Islay Mist 8 Year

Light honey-yellow color. Lots of teardrops slowly cascade down the insides of the glass. The aroma is like a Jr. Varsity version of an Islay Single Malt. Islay Mist has all the hallmarks of your classic Peater: the smoke of an extinguished match; medicinal peat; car exhaust; camphor oil and baby oil; ink from a pen that exploded on your shirt. There are some second-wave sniffs of toffee and browned butter. The taste at first is liquid smoke, almost like a smoked meat. Right at the first swallow, the smoke wafts right up into the nasal cavity. Lots of peat comes out in the front of the palate; it's earthy, boggy, muddy. Sea salt flakes on an oily and viscous mouthfeel. Malted grains and nutty toffee. The swallow has some spicy fruit cake. The taste is actually more complex than I originally gave it credit for. The finish is campfire ash and tobacco. The peat is very earthy. Coffee grounds and dark chocolate. Almonds and other cracked nuts. At a price point of about $20, this is a terrific entry-level peated Scotch. If you aren't sure about whether you like peat, a small investment will allow you to test the muddy waters and decide whether you want to join the Cult of Peat.

Islay Mist 8 YR Found a lone bottle hiding out at a local ABC. Priced at $13, I felt pretty safe picking it up even though I knew less than nothing about it. I've since learned that this is Peated whisky from Laphroaig and Unpeated whisky from Speyside. *NOSE: Not bad! Smoky (not medicinal) Peat. Malt, Fresh Cream, Buttered Hot Breakfast Cereal, Dry Wood, Light Floral and a Bit of Grain Alcohol. The nose on the empty glass is Barnyard Straw. From memory, this is very similar to Laphroaig Select. *NEAT: Ash Heavy up front, Sweet in the Middle. Decent Mouthfeel with Ashy Peat (or Peaty Ash) fading to reveal Light Fruit, Buttercream, Cinnamon Butter and Smoked Honeycomb. There is a Slight Bitterness on the backend followed by layering notes of Light Peat, Extra Dark Chocolate, and Scorched Coffee from the bottom of the pot. *SPLASH: Adds a Vanilla Sweetness to the Palate. *VERDICT: If Laphroaig Select is "Lap Light", then this is "Lap Select Light". I was very impressed with this as it drinks WAY above its price point. Islay and Bottom Shelf are a rare combo. An amazing value if it were $26, but a down right steal at $13. If I see it again, I'll definitely pick it up.

Easygoing, bit of booze and anger but also a sweet, syrupy softness. Way better than i thought.

I enjoy this release, and for the price, it is rather good. There is some flavour to the peat, some pepper, a light caramel and fades away to a pleasant smoke. Critically it a bitter or metalic taste that might offend some.

Nose: the peat is the first thing that hits you then it kind of dies, not much else. Palate: It is somewhat malty to start, I get a little butter homey before it turns into smoke, not overbearing, not rough and not rounded off either.