Loving just about everything I’ve had from Islay so far, an IB that shoots to embody that profile was obviously appealing to me as soon as I heard of it. I had been looking forward to this one, and the much older expressions, for quite a while and I’m glad I finally got around to opening it.
Minutia: Matured in ex-Bourbon casks, I believe this was sourced from Caol Ila based on what I’ve seen written of it, though none of the source distilleries are disclosed. It is a single malt, so we do know that wherever it’s from, it’s all from the same distillery. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.
Color: Barely pale.
Nose: Briny, heavy smoke, seaweed, damp vegetation, sharp cheese, vague citrus.
Taste: Smokiness, chocolate that isn’t quite right, maybe gum, salt, vanilla.
Finish: Short, mild, ends sweet but also weird.
Not a disappointing dram at all – it’s nice for a young Islay – but not the greatest. I’m intrigued to try the rest of the bottlings I can find. In terms of strength of flavor and enjoyment, this went down from the nose, to the taste, to the finish.
Score: 84
No comments:
Post a Comment