The Life of a Whisky Bottle: Ledaig 15 year old (2001 bottling)

This whisky and I have some history.  It was introduced to me three and a half years ago at a most formative tasting, one that introduced me not only to Ledaig, but also early Corryvrecken and Willett's single barrels of LDI/MGP rye.  It left me wondering, what is this weird Ledaig stuff?

It also left me searching for my own bottle of the now extinct white-labelled 15 year old.  My online searches took me as far as Yorkshire, UK.  Lucky me, for my wife had a business trip near the retailer around that time.  Lucky me, for my wife received the whisky parcel at her hotel.  Lucky me, for my wife couriered it back to our home.  Lucky me, for my wife.

My plan was to open the bottle this past winter.  But then Long Beach had late summer heat until November.  Then we were traveling in December.  So it wasn't opened until January of this year.  Thus the bottle's winter was short, as was its open life.

As an experiment, I took samples from the top of the bottle, the mid-third, and the bottom of the bottle, in January, February, and April.  I've done Life of Bottle posts before where I've done tastings throughout the bottle's life, but this time I would taste various points of the bottle at the same time in order to compare and see how much it changes and oxidizes or oxygenate in the bottle.

One thing to note before I dive into the results, this whisky was bottled in 2001......which means that the whisky in the bottle is older than 15 years.  In 1982, Tobermory distillery (which makes Ledaig single malt) was closed and turned into apartments and (yes) cheese storage by the real estate company that owned the facility.  Production restarted in 1989.  This means the whisky in my bottle was 19-20 years old, or possibly older.  If that sounds a bit nutty, consider the entry in The Whisky Monitor for the 2003 bottling, which was 21 years old or older.  These are the sorts of things that happen when whisky industries have gone through a long term down period, and also when companies are establishing an age stated range (like current GlenDronach).

Now, onto the tasting.  My Annoying Opinions and Chemistry of the Cocktail will be posting simul-reviews of the whisky from this very bottle.  I'll include links to their reviews as soon as I am able...

And here they are!
MAO's review: http://myannoyingopinions.com/2015/08/12/ledaig-15-43/
Cocktailchem's review: http://cocktailchem.blogspot.com/2015/08/whisky-review-ledaig-15-year.html

Distillery: Tobermory
Brand: Ledaig
Type: Single Malt
Region: Isle of Mull

Age: minimum 15 years old, though actually 19 years or older in this case

Maturation: probably ex-bourbon barrels
Bottling year: 2001

Alcohol by Volume: 43%

Colored? ???

Chillfiltered? ???

This bottle's usage:
24% - Swaps and shares
0% - Whisky experiments
20% - Graded tastings
56% - Casual drinking

---

FIRST POUR FROM THE BOTTLE, January 2015
Color - Gold
Nose - A cheerful green/herbal note; think anise and cucumber skins.  Wood smoke and gentle peat moss.  Raspberry candy and rhubarb pie.  Dry leaves, grilled fish/seaweed, and wet sand.  With plenty of air, the candied notes remain, but not the herbal note.  A farmy hint appears as does a louder cinnamon note.
Palate - Pretty peppery and lightly sweet.  Barbecue and charred meat.  Salt and toasty barley.  A hint of tobacco.  With time an herbal bitter note grows and grows.  The peat expands.  The cinnamon note arrives, along with hints of tropical fruit punch and peach liqueur.
Finish - Sweeter and more vanilla-ed here.  Beachy and salty.  Slight lime tartness and herbal bitterness.  With air, the cinnamon shows up here too, as does the peach liqueur.

MID BOTTLE, February 2015
Similar to the 1/15 notes but with the following differences: 
Nose - More citrus and rhubarb pie.  Some dark chocolate and citronella candles.  With air, it remains bright and fruity, but also a little floral. Maybe a note of floral soap.  Salty cheese and butter.
Palate - Much more vanilla now. More direct overall. Bigger sweets, bigger bitter.  Some anise and pepper, less charred beef.  With time, a butter note develops. Cinnamon. More peppercorns and wormwood. Peat's a little dirtier. 
Finish - Peat is louder, as are the sweets and bitter.  Oddly, it feels longer.  With time, the peat and bitterness vanish, replaced by butter, cinnamon, and dried herbs.

