Ctrexman
Creag Isle 12 Year Island Single Malt
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed
December 1, 2020 (edited August 3, 2022)
Ok so Im at the total wine looking for some smoke. Want to try something I havent had before at a decent price. The guy that works there tells me Shieldaig Islay is Caol Ila....yeah sure.... I keep looking and see this puppy. Hey its got a 12 yr age statement, is like 35 bucks and sits with the other Islay malts. Talk myself into it and purchase. Crack it that night and wtf?? where is the smoke. Aha the bottle says island malt not Islay . Nose is tootsie roll, hay, some buried malt and just a hint of peat smoke. Bit of applewood and some salt as well. Palate is nougat sweetness with malty note and brine. Peat comes in but mainly vegetative though ashy smoke is present. Finish is oaky charred malt, salty generic sweetness (like a blend) and peat that goes mildly bitter. All this is rather fleeting without any real depth or power. Despite that I dont hate it, there is something enjoyable about the generic plainness of it like a vanilla ice cream. Not a repurchase though as there are many in this price range far better. Sorry for the long review on an average at best scotch......73/100....Tastes like a blend not a single malt and I cant stop thinking I could have the far superior Compass Box Glasgow around this price
35.0
USD
per
Bottle
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Bottle kill.....dont bother with this
Judging by bottle design and your review it sounds like they're riding the whisky marketing hype train
I've wondered about this one for ages. Thanks for trying it out. I did look up Shieldaig Caol Ila and found that they have bottled some Caol Ila in the past, but the only bottles I found were quite old. I couldn't find any evidence in my 5 minutes of searching that modern Shieldaig Islay is Caol Ila, though I could believe that it's the dregs Caol Ila thinks aren't good enough to put its name on.