Tastes

Marvelous. Cherry, green apple, vanilla, canned peach, cream with just a sweet hint of smoke. Apple pie in liquid form.

Exquisitely peated whisky. Lemon juice with green apple, sugary lemon zest and dried lemon, elegant cover of smoke and light salinity.

Sherry and oak, fresher sherry kick and softer oak than Glenfiddich 15, a much more lively whisky. Chocolate, raspberry, canned peach, cinnamon.

Musty sherry and bourbon, that’s it.

Arguably the most approachable of the heavily peated Islay malts. On the nose the smoke is not aggressive and feels more like burnt heather other than peat and creosote. Not deep under the smoke is lemon oil forward cologne and some dried apricot. On the tongue, the smoke is more prominent in the form of smoked string cheese. A drop or two of water really helps open up the aroma, but I don’t notice any difference between the tastings, which is quite disappointing. Not a bad whisky at all by any means, mass-appealing and easy to drink, but if you want to feel the greatness Islay has to offer, skip this and go straight to Lagavulin 16.

Develops with each tasting. Peat and sea water with light cream in the a/t. More fruit with each tasting. On the third tasting the fruit dominates with sweet limoncello on the nose, dried fruit, light peat and sweet smoke. Still a bit of sea salt on the palate. Really balanced and disciplined whisky. Right in the middle of the road between the Speyside fruitiness and the Islay peat.