BOTTOM THIRD OF BOTTLE, April 2015
Similar to the 1/15 and 2/15 notes but with the following differences: 
Nose - Fruitier still. More grassy, more anise, less smoke, less grilled fish/seaweed. Peat feels cleaner, saltier.  Hint of cardboard.  With time, it gets a little farmier.  Maybe some lime candy.
Palate - Mildest peat yet. Mild overall. Vanilla, pepper, and hay.  Picks up some more spice and florals with time, but also awakens that cardboard note.
Finish - Sugary vanilla, salt, and lots of cracked pepper.

---

Observation #1: The first thing that struck me was how subtle and graceful this was compared to my experience with it three and a half years ago.  Back then I was seduced by its big weird smoke and strength.  Now, after having tried quite a number of modern Ledaigs, I'm fascinated by this whisky's calm.  It's certainly the mellowest Ledaig I've ever tried.

Observation #2: Usually I find the first pour from a bottle to be closed and a little jumbled.  The middle third is often my favorite part.  This time the top of the bottle proved to be the most complex.  The mid-bottle pour from this bottle was definitely the friendliest and brightest.  But really there wasn't a heck of a lot of change between the two.  Oxygen didn't do too much work over that first month.  But after three months, and with the bottle spending most of its open life less than half full, oxidation had started to affect the whisky.  The edges were gone, the palate had begun to flatten out, and the finish started to vanish.

Observation #3: As I'd mentioned in the intro, I searched for this bottle long and far, finding it 5,500 miles away and buying it at a considerable price.  Two years later, I discovered two stores in my neighborhood still carried that very bottle and at almost half the price.  Two facepalms transpired.

Observation #4: I don't know if there's anything on the market quite like it, but at the same time it is not worth $100+.  If you do have one of these and you do open it, I recommend hitting it with some Private Preserve (or something like it) once you get to mid-bottle.

Observation #5: It's not a 92-point whisky, but it's still very good.  I'm glad I opened it rather than keeping it tucked away all crowded in with other lonely bottles.

Availability - Happy Hunting!!!

Pricing - $60-$120

Rating - 87

WTF Is This? Pride of Islay 12 years old Vatted(?) Malt

A Gordon & MacPhail product from (I think) the '80s and '90s, the Pride of Islay is part of range of other Prides which include Orkney, Strathspey, and Lowlands.  I'm 75% sure this is a vatted (or blended) malt.  Most online resources say as much.  But whiskybase shows it as a single malt, so I'll leave that parenthetical question mark in the title.  If you do google Pride of Islay, you'll mostly find auction listings and most of those are of this very mini (50mL) version.  Not a lot of reviews of it out there, other than one from a certain prolific Frenchman, so hopefully this post will help someone on this planet.

The good news is that it has an age statement, and if my math is right it possibly contains Islay malt that was distilled in the 1970s.  The less-good news is that it was bottled at 40%, which makes me wonder if it was a sort of budget bottling by G&M.  If the whisky optimist in me was still alive, he would hope that this whisky was produced during a glut and thus has rare and old and magical sh*t in it.  But he's dead, so the realist just hopes this'll be a reasonable drink for the night.

(As always, if anyone out there knows more about this whisky, please let me know in the comment section below.  Thanks!)

Brand: Pride of
Pride of what? Islay

Ownership: Gordon & MacPhail

Type: Scotch Vatted (or Blended) Malt

Age: minimum 12 years
Bottling year: most likely somewhere in the 1980s or 1990s

Alcohol by Volume: 40%

(Many thanks to Cobo for this opportunity!)

