Nothing interesting to say about this before we get into it.
Port Askaig 2000, Islay Single Malt, 45.8% ABV
Minutia: Distilled in 2000 and matured in an ex-bourbon cask numbered 3312418 for 15 years before bottling in 2016. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.
Nose: Ashy and musty smoke. Maritime and medicinal. A funky dough note. Something that might be gingerbread builds up over time.
Taste: Feinty and rubbery. Smoke and ash.
Finish: Smoky malt and pepper. Long.
Guess: Port Askaig 15
I was thinking Laphroaig at first, but it really started feeling more like Caol Ila so I went with the Port Askaig guess. Unfortunately at this point I’m aware of what few samples remain, so my guesses are likely going to be more accurate. This is alright, it’s a good peaty dram, though I wish the ashy note wasn’t so prominent throughout and there was more evolution of flavors and aromas.
I picked this up quite a while ago by now back when I still thought it was feasible and practical to try all but the most exclusive expressions from Islay distilleries. Now that I’ve long since realized that ambition is pretty pie in the sky, it got put into the Advent sample pool and turned up today. IB Caol Ilas right around 10 years old are typically excellent in my experience, so let’s see if this continues that.
Caol Ila 9, 2009 Vintage, The Whisky Exchange, Islay Single Malt, 58.7% ABV
Minutia: Distilled in 2009 and matured in a Gonzalezz & Byass Sherry cask numbered 316103 for 9 years and bottled in 2019 as part of the ‘Magic of the Cask’ series yielding 308 bottles. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.
Nose: Musty, smoke, ash. It’s got a sharpness that I almost want to call plasticy, but don’t want to suggest it actually smells of plastic.
Taste: Mustier, hints of tart fruit behind an earthy smoke.
Finish: Similar mustiness and smoke. Long.
Guess: A young Caol Ila, though Triple Wood wouldn’t surprise me, but I think I’m right.
Cool, I got this one pretty well. Unfortunately, the remaining drams in the pool are ones which I think I know are in there. Fortunately, if memory serves most of the rest of this calendar can be real bangers. This is a nice whisky. I wouldn’t call it ‘excellent’ but it does continue the trend of Caol Ilas around this old being enjoyable. Glad to see that from a Sherry cask, as bourbon casks have been the ones that really made that impression on me. The nose is the best, and the finish is greatly lengthened by the ABV, and other than being a little burny if you really sniff hard the ABV really only contributes that benefit without any other baggage that can sometimes accompany a higher ABV.
Nose: Ashy, salty smoke. Leather. A sense that there are fruit notes to be coaxed out; you get whatever you might call a “nasal glimpse.” Some fruit comes in better with a bit of time, and a sweet icing note develops as well.
Taste: Rich and sweet with spices and pepper. Honey.
Finish: Earthy and smoky. Maltiness comes in, roasted in nature. Long.
Guess: Ledaig Rioja? Triple Wood?
This one stings a bit as I was thinking Caol Ila, but didn’t think there were any left. Oh well, I made my guesses based on the proof seeming lower than a single cask would be. This reminds me of the Bowmore 25 I had in a prior Advent calendar, unfortunately not in a good way. I’m not talking about quality, just the fact that it was a blind review that I think worked against it a bit. I gave it a score based on what seemed like a lighter quality mistaking that lightness for a weaker or watered down spirit rather than spirit tamed with significant time in a cask. After the reveal I revisited the dram and a couple other notes had appearing before then and an overall more positive impression knowing the age and consequent delicacy. I did revise my score based on additional notes with time in the glass, but refrained from revising based on subjective elements. That said, I still regard it a bit more highly than the given score. I’m going to reconsider keeping samples in my blind review pool that may be underserved without additional context, but this year’s will be unaffected.
Jura interests me enough to keep trying their releases. This one was of particular interest given it was released to honor the approximately 212 residents of the island suggesting it would have a bit more going for it than the usual expressions from Jura. I haven’t found them terrible, but a handful were underwhelming so I’m hoping this isn’t what people have come to expect from Jura. Let’s see.
Jura Two-One-Two, Island (Jura) Single Malt, 47.5% ABV
Minutia: Distilled in 2006 and matured for 13 years in American white oak ex-bourbon barrels and finished in chinkapin oak casks before bottling in 2019. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.
Nose: Musty, leather, malt. Thoughts of a shoe shop after hours.
Taste: Malt, pepper (light). Sweet like bubblegum.
Finish: Malt and cereals. Longer.
Guess: Unpeated Caol Ila or a Laddie
Man, it’s so much more fun doing blind reviews with a limited knowledge of what it could be. Not only do you avoid getting kind of shoehorned into thinking about which of the options it could be, but there’s actually room for surprise. I had forgotten a Jura was in the pool, and seeing the reveal it was surely the only option. My initial gut was a Bruichladdich. It felt almost unpeated, but not entirely. But rather than unpeated malt from a distillery that does peat sometimes, it’s a lightly peated malt. And this is light. It’s no all-star, but it’s bottled at a respectable proof and has some nice notes to offer. I didn't want to change my score, but there's a nice chocolatey note that develops in the nose and finish after a bit in the glass, and factoring that in, I'd say this goes up 2-3 points.
Not too long ago I started using a certain plant to help me sleep, and between consuming it and sleeping I’ve found I enjoy whisky less. As I’m primarily a fan of peaty whiskies and those with robust flavors and aromas, I’m guessing I’m more sensitive to things in that state, so I’m curious if something like this would be appealing as it’s light but not weak.
Score: 81
Musical Evocation: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss – “Gone Gone Gone”
Always happy to try an Octomore. I’ve loved a couple but for the most part find I’m happy with a sample rather than a bottle. Let’s see if this is one I’ll have to seek out.
