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.
sublime...just picking up my next bottle. really complex finish and just feels like all the best fun you ever had sat on a beach with a bonfire eating toffees, BBQ met and smelling the sea behind you. Really really B**dly good. Its punchy and gutsy, and beats many fine established names on many levels. Top 10 bottle...ever.
Saltey, Smokey, and Earth. Great malt for a great price. So easy to drink.
I couldn't agree more with the review below about the "Antiseptic Hospital Corridor Aroma," but that's why I love it. It's a bit like a Laphroaig, but rounded off with a sweet sherry note. The sweetness of the sherry runs the risk of debasing the underlying Islay peatiness (in the same way that adding Coca Cola would), but it actually adds nicely to the complexity. Looking forward to drinking it in the garden on long summer evenings which is not when I would normally want to drink an Islay malt.
Well yes - a nice big dollop of TCP, along with peat and smoke. Classic Islay. I think you're being put off by the basic packaging and assuming there's something wrong with it because of that. You keep paying a £20 premium for the brand name juice and I'll keep buying the same stuff much cheaper here.
You won’t mistake this for a top tier dram, I found it somewhat watery though the immediate peat hit is substantial and complex. Balance is off for me and the lack of mouth-coating is a definite mark against, but worth a punt for lovers of peat/medicinal whiskies and many do seem to love it...
