House of Hazelwood Legacy Collection Queen of the Hebrides 36 yo

 

 

 

43,4°

Distillery Officially Unknown - Islay

American Oak Cask

Independent Bottling 

By House of Hazelwood 

Limited Edition 

Blended Malt 

Bottled in 2024

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Heavily Peated

 

 

 

This time, the prestigious House of Hazelwood, founded in 2022, ventures to Islay and presents us with a wonderful 36-year-old blended malt. There is no clue as to its exact origin, all we know is that it was matured in a single American oak cask, yielding 274 bottles. As it was distilled around 1988, we can deduce that it is not Ardbeg, which was inactive at the time, nor Ardnahoe or Kilchoman, which were not yet open, nor Bruichladdich or Bunnahabhain, which did not produce peated whiskies. That leaves Bowmore, Caol Ila, Lagavulin and Laphroaig.  

 

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

An elegant wisp of smoke with a hint of minerality, gravel and quartz, but above all beautifully integrated coastal notes, sea spray and salt crystals, dried seaweed, and the iodine-rich air of the open sea. Behind this, discreet dried fruit, mellow honey, grainy cereals, and a slight touch of soot. The peat is just a bit more pronounced on the palate, with a rustic character, topped by very subtle vanilla and citrus. Grapefruit, agave, lime, herbaceous undertones, sun-bleached grass, reeds. Dates and quinces, delicate spices. A very long finish, not particularly strong but characterful, crushed hazelnuts and peanuts, fragments of rock, gypsum, a dash of mud, herbs, leaves of blond tobacco. Birch bark, autumnal scents, cigar ash on the retro-olfaction. 

 

In Short, 

It could be any one of the four distilleries mentioned above. The peat is very light, but that’s to be expected given its age. What really struck me were the coastal notes, blended with citrus and dried fruit, a lovely blend. One small reservation: for me, it lacks a bit of intensity, to the extent that I don’t recognise it as an Islay, I would have thought it was Highland Park or BenRiach instead. The price, on the other hand, is very steep, although, given how expensive old Islay whiskies are these days, it might be a bargain after all. 

Score : 89 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping : 

 

                                           Tamino - Babylon