Hmm, after what was a fine but umtimately disappointing dram yesterday, I’m grateful this one turned up blind as I would not have been too keen on it right on the tails of Lp7. Let’s see how it compares/
Elements of Islay Lp9, Islay Single Malt, 54.3% ABV
Minutia: Distilled at Laphroaig in 1998 and matured in an ex-PX butt for 20 years and bottled on 2018 yielding 714 bottles. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.
Nose: Smoke and musty red fruit. Leather, soot. A brightness to it, overall.
Taste: Smoky seafood, pepper, coffee.
Finish: Smoky espresso. Long.
Guess: Octomore, not an X.1.
Damn, what a follow up. The nose of the Lp7 was a bit too gentle, and this makes up for it in all areas. Laphroaig was actually my initial thought, but it felt too robust and flavorful to not be an Octomore. I briefly considered Caol Ila/Port Askaig, but, again, strong notes that are common to Octomore. What a great dram. I liked the PX finish Cairdeas, and really like this full term PX Laphroaig. Excellent cask, excellent dram, and I’m fired up to keep this going tomorrow.
A distillery I like from a bottler I’ve found to be of quality? Let’s do it.
Elements of Islay Lp7, Islay Single Malt, 52.8% ABV
Minutia: Distilled at Laphroaig in 1998 and matured in four 1st-fill ex-bourbon barrels for 17 years and bottled in 2016. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.
Nose: Barely there. With the glass being black it almost seems empty. Mostly astringent and ethanol vapors, with some ashy hints you really have to search for.
Wow. Wow. Color me surprised. I was thinking the smoke and hints of ash could be Caol Ila, with some pepper from Talisker, and the fact that it’s a low ABV blend hiding the nose. I was thinking Laphroaig for a bit as the palate reminded me of it, but I just couldn’t accept that a Laphroaig would be so gentle on the nose. It’s a shame there’s not more there, as it definitely held it back for me, since the palate is really nice. Particularly those orange notes, they were novel to me and quite a delight. I wonder if it would do better not as a blind review but knowing it’s gentler on the nose. Not a blockbuster amazing whisky, but still a very tasty one.
Please note that this score is one of if not the least representative of the liquid that I’ve given as I believe ultimately it’s better than the score, but the nose was nearly absent and I have to knock points for that. Points for not being aversive, but not as many as if I could tell I had a whisky.
I’ve found this bottler to be generally to my liking, so I’m very happy to be trying something a bit more their own in that it’s a blend from multiple places. Let’s get into it.
Elements of Islay Peat & Sherry, Islay Blended Malt, 56.8% ABV
Minutia: Distilled at least two Islay distilleries and matured in a Sherry Butt for some time yielding 400 bottles. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.
Taste: Bitter, changes to a charred meat flavor. Coffee grounds. Spice/heat.
Finish: Similar. Mostly smoky with hints of coffee and similar earthy tones. Medium-long.
Guess: Lower ABV, big flavor. Guessing Triple Wood.
Hm. I wouldn’t be surprised if this were Caol Ila and Laphroaig blended together, but there wasn’t much in the medicinal area. This is well named, and definitely gives you both peat and Sherry, or more importantly, how they work together. Definitely drinks well below its proof, not nearly as burning in the mouth as you might expect, though the finish lingered and maybe could hasve clued me in that this was likely more than 43%.
Nose: Minerally peat, smoked seashells. Ash, fried dough. Once you notice the dough, it’s very present in the nose.
Taste: Bitter and earthy. Salty.
Finish: The taste just lingers. Medium-long. The longer it goes, the more pleasant it becomes.
Guess: I’m getting notes I’ve gotten for sure in Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Caol Ila, Bowmore, Talisker, and even Kilkerran. I’m leaning Caol Ila or an Islay-based blend, but I’m really at a loss with this one.