The color is a very dark gold with orange highlights, a curious shade for a 12 year old whisky.  This is either a sherry Fat Man or a colorized product.  And in fact, in the nose, there is a gorgeous first burst of fruity musty chocolatey sherry.  Or perhaps those fruits, those tropical fruits, arrive courtesy of the mature spirit itself.  Then there's a note of men's cologne, you know, floral yet masculine.  Occasionally there's an odd mustardy egg note in the far back, but it's so faint and elusive that I may be imagining it.  What I'm not imagining is a nice yellow nectarine note, though.  After some time in the glass, the nose is primarily toffee and tangerines.  The peat reads sort of twiggy and herbal, rather than straightforward smoke or moss.  The palate is very citrusy and sweet, with a big caramel hit halfway through.  The sherry is much softer, as is the floral note.  It gets tarter and saltier with time.  There's a hint of soap and the texture is a little thin.  And there's a tiny bit of cardboard box in the far back, though that dissipates quickly.  The shortish finish picks up that musty moldy sherry cask note from the nose.  There's some salt and lime.  After a while it gets zestfully clean tart and picks up a peep of peat.

This is quite unlike most current blended malts and Islay single malts.  The peat is very gentle registering as a slight seasoning.  I know Monsieur Valentin gives the peat level (from 0-9) a '6', but compared to modern whiskies it feels like a '2' to me.  It also has that old funky sherry note, which I've always enjoyed.  And it's much fruitier than the most of the current peaty distilleries' products.

But that's all in the nose.  The palate is fine but not much more.  The thinness is of more concern than the subtle soap and cardboard notes.  The finish is shorter than I'd hoped, though I liked its tart zip.

I have no clue what went into this.  Assuming it was vatted (which I am assuming) I'd guess there's probably Laphroaig and Caol Ila, maybe some sherried Bunnahabhain.  I've never had young Port Ellen so I have no idea if that's swimming in here.

If you have a 70cL bottle in your stash, or one of these minis, you're sitting on a perfectly acceptable whisky (with a very good nose) which I can't imagine would be worth the effort to flip on the secondary market.  So when you open it, perhaps set moderate expectations.

Availability - Auctions, I s'pose

Pricing - ???

Rating - 83

Single Malt Report: Kilchoman 5 year old 2008 cask #74 (K&L exclusive)

Well, I've written plenty of stuff about Kilchoman this week already.  There was the Loch Gorm on Monday, Sanaig on Tuesday, and a murder of whiskies yesterday.  So I'll keep the intro short.  Today, I'm reviewing of one of their single casks.

Cask 74 from 2008 is being sold exclusively through K&L Wines.  It was originally priced at $110.  It did not sell out after a year on the shelf so K&L chose to add it to their sale/clearance section (also known as Insider's Advantage), selling it for $83.  As mentioned yesterday, I enjoyed it when I tried a sample, but due to the price I wasn't so moved to buy a whole bottle on my own.  Luckily I was able to split one with Florin, My Annoying Opinions, and Chemistry of the Cocktail.  MAO and Jordan will be posting their reviews today as well.  I'll post links to them once I am conscious...

And here are their links:
-- MAO, a snippy man who has lost every breakdancing competition he's entered, posted his review here.
-- Jordan, who has won all of those dance-offs, but only because he owns the judges in Portland, posted his review here.

Distillery: Kilchoman
Region: Islay
Type: Single Malt Whisky

Exclusive to: K&L Wines

Age: five years (Feb. 22, 2008 - December 16, 2013)

Maturation: ex-bourbon barrel

Alcohol by Volume: 58.4%
Cask: 74/2008

Colored? No

Chillfiltered? No

NEAT
Color - Bright amber

Nose - Starts with lemons, brown sugar, vanilla, and barley.  Baked potato, dried thyme, and dried oregano follow.  Then burnt plastic, saline, and vanilla-tinged smoke.  It's a little rooty, and has some Laphroaig-like medicinality (not a word!), which is balanced by a subtle nectarine note.  But it keeps returning to lemons or lemon creme.  After 15 minutes, here comes the cow poo.  And rainbow candy canes, of course.

