46°
Distillery Officially Unknown - Islay
Bourbon Casks and Caribbean Rum Finish
Independent Bottling
By Ian MacLeod Distillers Limited
Limited Edition
Single Malt
Bottled in 2020
Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured
To further diversify the Smokehead range, Ian MacLeod's scientists came up with the idea of finishing it in rum casks. They first launched the Travel Retail version in early 2020, Rum Riot, and then it was on 16 August, International Rum Day, that this edition went on sale. Unchill-filtered and without colouring, which is always good, but the number of bottles produced is not mentioned. It's a limited edition, but today, two years later, it's still fairly easy to find. The peat content is not given either, but I suspect a good old 50ppm, like its big brother Smokehead Islay Single Malt.
Let's Taste It :
An explosion of fresh and maritime peat from the very first nose. Violent, cavernous, charcoaled. Seaweed, sea foam, kelp, but also cold, damp stone, rust, fuel oil. You can barely smell the rum barrels, which add a pleasant sweetness of grilled pineapple, lemon pulp and pastry cream. A successful marriage. The palate is a bit light, but smooth, a nice contrast to the aggressive nose. Thick peat, but also cane sugar, barley sugar and vanilla. Still clean, despite some spices. Quite a long, successful finish, lignite, cola, mashed banana.
In Short,
It's nice to have an expression finished in rum casks, just a year after Ardbeg Drum. Admittedly, it's less complex, but more powerful and sweeter. The price is exaggerated, but within reasonable proportions. For those who would like to have a pleasant, well-peated Islay that still bears a strong resemblance to Drum (I'm just saying), but at a better price, and with packaging that will shock your grandmother and scare your grand-nephew, why not?
Score : 86
To Be Listened While Sipping :
Walk in Darkness - Walk Like Heroes
No comments:
Post a Comment