Isle of Skye 12 Year

N: 22, P: 20, F: 20, B: 21 Old gold colour. Soft, slightly smokey aroma. Fruity taste but a bit harsh and tart with alcohol. Good.

Nose: Oak, light but noticeable peat, chocolate digestive Palate: a bit thin, peat, developing to sweet berry fruit Finish: light pepper, chocolate, Darjeeling tea _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Last 16, Match 4: Isle of Skye 12yo versus Ben Bracken Highland Isle of Skye is a blend from Ian Macleods and you’d be forgiven if you thought the name meant this was solely Talisker malt blended with grain whisky. Their website says however that it contains a high proportion of carefully selected Island and Speyside malts, so maybe Talisker is in the mix – maybe not. I did not get the signature Talisker pepper kick until the finish. But it is a well-crafted, steady blend. In the matchup with the discount supermarket’s “finest” it wasn’t really an even bout, Isle of Skye winning handsomely. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Qtr Final, Match 2: Isle of Skye 12yo versus Old Pulteney 12yo In addition to previous notes I get caramel and tobacco on the nose and a sinus-clearing menthol burst on the palate. Not bad all round but no match for OP12 and so it goes no further. Mar sin leat. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The intolerable torment of a whiskyphile. Faced with a large array of samples and miniatures I can suffer from analysis paralysis - deciding on a dram can often take twice as long as drinking it. I have selected sixteen scotch whiskies that are 12yrs or younger or NAS to battle it out in a Scotch Deathmatch. It’s my incentive to lighten the logjam. Follow along if you care (and really why should you?). Oh the drama! https://challonge.com/ScotchMadness

Drinking this neat was tough for me, because there is a combo of big rubbing alcohol burn, plus the presence of bing cherries, port wine and sugary sweetness. I diluted it more than normal, due to its 43% nail polish remover burn. The vanilla creme busts out, and the burn is milder but it's not gone. The peat finally pokes its head out with enough dilution, but it's mild and pleasant. RECOMMENDED, with a big cube: the smoke finally emerges from the shadow of the fire. The creamy vanilla, lemon drop, toffee and cherry really bloom. Some charcoal, tobacco ash and leather also burst out this way. It definitely has a creamier quality to it once you tamp down those fusels. A bit of oak. I will try drinking this neat again later but it's not gonna be easy.

Needs a lot of time to open up, not a bad thing though. Excellent balance of oak, peat, malt and sherry. I hope there's a higher proof version someday :-)