Palate - The peated malt feels both green and floral, as opposed to smoky.  Lots of lime and fresh yellow stone fruit.  Vanilla bean, white sugar, anise, and a hint of something savoury.  It gets very candied at times.  Picks up some cinnamon candy and cracked pepper notes later on.

Finish - Smoke, salt, Underberg, and lemon gummi worms.  A brief whiff of cow.  Hint of cinnamon gum (Big Red).  It's quite sweet.

WITH WATER (~46%abv, from two tastings)
Nose - It gets leaner with the oak receding and the peat moving forward.  Some pepper, oyster-y salt, and confectioner's sugar.  Burnt hay, anise, and new carpet.  Hint of cinnamon.

Palate - The sweets are still there but it's a little farmier and bitterer.  Sweet basil, mint, and anise.  Tart citrus and lollipops.  More mossy than smoky.  Still pretty rich; more vibrant than Loch Gorm and Sanaig.

Finish - Shorter, but not short, if you follow.  Here the smoke comes totally to the fore.  In the background are smaller notes of sugar, bitterness, farm, and a peppery zip.

As noted, I tried this with water twice.  First when comparing it to Loch Gorm and Sanaig, then again on its own.  Happily my notes were nearly the same.  One thing I realized immediately was that when reduced to around 46%abv, this single cask is more enjoyable than Loch Gorm 2014 and Sanaig, from nose to palate to finish.  And when tried neatly, it's even better.

I found less cinnamon and less oak than David Driscoll notes on K&L's site.  But I'll agree with him that it is very good whisky.  I don't think it's "more flavorful, satisfying, and exciting than anything I've tasted from any Islay distillery over the past year" since, just off the top of my head, I know that I liked K&L's own 2001 Signatory Bowmore, the newer Laphroaig 18yo, and a couple of Kilchoman's single sherry casks better.  BUT I like this cask, and at the ripe old age of 5 years 10 months it might be the oldest Kilchoman single cask I've had so far.

At its current closeout price of $83, it's about a cheap as a Kilchoman single cask bottling gets nowadays.  If you think $83 is cheap for a 5 year old whisky, that's sorta up to you.  But I'm really happy I had a chance to split this with some good fellows.  I hope they liked it too... (Update: I liked it the most, so I guess I win.)

Availability - K&L Wines only

Pricing - $82.99 if you're signed up for their Insider's Advantage

Rating - 88

Notes From a Tasting: Six Kilchomans (March 2014)

Back in March of 2014, I attended a paid whisky event hosted by WhiskyRedhead of the SCWC (amongst other affiliations).  The special guests were David Othenin-Girard of K&L and James Wills of Kilchoman.  The event was located in the moody confines of the attic at Sassafras in Hollywood.  Here's a terrible photo:

The following whiskies were poured for us attendees as James (the son of the distillery's owner) regaled us with stories of their successes and failures:

Kilchoman Machir Bay
Kilchoman 100% Islay 3rd Edition
Kilchoman 2007 Vintage
Kilchoman Single Bourbon Barrel #360
Kilchoman K&L Exclusive Single Bourbon Barrel #74
Kilchoman K&L Exclusive Single Bourbon Barrel #172

Since I had a significant drive back home, I tasted only the first three at the event, then bottled samples of the last three for a future home tasting.  (Please note, these pours were smaller than my usual review samples, thus there are no grades.)

