COLOUR: Full sparkling gold
NOSE: Burning embers of peat in a crofters fireplace, hints of coconut and banana aromas
BODY: Full bodied
PALATE: Deep, complex and smoky yet offers and surprises the palate with a gentle sweetness
FINISH: Really long, and dries appropriately with smoke and spice
Wine Enthusiast 90 points - The first nosings find clean, apple peel-like and peat-free scents; later inhalations find a more sea breeze like, mildly briny character. Palate entry is lean, earthy, moderately smoky and lemony; midpalate is oily with flavors of ash, peat, sweet malt and brine. Concludes sweet, peaty and cigarette ash-like, with a bite of green olive.
— P.P. (4/1/2008) — 90-95 (Apr 2008)
This expression of our famous whisky, from the remote island of Islay in the Western Isles of Scotland, has enjoyed a triple maturation in 3 types of cask. Just as with our standard Quarter Cask expression, the first maturation is in American oak, ex-bourbon barrels. We then select the most suitable of these barrels, containing a range of different aged spirit and transfer into small 19th century style Quarter Casks for a second maturation. The final maturation is in specially selected, large European oak, Oloroso sherry casks.