Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 48%ABV
Ageing casks: Finished in ex-Rum
Chillfiltered: No
Additional coloring: No
Owner: Douglas Laing
Average price: € 110.00
Official website: www.douglaslaing.com
Vote: 86/100
The annual festival held on Islay, the Fèis Ìle, is an opportunity for all the island’s distilleries to come out with one or more special bottlings, with that mix of celebratory and cash-grab desire. But it’s not just them who seize the moment, independent bottlers with their own labels linked to the island also don’t want to miss out on the opportunity, and so you get other very special limited editions of blends and IBs that come out every year between May and June.
In this case, it’s the well-known blended malt from Islay created by Douglas Laing, who in 2024 decided to refine his classic recipe with Bowmore, Caol Ila, Ardbeg and a splash of Port Ellen in ex-Caribbean rum casks, hence the name, which means ‘tropical’ in Gaelic, with 5,688 bottles produced.
Note the label printed directly on the glass instead of the usual paper version.
Tasting Notes
On the nose, the tropical mix blends with the island’s coastal and smoky notes, pineapple and mango whipped up on the grill to sizzle with seafood while feasting on oysters and pickled cucumbers. Black pepper, cinnamon, candied fruit (ginger, apricot, citron), toasted brown sugar, smoked bark and a squeeze of lime make up the finish. Along the length, hints of paprika and almonds, with smoke thickening. Nice balance.
In the mouth it flows like oil, or rather like a peanut and walnut juice, with black pepper and ginger introducing sweet notes of fruit, tropical and not (pineapple, mango, apricot, peach, pear), with a good dose of citrus (lemon, lime, grapefruit) and sweet liquorice. Always coastal peat, with the salinity accentuated over time, together with a pastry side (lemon tart, mixed-flower honey, vanilla) and grilled fried peppers evident in the length.
The finish is quite long, linking the sweet and saline part with the peaty one, in a crescendo of ash and liquorice.
Another example of a successful marriage between the Caribbean and Scotland, not always easy to bring home but which in this case works, without any great special effects or complexity but with a pleasant, full-bodied dram that confirms the quality of the blended.