Strathisla 18 Year

Strathisla Distillery post-tour tasting, 1st May 2024, whisky#4 Nose: Old polished furniture, pipe tobacco, leather car seats, dark honey, sherry, malt extract, black tea. Over time the nose gets bigger and bigger … it never stops expanding. Palate: The arrival is sweet and plush with dark fruits, tobacco and red berries. It is captivating, almost mesmerising from the first sip. In the development there is fudge and vanilla, dark chocolate and a touch of orange rind. Following this both milk and more dark chocolate emerge to control the palate into the finish. The texture is creamy, seductive and mouth-wateringly juicy. Finish: Long. Good oak, pipe tobacco, chocolate and red berries with everything fading into an aftertaste of sherry and malt. Distilled in 2005 and bottled in 2023, this distillery-exclusive whisky was matured entirely in 1st-fill sherry casks. The batch produced 750 bottles at the reduced strength of 48% abv. This is a huge, commanding sherried whisky that proclaims the virtues of excellent oak casks but is not at all wood-dominated. Its fragrant aromas are reminiscent of all facets of a dunnage warehouse containing hogsheads and the palate is a landscape of lush fruit and malt. It’s one of those whiskies you wish would last forever. In several ways this reminded me of the exquisite pre-2016 GlenDronach 15 Revival, except this is softer, sweeter and fruitier. It was delectable neat and just as good with water, which transformed the profile slightly but did no harm at all. It was different when reduced, softer, but just as good and my preference for taking it neat or watered would change with context. However the best time for this whisky in my opinion would be as a dessert dram. I was surprised to see this whisky on the tasting table as I had no idea that there was an official Strathisla 18 year old, even as an exclusive. The distillery rep who conducted the tour hinted that this may become a core-range expression in the future but I would not hold out strong hopes. However if it did and the local price was not too crazy I would obtain a bottle for sure. “Very Good” : 87/100 (4.25 stars)