Made from 100% Islay malts. Matured in both Pedro Ximenez butts and hogsheads and ex-bourbon barrels.
Appearance: Diluted white wine. A nice oily coating on the glass when swirled. A corrugated layer of medium/thick legs.
Nose: Very ashy. A lovely sweet bbq’esque smoke. It’s almost confectionary sweet like someone’s gently smoking foam sweets.
Prominent sponge cake flavours, which are very pleasant and carrying this whisky for me.
There’s a decent amount of ABV influence on the nose, which I always appreciate.
I’m a big fan of a sweet smokey whisky but this one almost goes too far into the sweet zone.
Palate: Slightly thin mouthfeel. An initial pleasing buttery-sweet spongecake flavour, followed by, well, not a great deal disappointingly.
Faint lemon pepper, citrus sharpness, a touch of ashy smoke and tree bark.
After a few sips, red liquorice and chocolate.
Finish: short to medium. Drying, ash, bark and mild lemon pepper.
Overall: Not a fan, unfortunately. I was confident I would like this one as I’ve liked their other releases. There’s nothing really off-putting, it’s just not to my tastes.
That said, not particularly liking one of these guys releases has no bearing on my overall impression of them. I’m excited to see (and taste) what they have in store next!
