Smokehead Islay Single Malt

 

 

 

43°

Distillery Officially Unknown - Islay

Hogshead Barrels 

Independent Bottling 

By Ian MacLeod Distillers Limited 

Core Range 

Single Malt 

Launched in 2006

Peated around 50 ppm

 

 

 

Launched in 2006, Smokehead Islay Single Malt aimed, with its provocative packaging, to attract young people to the complex and surprising flavours of peat. The gamble paid off, and we see that this humble Single Malt has been around for 16 years. The packaging has changed in 2018, but certainly not the recipe. The famous skull and crossbones have remained, which is a good selling point. Rumour has it that this is Ardbeg, and indeed Ardbeg is one of the only distilleries that peats its malt up to 50 ppm. The other is Kilchoman, and they certainly don't have the means to supply sufficient stock for such a bottling. I also find the profile very similar to a young Ardbeg. It's also said to be a Caol Ila aged in Ardbeg casks, but that seems a bit fanciful to me. Personally, I think it's aged in Bourbon casks, but there's nothing official about that. On the other hand, it is certainly cold-filtered and coloured, and that's bad.

Let's Taste It : 

The nose offers a beautiful explosion of vegetal peat with a hint of lemon, which is the trademark of a very well-known distillery. It's violent, maritime, salty, seaweed, foam, rock with damp lichen, mud, oysters, kelp, iodine. But it's quite sweet nonetheless, with well-balanced citrus fruit, which is reflected in a relatively smooth, pleasant palate, with a drizzle of honeyed vanilla; it's like the calm after the storm, everything suddenly settles down. The finish is a little disappointing, very peppery but not that long. Charcoal, fuel oil, lignite, scorched earth. It's almost caramelised.

 

In Short, 

Not bad at all, it has to be said, starting with a very peaty nose that transports you to a Scottish cliff, followed by a rather friendly and pleasant palate that tames you. The finish, however, is less exciting. All in all, it does the trick if you can find it at a low price, but since Ardbeg Ten is only slightly more expensive, it will always be better to buy the latter.

Score : 85

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           The Interrupters - Take Back the Power