Connemara Original Peated Single Malt

Received this as a house gift at our annual Christmas party of family and friends. We opened it on the spot and I found it to be quite pleasant with a good hint of a bourbon-barrel Islay and not your typical Irish single malt. I only managed a single pour that day and was surprised to see our company had almost polished off the entire bottle, while ignoring much of the expensive stuff. Fortunately, though, a few drams were left to give it a fair shakedown. My views are very consistent with @The_Rev and @Dreaming-of-Islay. The nose is a wonderful combination of mild smoke, malted barley, and a vegetal seaside peat bog. Laphroaig immediately comes to mind but with much less intensity in terms of smoke, medicinal notes, citrus, and brine. At 40% ABV, it hits the palate light and smooth and goes down with the honeyed vanilla ease of a speyside versus a thicker textured pot still. Very drinkable, it’s easy to see why most people would gravitate towards this, but much too loose and watery for my tastes. Would liked to have tried the cask strength version, but doubt I would spring for it. A solid 3.5 stars.

Peaty, smokey.