Though I did not take significant tasting notes on the first three, I can sum up my reactions thusly:

Kilchoman Machir Bay - Remains a very solid (borderline B/B+) whisky, which is feat considering its 3yo to 5yo age.  Hope they don't raise its price any time soon.
Kilchoman 100% Islay 3rd Edition - The 100% Islays never do it for me. They're the one part of Kilchoman's range that consistently tastes extra young and partially baked.  This edition is no different.
Kilchoman 2007 Vintage - Not only the best of the first three pours, but it's probably my favorite Kilchoman yet, and the only time I'll agree with one of Whisky Advocate's awards.  The word had gotten out about it even before WA's award, so finding a bottle of it in Southern California was nearly impossible.  Nearly.  :)

---

Three weeks later, I was presented with an evening alone at home.  So I fired up a film Kristen would never want to see: Hardware, a 1990 sci-fi horror with a totally disposable first two-thirds that then give way to an impressively brutal finale.  After that, it was time to taste the three bourbon barrels side by side.  (Again please note, these pours were smaller than my usual review samples, thus there are no grades.)

Kilchoman Single Bourbon Barrel 5yo 2007, cask #360 59.9%abv
Nose - Roasty toasty barley and moss.  Vanilla and cinnamon with savory herbs.  Basil and tri-tip.  Band-aids.
Palate - Big peppery candied peat.  Mint and buttered wheat toast.
Finish - Cayenne, peppermint, and a barrel of barley
Verdict:  Not complex but monolithic, it feels even bigger than the Octomores.  It probably would have been a fun one to own had I lived in a region that had actual winters.  Since it was bottled in 2012, it had sold out long before the tasting.

Kilchoman Single Bourbon Barrel 5yo 2008, cask #172 60.2%abv, a K&L exclusive
Nose - Now it's the sugars that feel enormous.  Lots of honey, caramel, and cherry candy.  Lemons, dried oregano, and "cinnamint".  Gets more floral and peaty with added water.
Palate - Dry and herbal.  No sweetness or vanilla/caramel.  But it does get spicier with water.
Finish - Very very drying.  Grainier with water.
Verdict: Wasn't a big fan of this one, though it improved with water.  The nose was youthful, decent.  But the palate and finish really didn't do much for me, and felt out of balance.

Kilchoman Single Bourbon Barrel 5yo 2008, cask #74 58.4%abv, a K&L exclusive
Nose - Anise, barrel char, and mmmmmmmmanure.  Peppery greens.  Brown sugar.  Gets very farmy and molassy with added water.
Palate - Almond paste, burnt moss, lightly sweet.  Pretty herbal.  Gets even more herbal and grassy and peaty with added water.
Finish - Well balanced spice, bitter, and sweet.
Verdict: Not sure why I saved the lowest abv for last, but this was the clear winner.  Every element was enjoyable.

Afterwards, I knew which one I liked and would be happy to purchase, but......K&L's price was $110, an amount I was unwilling to pay for a 5 year old whisky.  So, I closed up my notebook and put it back on the shelf, never expecting to look at that page again.

And then one year later, the two K&L barrels appeared in their clearance ("Insider Advantage") email, along with two other ex-bourbon Kilchoman singles.  Either K&L had flooded the market or people weren't willing to pay the original price, or both.  Three of the casks were now $80 and the #74 was $83 for some reason.  Out came the notes to make sure which was the good barrel.  Then I split one bottle of cask 74 with Florin, MAO, and Jordan.

Tomorrow, I take a proper dip into cask 74 and find out if it was really worth my excitement...

Single Malt Report: Kilchoman Sanaig

I'm still trying to figure out what's up Sanaig, the new member of Kilchoman's range.  It's half ex-bourbon, half ex-sherry, so it seems to sit perfectly between Machir Bay and Loch Gorm.  Seems like a smart safe design move.  But it has only been released in Continental Europe.  It's not a one-off experiment turd-dumpling duty free thing.  Nor has the distillery announced that it was a limited bottling.  Nor is it listed on their website.  The price, around €50, is reasonable as far as Kilchoman goes.  So I guess I'm wondering, when is it coming to the US?  We Yanks have hungrily consumed everything else the young distillery has sent across the Atlantic, why not this one?  Why can't we have it?!?!?!?!?

And should we really even give a crap?  Let's find out...

I dig the purple label!
Sample courtesy of OC Scotch Club.

