The Ileach Cask Strength

58° 

Distillery Officially Unknown - Islay 

Refill Bourbon and Sherry Casks

Independent Bottling 

By The Highlands & Islands Scotch Whisky Company Limited

Core Range 

Single Malt 

Launched in 2000

Unchillfiltered

Peated from 35 to 38 ppm

An unknown distillery, an ageless expression bottled at 58° and heavily peated, this is what we call a Peat Bomb in the lingo. Contrary to its name, it is not Cask Strength.

Let's Taste It :

Sea breeze, salty nose, the beach at low tide, wet weather, red fruit compote, dried banana, light vanilla and caramel. Tar, tyres and fuel oil in the background. Then a strong smoke rises, ash, tobacco leaf. Bitumen. You can recognise one of the two Diageo distilleries on Islay, the most prestigious. On the palate, it's a lot less youthful than I expected, quite fruity, the coarse salt and peat combine very well, spices, apricot purée, smoked tea, black pepper, and a fairly strong charcoal finish that leaves a slight toffee taste.

 

In Short,

For aficionados only. It's not the best made of the Peat Bombs I've tried. You can tell it's very young, and the distillate is barely softened by the cask. The nose is pleasant, fairly typical of a highly reputed Islay distillery, the palate lacks intensity but is still decent. The volcanic finish makes up for it all. In any case, the price is so low that even if it wasn't as good, it would still be a bargain.    

Score : 87










                                            To Be Listened While Sipping :  

                                            Arctic Monkeys - When The Sun Goes Down