I don’t feel too bad about not being able to pinpoint a release that isn’t released “on profile” for the distillery. This is ok, and like at the beginning, I don’t have any strong feelings about it. It’s really quite minerally and ashy and maritime, to the point it held it back from being really good for me. If you like that, it’s a homerun. The nose has a good amount going on, but is still dominated by a few, but you can still find the others in there. Typing up my notes and going through my memory, it’s actually growing on me a bit more, but I’m leaving the score as is.
Nose: Malty. Some hay, apple skins. It feels like there is some smoke in here, but it’s not present enough for me to be sure.
Taste: Sweet malt. Or more like a sweetness that switches between malty, fruity, and honey notes.
Finish: Ash. Malt. Shorter.
Guess: I was thinking Laddie, but the vague smoke in the nose suggested peat making me think it could be the Fire & Cane sample I know is in the pool, The ash in the finish cemented my guess as the Fire & Cane.
Feels really good to be so precise with a guess, I gotta say. Anyway. This whisky doesn’t have a ton going on in terms of complexity. The taste is mostly just sweet, the finish doesn’t really linger, and the nose doesn’t have a ton going on. That said, the fact that the sweet taste is in flux for the duration it’s in the mouth is a nice plus. It is light and simple, which is not bad, but I tend to prefer more robust flavors.
I’m a big fan of Ledaig, so probably there isn’t a sample I wouldn’t buy if it were available when placing an order. These days those opportunities are fewer and further between, but I did pick this up a while ago and finally it’s turned up in the Advent calendar. Here we go.
Ledaig 19 1998 Oloroso Finish, Island (Mull) Single Malt, 46.3% ABV
Minutia: Matured for 19 years with a finish in Oloroso Sherry casks. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.
Nose: Ashy smoke, and with a tiny bit of effort you can tease out some really nice barbecue notes. To the point it feels like you’re actually smelling the sauce and meat.
Taste: Yummy fruit and smoke, tropical in nature. Paprika.
Finish: A musty version of the taste. Long.
Guess: Ardbeg is possible, but it feels more like Caol Ila. Bourbon cask.
I should’ve known. Man, every Ledaig I try makes me more and more excited to try the ones I haven’t. I don’t really get the ashy note as much with other Ledaigs as I did with this, so I think that’s what threw me on the guess. It doesn’t quite touch that parcel from fall ’05, but it’s excellent nonetheless.
Score: 90
Musical Evocation: Chaos Chaos – “Do You Feel It?”
Octomores more than 5 years old are always fun, particularly IBs. So I'm looking forward to getting into this one.
Elements of Islay Oc6, Islay Single Malt, 58.1% ABV
Minutia: Distilled at Bruichladdich (Octomore) in 2011 and matured in ex-bourbon barrels for 8 years and bottled in 2019 yielding 870 bottles. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.
Nose: Very smoky, ashy, medicinal. An astringent quality which has some fruity and musty tones. They’re a bit hidden, though.
Taste: Smoke. Peppery heat. Charred meat. Tannic.
Finish: Bitter earthy flavor. Smoke and ash, though less. Long.
Guess: Gotta be a Laphroaig, maybe 1815? If not, it’s definitely an Islay, and there’s a good chance it’s not just bourbon casks.
Interesting. It’s been a while since I’ve had an Octomore, so maybe it would have jumped out at me better if I had, but I’ve mistaken Laphroaigs for Octomores blind before, so… This is a nice dram, is very familiar, and it has strong flavors. I usually like Octomore’s better than this, and I think the combo of that astringent quality in the nose seeming to mask some notes, and that bitter flavor in the finish held it back for me (that bitterness isn’t necessarily negative, but it’s a bit much for me). Overall a nice dram, but maybe 8 years was too much time in the wood?
I liked the changes I made last year, so they'll stick around. The only difference is that the 24 in this year's pool are the 24 remaining from last year's. I pretty much got them set up for this year at the end of last year as I was putting things away, so I'm very far removed from seeing what's in it, though there are some things I simply know I have. I’ll be doing my best to put these up each day, or at least the morning after. Most likely this will be the last year of these 30ml bottles so next year's samples will be drawn from the 45 or so 60ml samples I have lying around. The year after that with just 21 samples left, since whiskysite no longer ships to the US, I suppose I'll have to figure something out for the other three and deal with the fact that I won't be completely blind with the bottle being different.
Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:
Continuing the trend of a sister cask side by side to mark a 25th review. This is one I’ve been looking forward to for a while. At least one of these has had fantastic reviews both on reddit and elsewhere. The other is just a bit older. Plus the Islay festival release this year was made up of casks from the same distillation and was excellent, though was a bit too expensive to warrant a bottle. Enough of that, let’s get to the whisky.
Bowmore 15, 2004 Vintage, Scotch Malt Whisky Society 3.314, Islay Single Malt, 56.8% ABV
Minutia: Distilled on February 16, 2004, matured in an ex-bourbon hogshead for 14 years and finished in a 1st-fill STR barrique for a total 15 years aging yielding 246 bottles. This is part of the Lightly Peated flavor profile named “Loungecore stave exoticism” and was released for the Islay festival in 2020. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn with its sister cask 3.324.
Nose: Fruit, toffee, carfamel, fruity, musty, all under an earthy, smoky “cloud.”
Taste: The nose sells it well. More emphasis on the fruit and must.
Finish: Charred wood, citrus peeks in a bit. Medium-long.
Superb.
Score: 90
Musical Evocation: Volbeat – “I Only Wanna Be With You”
Bowmore 17, 2004 Vintage, Scotch Malt Whisky Society 3.324, Islay Single Malt, 56% ABV
Minutia: Distilled on February 16, 2004, matured in an ex-bourbon hogshead for 14 years and finished in a 1st-fill STR barrique for a total 17 years aging yielding 251 bottles. This is part of the Lightly Peated flavor profile named “Split personality”. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn with its sister cask 3.314.
Nose: Similar to the other. It’s a bit punchier like vinegar (not in a bad way at all, just a slight nostril sting that you get from it), and it’s a bit industrial akin to Longrow.
Taste: Again much like what the nose promises, but adding some heat.
Finish: It drops off right away before working its way back. Chocolate-ish, salty (slight), musty and ashy. Medium-short.
Wow.
Score: 91
Musical Evocation: Tragedy – “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”
I decided my post-review commentary for each would just be the single word I wrote describing my overall impression and let that stand on its own. These are excellent. Very similar, yet different. 3.314 made me upset I waited this long to open it. 3.324 made me upset I passed on other sister casks. These are right up my ally, and are prime examples of the high regard people have for Bowmore IBs. With the blind Advent calendar starting tomorrow, it made me think about it a bit, and the 3.324, blind, I’d guess Longrow or Springbank. It’s hard to imagine a better pair to send me off into the Advent calendar full of hype and love for whisky.
Well, it looks like my hopes that this is a somewhat regular release from Lagavulin exploring slightly different things each time. And fortunately it’s not at too quick of a pace, though it’s about as regular as I’d want it. Whiskybase only has a 750ml version and I read this is a US only release (not confirmed though as the source wasn’t official) so I wonder what that means about how this sells in certain markets. Anyway, with the first two releases enjoyable enough, I plan to keep getting these knowing it’s not just a celebrity endorsement to sell sub-par stock, at least until that happens. Let’s see if it’s still a worthwhile release.
Nose: Smoke, seaside. A touch of wine, then it’s masked by the smoke and sea. Honey, molasses, green wood. Maybe some citrus.
Taste: Smoked seafood/weed. Creosote. Some spice.
Finish: Nice musty smoke. Salty chocolate covered caramel. Wood spice. Medium, maybe erring in the medium-long direction.
Worthwhile indeed, at least where it’s priced near MSRP (I paid around $70 and think it’s fair). I’m definitely a fan and this is an excellent Lagavulin. It reminds me of some of the 12 year old special releases (disclaimer: not nearly the same presence due to the ABV). This feels like a really good one to wrap up reviewing before my side by side Bowmore review coming up in a couple days leading into this year’s Advent calendar.
Score: 87
Musical Evocation: Willie Nelson – “The Scientist”