Brand: Kilchoman

Region: Islay

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Maturation: 50% ex-Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels / 50% ex-oloroso sherry casks
Age: 4-5 years old

Alcohol by Volume: 46%

Colored? No

Chillfiltered? No

NOTE: I tried this alongside the Loch Gorm (a fully sherried Kilchoman) and an all ex-bourbon barrel Kilchoman.

NEAT
Color - Medium gold, curiously darker than the 2014 Loch Gorm.

Nose - Lots of newmake-y herbs, grass, and cinnamon red hots.  Lemon candy, peppermint patty centers, leather, and dirty-ish peat.  I also for some reason wrote, forebodingly: "Burnt planet".  The nose doesn't change much with air.  It may pick up some generic wood smoke, yeast, and more sugars.

Palate - Wow, a lot of tequila and mezcal.  Hot cereal (like cream of wheat) with mesquite smoke.  Yeast.  Black and red ground pepper.  With time it gets sweeter.  Some orange notes arise.  And finally after almost thirty minutes some sherry peeks out.

Finish - Lots of dirty peat.  Some sherry-ish dried fruits.  It's long, sharp, and bitter, though it softens with time.

WITH WATER (~40%abv)
Color - Farmier and yeastier.  Dark chocolate.  The cinnamon note becomes almost floral.

Palate - Aggressively peppery and salty.  More peat, more sherry.  Hints of white tequila and rye distillate.

Finish - Tennis ball can, black peppercorns, and hay.

Man, I think Kilchoman's new make feels longer matured than this.  The sherry also doesn't register much until the finish, though it does get louder when water is added.  One wonders if there were refill casks in the mix.

While Sanaig, priced at Machir Bay's level, is a good way to experience near-nude Kilchoman, I'm not sure we US Americans are missing a whole lot by not having it here.  Ruben at whiskynotes does like this a little more than I, though he doesn't seem to find much sherry influence either.  And one Reddit person loves the hell out of it, but his notes are so much different than mine that it appears as if we had different whiskies.  Meanwhile, my score would be the second lowest for Sanaig on whiskybase.

It appears as if I'm lowballing my favorite mini distillery this week.  Will it continue...?

Availability - Continental Europe only
Pricing - around $55-$70
Rating - 82

Single Malt Report: Kilchoman Loch Gorm, 2014 edition

First there were the seasonal releases (2009-2011 Spring, Summer, etc.).  Then there were the vintage releases and the 100% Islays.  And the single casks, ex-bourbon and ex-sherry.  Then in 2012, the first member of Kilchoman's regular range came out: Machir Bay, made up of a lot of 3yo, some 4yo, and a hint of 5yo whisky, and almost entirely from bourbon casks.

The second member of the regular range, Loch Gorm, arrived with hoopla the following year.  Kilchoman's single ex-sherry casks had been fan favorites ever since they'd first appeared.  While I can't speak for Europe, it was very difficult to find a bottle of a Kilchoman ex-sherry single cask in the US unless one acted very quickly.  With the demand their prices increased, from $89.99 (in 2011) to $129.99 (in 2015).  Then in 2013 when Loch Gorm, the all ex-sherry member of Kilchoman's regular range appeared, its MSRP was around $79.99 (as opposed to Machir Bay's $54.99).  Would a price of $80 for 5 year old non-full-strength whisky actually work in the market?  Apparently.  I'd thought about splitting a bottle but when I searched the LA area a month after the release, everyone was sold out.  Some stores had had it priced as high as $100.  Poop, was my audible exclamation, more or less.

Now it's 2015.  This year's edition of Loch Gorm was released......and it's sitting untouched on shelves at quite a number of locations on both coasts.  It has the same limited bottle count (10K) as the previous versions.  Winesearcher lists its average US price as $92, so that hasn't gone up much.  But it's no longer The New Thing, so perhaps its novelty has worn off.  Maybe after it lost that sheen people started asking themselves, is this 5 year old whisky worth $90?  In Europe its average price is $75, and not only is it available there but the previous edition (from 2014) can be had as well.

