas cake on the nose. It’s got a luscious creamy mouthfeel and all of those Christmas cake notes alongside dark chocolate and hazelnuts. The finish with tenacious tannins and a nuttiness that lingers for a well -rounded dram. It’s not overly complex to my very amateur palate, but it excels in all the ways one would hope an older sherry-influenced dram would. It is the whiskey that made me love whiskey years ago, and I will keep it as a top malt on my shelf to revisit past moments with friends. Not to be missed! BTW: my taste was the 2019 bottling

On the nose, there’s a strong iodine peat, mellowed after a few seconds as some lemon and vanilla notes waft up to join. On the palate, barley sugar with a good peppery boost toward the end. You get a strong sense of Caol Ila as the malt in question based on the palate and nose alone. The green peppercorn finish with the sugary sweet entry makes this a fine dram for the cost. And the peat stays with it to the end with a decent length to the finish.

On the nose, there’s a very pleasant light smoke. Sea breeze saltiness alongside the obvious cane sugar and unripe banana notes. On the pallet, it is so sweet. Just a brilliant pairing with the rum cask. You get the talisker smoke, tangy black pepper spices, following on the heels of this sugar cane, and even a mango-like sweetness. At the end alongside the pepper you get a prominent salt note; iodized salt rather than brine. And the finish is prolonged. The oils from the cask take up residence in every crevice of your mouth and hang about with that banana flavor coming back whenever you exhale. A stellar malt, and for a much more reasonable price than the other Diageo special releases.

Fragrant sherry cask influence on the nose. Raisins, Christmas cake, all the good things. Brown sugar on the pallet, not as full bodied as one might hope, but still oily around the cheeks. It’s got a slightly off putting sour note on the taste blending into the finish, but it also gives a modest continuing white pepper finish with very pleasant bitter tannins. The nose is the best part of this malt, but give it time to open up, and the pallet will improve.

Campfire immediately hits the nose with a sweet waft of red fruit (strawberry jam especially). The pallet begins with a powerful brine, less intense smoke, and then a sweetness emerges with the red berry notes becoming prominent. The finish maintains the salty brine, but a peppery sprinkle of the French oak rushes into prominence, alongside a distinct and tart raspberry note. I find it best with 1/2 a teaspoon of water per ounce of spirit and 10 minutes of opening up before taking the first sip.