Octomore 10.1, Islay Single Malt, 59.8% ABV
Minutia: Distilled in 2013 and matured for 5 years in 1st-fill American white oak casks. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.
Nose: Smoke, ash, a bit medicinal. Tar, tobacco, leather. Bubblegum.
Taste: Smoke, heat/pepper.
Finish: Musty, earthy, pepper. Long.
Guess: Laphroaig 1815
I’m not surprised given the tar and leather that I associate with Octomore which have made me guess Octomores as Laphroaigs a handful of times by now. A very solid dram. The nose is the star, and in comparison the palate is almost not worth a look. It is, but any expression would have a hard time living up to it after the nose. The bubblegum note was a surprise and a delight even though I don’t go for flavors like that anymore. Beyond that, it feels boilerplate Octomore.
Always happy to try something like this, so I picked up a sample. As a person who primarily prefers peated whisky, something like this is a really good choice for a blind review as I can’t be biased (as much) by my own preferences, or by expectations for something that’s supposed to be special or very highly regarded.
Bruichladdich Black Art 7.1, Islay Single Malt, 48.4% ABV
Minutia: Distilled in 1994 and matured for 25 years before bottling in July 2019. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.
Nose: Richly fruity and nutty. Cereals, dry wine. Green wood. The nose is nice and interesting.
Taste: Sweet malt, like candy. Spices. These play well together.
Finish: Wood. Grains, with an occasional sweet note popping in. Long.
Guess: I can’t imagine this is anything but Black Art 7.1
With a nose a rich as this one, with no sign of peat, I can’t think of a sample I’ve bought that might compare, so this was an easy one. It’s very nice, and a good choice for a change of pace from peat, but it doesn’t ‘wow.’ It had me thinking of a 25-year-old Glen Moray I had recently and falling a bit shy of it, though I must say that was one of my favorite unpeated whiskies to date, so falling short isn’t exactly a knock.
I picked this up a while ago interested in trying the various blends and unbranded malts that might work as a nice budget alternative to some more preferred drams. Finally getting to try it.
Nose: Smoke, musty fruit, salinity and minerality. Rich tobacco and leather.
Taste: Musty fruit, wood, spice. Nutty.
Finish: Smoke and ash and iron. Medium-long.
Guess: That Rioja Ledaig. Wouldn’t be terribly surprised if it’s an Octomore, Laphroaig, or even a peated Bunnahabhain, but there are really only an element or two of each in here and I doubt it’s one of them.
Interesting. The palate is certainly less interesting than the nose, but not by a lot, and the nose is a great benchmark if being compared to it. I don’t really have a guess to the source as there’s no region listed, so this could have come from a mainland or island distillery rather than Islay.
This was too easy to guess, as it didn’t seem like Bunnahabhain and other than that Bruichladdich is just about the only unpeated malt likely to be in my sample inventory. The nose was very promising and I like what I smelled and how much I smelled. Unfortunately not much of that came through on the palate and it was mostly just malty. If you like that, you’ll really like this. As I’ve grown to appreciate that, I liked it more than I would have, but unfortunately I found the palate a bit boring.
Some nice age in a decent cask variety, I’m looking forward to seeing how this is.
Elements of Islay Bw8, Islay Single Malt, 51.2% ABV
Minutia: Distilled at Bowmore between 2001 and 2003 and matured in ex-bourbon and ex-Sherry casks for 16-18 years and bottled in 2020 yielding 1320 bottles. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.
Finish: Vegetation, wood. Long. A fruitiness works its way in over time, but I can’t identify it.
Guess: Bowmore, maybe a Caol Ila.
After yesterday, I’m glad this one held up better. While I prefer my Bowmore’s to have a bit more punch, this is nice and light, with a lot of sweetness, and still some smoke in there. It doesn’t touch the Bowmore’s I’ve reviewed recently of a similar age, but it does outdo the one from yesterday. I get the sense this gets better as it sits in the glass.
I grabbed this ages ago when I was picking up anything near my area of interest sample-wise, and it’s now finally turned up in an Advent calendar. By the accounts I’ve seen, this is a nice Bowmore and I’m hoping I get to see that blind.
Bowmore 19, 1998 Vintage, The Whisky Agency, Islay Single Malt, 48.8% ABV
Minutia: Distilled in 1998 and matured in a butt for 19 years and bottled in 2018. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.
Guess: Gonna guess it’s a Laddie that has a couple qualities typically associated with peat.
This is interesting after the reveal. This is much more highly rated than the score it got from me, and reviews mention a lot of things I didn’t get anything close to. Either this one isn’t really for, I’m just not in the mood for it/my palate is compromised, or something went wrong with the sample and it didn’t hold up. I’m not saying it’s bad, but from what this looked like it could have been, I am a bit disappointed.
Green Label was one of the first whiskies I ever had, well before I even knew how to appreciate it. When I found out about a slightly different version in the same vein, I was interested to try it but it wasn’t in my market. Fortunately I came across a sample a while back, and finally it’s turned up in my calendar. Let’s go.
Johnnie Walker Island Green, Scotland Blend, 43% ABV
Minutia: Comprised of malt from Caol Ila, Clynelish, Glenkinchie, and Cardhu. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.
Nose: Smoke, ash. Plastic/rubber. Slightly medicinal, but more the plastic part presenting as medicinal than true iodine/anbesol notes.
Taste: Sweet malt. Honey. Banana. Coffee, pepper.
Finish: Nutty, smoke, musty. Medium-short.
Guess: Lagavulin DE
I was leaning toward a low ABV blend with the short finish and variety, but Lagavulin DE has a couple different faces so I guessed that this was one. I’m not surprised at all that it’s a blend, as I noted this was simple, but varied. It’s not complex in each area, but it three different non-complex facets, the most different being the taste with a real nice sweetness.