This isn't a tragedy.  The market has adjusted.  Loch Gorm has taken its place in a distillery's range and it's available for customers who are willing to pay the asking price.  What I'm trying to say is, now that it's not very current, I am going to review it.

Brand: Kilchoman

Region: Islay

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Maturation: ex-oloroso sherry casks
Age: 5 years old

Alcohol by Volume: 46%

Colored? No

Chillfiltered? No
(Thanks to Smokypeat for the sample!)

NOTE:  This sample was tried along side an all bourbon cask Kilchoman and a 50/50 bourbon/sherry cask Kilchoman.

NEAT
Color - A light gold, which makes sense since though this is all sherry casks, the whisky didn't spend that much time in 'em.

Nose - Mint and sulphur.  Lots of sulphur.  It's very medicinal; I'm having flashbacks to childhood meds that have probably since been banned.  Old school hospital antiseptic.  Those medicinal/antiseptic notes soon turn metallic and plastic.  Underneath that are dried berries and cherries.  Orange pixy stix.  Give it twenty minutes in the glass and some dried herbs show up, then hints of farm and slivovitz.

Palate - Thick mouthfeel.  Sweet and sulphur.  Tennis ball can.  Black pepper and a decent bitterness.  Lime, sweet basil, and mezcal.  After twenty minutes in the glass it picks up a concrete→dried fruit→smoked salt progression.  Then, curiously, large notes of vanilla and caramel.

Finish - Drier, saltier.  The peating feels mildest here.  There's the tennis ball can, orange peel, and peppery heat.  It gets sweeter with time, also picking up the vanilla and caramel notes.

WITH WATER (~40%abv)
Nose - Between the sulphur and the pharminess, this is a glass of pharts.  In a good way.  You know.  At the same time it gets a little floral.  Maybe some dried apricots.  But many more prunes and struck matches.

Palate - The good bitterness remains, as does the tennis ball can.  Pepper, vanilla, mild peat, and a sort of sweet sherry.

Finish - Cinnamon, peat, and sulphur.

If you can handle big sulphur and animal farm notes, I'll think you find the whisky swims well.  I was surprised by the amount of sulphur present in the nose, though there's less of it elsewhere.  Overall the nose is quirky and probably the best part.  The palate betrays the whisky's youth, which I didn't mind.  The finish was the most muted element, and that isn't the best time to fade out.

As I noted above, I tried this alongside other Kilchomans.  By doing so, I confirmed that at 46%abv Kilchoman matured in bourbon casks proves more enjoyable for me than Kilchoman matured in sherry casks.  In fact, if they were the same price I'd probably buy a Machir Bay before this.  But as you'll see, I'm still giving this a good score because it is good whisky.  I'm a big fan of Kilchoman and all their non-100%-Islay stuff.  They make young whisky of exceptional quality.  And here they're getting very close to matching the quality the rest of the young sherried Islays.  But they're not there yet.

Availability - This edition has gotten scarce in the US, easier to find in Europe.  The 2015 edition can be found at some specialty retailers.
Pricing - $80-$100 in the US, $70-$90 in Europe
Rating - 85 (it swims well)

WTF Is This? Shieldaig Highland Peaty Single Malt

WTF Is This? is back.  Today......to the cheap stuff!

Shieldaig Highland Malt (I added 'Peaty' above because that's what Total Wine's website calls it) is one of Total Wine & More's "Spirits Direct" brands, which means that it is a generic-style product sold exclusively at Total Wine.  Except it's also sold at Ace Spirits in Minnesota, which is something I cannot explain.  (It can be explained!  See the comment section below.)  Anyway, there are a number of Shieldaig whiskies -- NAS 'The Classic' blend ($14), a 12yo blend ($17), NAS Speyside single malt ($18), 12yo Speyside single malt ($30), 18yo Speyside single malt ($43), and this NAS Highlander ($18).

