This right here is a 10-year-old single malt from an undisclosed distillery on Islay, with 25% of it having been finished in first-fill oloroso sherry casks, and bestowed the decidedly descriptive name Seaweed & Aeons & Digging & Fire. If those four words (and three ampersands) aren't quite enough of an explanation of what this expression is all about, here are a few more: stripped-back, smoky, complex, a bit sherried, balanced, coastal. Yeah, that should do it. Great for people who love uncompromising Islay whisky and sans-serif fonts.
Rich, powerful sherry with a well-integrated core of peat. Solid.
Well-balanced but extremely forceful on delivery. The sherry makes itself known in a really good way.
Red apple sweetness gives way to oaken-vanilla goodness and fades elegantly into the embers of a chargrilled well-aged steak.
A thoroughly impressive dram. One would be forgiven for mistaking it for an OB with another 5 years of age on it.
Too medicinal.
A bit of a beast. I really liked it.
A fairly bold peated taste with plenty of sweetness. Coming in fairly blind I was really impressed with this, would recommend.
Smoothly, peaty, tastes authentic unlike some Smokey malts o have tasted lately.
Golden amber in appearance, unusual for an Islay and clearly from the sherry influence, this also shows in the nose. A deep sweet sherry note mixes along with a good dose of peatiness. A little medicinal too, iodine and a waft of sea spray. For an Islay it's very sweet in the mouth, honey and caramel mix with the smoke, mouth tingling, a little black pepper and a subtle chilli catch develop. It does however feel a little thin in the mouth. The finish is warming, the spice remains, but it's gone fairly quickly leaving you with that cloved Christmas ham feel. It's an easy drinking Islay, perfectly pleasant, not spectacular - but for £30 a bottle would be a solid bargain purchase for a fan of the region.
