Origin: Islay (Scotland)
Type: Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 56.1%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Bourbon refill
Chillfiltered: No
Additional coloring: No
Owner: Dram Mor Group
Average price: € 95.00
Official website: drammorgroup.com
Vote: 87/100
Here is one of the Scottish bottler’s releases from early 2022, a single cask with a fancy name (which more or less everyone knows who it hides), declared as blended because it’s the result of so-called tea-spooning, i.e. the addition of a minimum percentage of a distillery’s whisky to that of another, so as to prevent the use of the latter’s name. A somewhat ridiculous practice but one that some distilleries impose on independent bottlers to prevent the proliferation of labels with their own name outside their control.
Single cask that produced 348 cask strength bottles, as always without adulteration, for a very young peated malt that I expect to be quite exuberant.
Tasting notes
For being *that* whisky from Islay, on the nose the peat is all in all gentle and not aggressive, veering towards sweet, around grilled fruit (pineapple, apricot, apple) with roasted peanuts, lots of vanilla, citrus touches and brushstrokes of black pepper. Butter brioche. With time, smoke and medicinal notes make their way in, giving more depth. Unexpected.
Citrus and spices grow on the palate, orange peel, pepper, paprika and cloves slide oily accompanying liquorice, roasted malt, vanilla, honey and grilled fruit. The smoky component is thicker and fleshier, with the medicinal note more evident in length but still well integrated into the whole.
Quite long finish of ash, liquorice, vanilla, salty bits, pepper and paprika.
Quite unexpected, a young and yet already very balanced peated whisky, far from aggressive and with aromas that make a harmonious and complete teamwork. It won’t certainly be remembered for its complexity, but for its great drinking pleasure,