Yet another sample from my friend @LeeEvolved. Island Green is a travel retail exclusive from Johnnie Walker that is a blended malt consisting of Caol Ila, Clynelish, Cardhu and Glenkinchie. These 4 are suppose to represent the 4 regions of Scotland, even though there are really 6 (they left out the Islands [which Islay is not a part of] and Campbeltown). Bottled at 43% ABV and is chill filtered with colorant added making it a yellow gold in color. The nose is lightly smoky and quite waxy. Caol Ila and Clynelish are very much the stars right off the bat. Some campfire ashes and soot. Lots of honey biscuits, a bit salty and grassy. Orchard fruits - apples, apricots, pears, oranges, green grapes, and green bananas. The Cardhu fruitiness makes itself known for sure. Vanilla, toffee, olive brine and light oak. Everything here is pleasant enough, but it’s too weak to grab your attention. It needs to be at least 46%, maybe 48. The palate is fairly light. Light peat smoke and a gentle fruitiness. A touch of pepper, brine, phenolic. Lightly charred oak, campfire ashes, the Caol Ila stands out on the palate. Fairly sweet as well with apples, raspberries, apricots and faint banana. Some of the Clynelish waxiness but not much else. A light bodied mouthfeel that is thin but oily and waxy. Mouth coating. The finish is medium short, smoky campfire ashes, waxy. This blend is crying out for a big dose of Talisker to give it some power. Black Label is a prime example of why they should always keep Talisker in the blend. Also, I think they should have used Oban instead of Glenkinchie to provide some additional fruitiness and some Highland peat. Of course making those changes would destroy the 4 corners motif they were going for, but so what? If you wanted to make a blended malt to highlight the different regions of Scotland, why not just blend together the 6 Classic Malts? Make a Lagavulin, Talisker, Oban, Glenkinchie, Dalwhinnie, and Cragganmore blend (even though this still leaves out Campbeltown). I think that might make for a good blend of done right. Looking at JW’s track record though, they seem to do more wrong than they do right. Enough bitching, it’s a TRE that’s $55 for a 1L bottle from the most popular brand of blended scotch in the world, how much more can you ask for? Cheers