Tastes

The Bottle: The Lost Distillery Company does a really good job with their packaging. The bottles are all black frosted glass with lovely, stamp-like labels. There's a wealth of information on the label that provides details on the recreation in question. Specifically for this, the Lossit distillery from Islay wich oerationed from 1817 to 1867. In the Glass: Light straw. On the Nose: Medicinal peat, wet rocks and brine. There is a definite marine quality to this, but with very little sweetness. It reads like a younger cousin to Laphroaig (and I would be amazed if there wasn't any of that in here). Taste: This is on the younger side of things, but not to its detriment. The nose continues through the palatte, but there is a pronounced dried fruit sweetness on the finish that turns bitter after a few sips. Let it open up for at least 15 minutes and the bitterness gets tamped down with more sweetness. It's a solid autumn sipper. This is a simple, fairly-well integrated dram. It was priced right around Johnny Walker Black mark, and I do prefer it to that; but I think that I'd rather spend the extra few dollars and go with the Laphroaig 10. The Lossit reminds me so heavily of Laphroaig's flagship that I can't help but compare the two. I can totally see where others would prefer the Lossit to the Laphroaig, since this is a bit softer and less medicinal; but for those who enjoy that facet of Islay, there is no substitute. The goal is to produce a modern interpretation of what this distillrey would be producing if it were still in business today. Now this is very intriguing, if not a bit safe (since there's no way to actually know what would have been). Still, that-being-said, the team at The Lost Distillery Company does an admirable job across the range. I really enjoy the perspective that they bring to the table for things that we'd honestly never be able to try. I had never heard of Lossit before this, so at the very least it's an interesting(and tasty!) history lesson.

The Bottle: Restrained. There is a small black label on both the front, and back, with some decent information about what's in the bottle; along with a nice relief of the company logo and city of origin. The bottle is a touch tall for my taste, but there is neither anything stand-out nor regrettable about it. In the Glass: Bronze. On the Nose: Rich and complex. There is the "Campbeltown style" to the way this is put together, notes of sweet and salt intermingled with touches of chocolate and dried fruit. the balance on this is really quite good, there's just enough of everything so that no one component takes away from the other. Very inviting. Taste: Powerful arrival of sweet and salt that develops into pronounced notes of: dark chocolate, dates/figs and absinth of all things. That may sound like an odd flavor to be in there, but it sits so well in the mix with everything else. I believe that even Distiller puts "chocolate covered pretzels" in their review and I can honestly see why, that's exactly the backbone of the finish that this develops. Along with the green fairy sidekick, the chocolate pretzel makes for a complex and lasting flavor. I've never had another spirit that was quite like it. I'm not sure how Glen Scotia gets these flavors into their malt, but I hope that they don't change a thing. This is one of my favorite Scottish single-malts, hands-down. I used to think that the Springbank 15 was the best thing to ever come out of Cambpeltown...but I gotta say, this pipped it. At the time of this review, I have yet to try their other offerings; though the Victoriana and the 18 are both on my list. I highly recommend picking up a bottle if you are looking for a non-peated single malt and you're ready for something that isn't from Speyside

The Bottle: Compass Box has always excelled in this area, and The Spice Tree is no different. This is an elegant and artistic label that not only looks great on the bar, it would make for a fantastic poster as well. In addition to the artwork, there is a load of history and tasting notes on the label, all very good stuff. They nicely tell you that the spirit is natural color and non-chill filtered. Couple this with the 46% ABV, and we're in business. Further, if you were to go to their website you can get a really good sense of what the spirit blend is that makes it into the bottle. In the Glass: Light gold. All of the color on this comes from the wood in which the spirit was matured. On the Nose: Notes of cinnamon, clove and apple right-off-the-bat. Barley sugar and oak are laced into the back-drop with what one would generally describe as "wood spice". This stuff is incredibly inviting. I've often seen peated whiskies described as being "autumnal" in nature, and I get that...but The Spice Tree shows that there is another way. There is as great a sense of fireplaces, grey skies and fallen leaves with this dram as anything you will find from Islay. Taste: Right from the arrival, you get a full-bodied and flavor-packed experience. Baking spices and barley sweetness from the onset that develop into complex flavors reminiscent of a toffee pudding. The finish has the flavor of dried apple slices with a pronounced dryness. At 46% I do recommend adding a few drops of water and giving it a few minutes to open up in the glass, your patience will be greatly rewarded. End-to-End, this is a fantastic whisky. If you are on-the-fence about trying a blended malt, please don't hesitate to try this. Compass Box consistently shows the kind of complexity and balance that one can get when you take the time to artistically blend individual malts and mature them in high-quality barrels.

The Bottle: This is the classic Ardbeg style that we've all come to at least recognize, if not love. Dark green glass with gold, white and black trim. If you're familiar with single malt whiskies, this one is instantly recognizable and iconic. In the Glass: This is one of the lightest colored whiskies that I've ever seen, even for a natural colored expression (which I am assuming this is, though they do not come right out and say so on the label). The dark green glass is a really smart choice, as it doesn't let an uninformed customer see the actual color of the liquor and influence their opinion of what it must taste like. On the Nose: Have you ever heard a recording of someone's singing voice and come up with an image of what they "must" look like....only to see a picture of them and be 100% wrong? Yeah, this is that. The lightly colored nature of the liquid might have you thinking that this will be an approachable and delicate little flower... This could not be further from the truth. Sweet, seaside smoke laced with kippers and barbequed pork. Where Laphroaig can come off like burning medical supplies(and I can with full authority tell you that this is a good thing), this one is 100% coastal village carnival: salt, confection, smoked meats. It's delightful. Taste: Crikey is this powerful stuff. An immediate arrival of sweetness and smoke that turns salty and finishes with more smoke and cured bacon. This is a really "meaty" whisky, for lack of a better phrase. If sweetness and smoke were characters in a kids book, this whisky would be a chronicle of their visit to the market square as they peruse each of the stalls, hand-in-hand . "Oh look, the butcher!!....Oh look, saltwater taffy!!" There's a balance to this stuff that you don't often find in many whiskies, least of all in one that is (at least) 10 years old. Ardbeg doesn't do very many age statement whiskies, outside of their flagship 10. Most of them are blends across various age statements with a specific end result in mind. I am 100% fine with the idea that all of their older whiskies go this route as long as they can consistently keep making their 10 the way that they do. Affordable, well-crafted and an absolutely joy for the senses.