A new Total Wine branch just opened up in Long Beach and they've been sending us coupons every other week for their Spirits Direct and Winery Direct stuff attempting to lure me into buying one of these things I'd otherwise not consider.  So I took the bait, a 10%(!) off coupon, and moseyed over to the store.  I was tempted for a moment by the 18yo malt which was $38+ with the coupon.  But I realized that 18 years or not, that whisky would have me out 38 bucks (plus CA sales tax) if it was crap.  More intriguing, and much cheaper, was the peated whisky.  The "Highland".  Yes, quotes.

While in the store, I tried to figure out which Highland distillery provided the whisky.  The town of Shieldaig is in fact in the Highlands, in the Northwest.  What was nearby?  Ben Nevis made peated stuff for blends.  Out East was Glen Ord which used a little bit of peated malt.  But then again, the brand Shieldaig also made an unpeated Speyside so the Highland distillery didn't necessarily need to be near the town, a town name that was probably just used for branding purposes.

When I got home from the store, I did something I almost never do: immediately open the bottle.  Yes indeed, the whisky was peated.  But I couldn't find a specific distillery style.  And then while admiring the bottle I noticed this:

A classic Highland Malt from the Islands...

So.  If we're really going to use the now outdated Scotch Geography (because the brand uses it for its products), the Islands are not part of the Highlands.  "The Islands" is its own region.  So Highland, is really "Highland".  Another imaginary branding device, "Highland" conjures up images of tougher stuff than a Speyside.  But if it's from "the Islands", which distillery could it be?  Is Highland Park trading away their duff barrels?  Peated Jura?  It's doubtful that Diageo is handing over any Talisker at this point, especially since they're already using their crap casks in their own products (OOOOOOHHHH BURN!!!).  Maybe it's peated whisky from Mull; baby Ledaig is that you?  I don't know.  But here are my notes.

Label: Shieldaig
Owner: William Maxwell & Co. Ltd.
Retailer: Total Wine & More

Distillery: ???
Type: Single Malt
Region: Highlands Islands

Age: no statement

Maturation: probably ex-bourbons of multiple types

Alcohol by Volume: 40%
Chillfiltered? It is likely so.
Artificially Colored? Probs.

Its color is very gold.  Since the whisky is probably younger than this blog, e150a was likely deployed generously.  The nose is very peat forward, which is a surprise.  There are notes of rainsoaked sheep and dry dogs.  It is sugary, with plenty of caramel.  Slightly floral.  Caramel sauce with cinnamon.  Something like cinnamon peat.  Cassia cinnamon bark.  Some ethyl.  Less peat in the palate.  Very sweet.  Thin watery texture.  Barley, vanilla, and more cinnamon here.  The occasional weird sour and bitter notes vanish quickly.  The finish made up of peat, heat, vanilla, and touch of tartness.

I was about to write this off as a low C- whisky, slightly better than Grangestone's NAS Double Cask and Finlaggan Old Reserve, but then, as I usually do for reviews of cheaper whisky, I fixed myself a highball.  And it wasn't bad.  In fact, it didn't even need any bitters.  It delivered peat, grain, vanilla, and caramel in a straightforward flaw-free way.  And that's how I'm going to recommend it: 1 part whisky, 1.5 parts soda water, no bitters, ice optional.  I'm not saying it's orgasmic, but it'll do.

As for the whisky's source?  I don't know.  It's in a simple peaty state wherein they could probably change up the source when needed without much fuss.  I would be interested in this as a 12 or 18 year old (and a 43%abv wouldn't hurt) and would pay the Speyside prices for it.  But I doubt there's much 12 or 18 year old peated whisky being tossed aside right now.  In the meantime, this is what Shieldaig is slinging.  It's not incredible, but it is peaty, it is a single malt, it is better than Finlaggan Old Reserve, and it is $18 (or $16 if you have the current coupon!).

(Another great reader came through with some info about Shieldaig and the possibility of the malt being Talisker.  See the comment section below.)

Availability - Total Wine & More
Pricing - $17.99
Rating - 77 (best as a highball!)