This is a real treat - I found the fairly recent Lagavulin 8 Year on major discount at my local liquor store. It was significantly cheaper than the 16 Year, which isn't common here in Washington DC. This was created to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Lagavulin distillery, which is one of my very favorites. It's fairly well known among drinkers of heavily peated Scotch that the younger the age of the liquid, the rougher the smoke tends to be, to the point of being unruly and sometimes unpalatable. Let's see how this turns out...
Glenmorangie has experimenting a bit more than most distilleries these days. In the last few years, we've had Scotch that was aged in madeira casks, wine casks, using fancy barley, Grand Cru barrels, casks made from premium slow-growth oak, and so on. Their Prestige Line releases a new interestingly-aged bottle every year, and 2018's release is Spios (Gaelic for "Spice"), which is aged entirely in rye whiskey barrels (!).
I first had this delectable Islay Scotch at a Kilchoman tasting back in the fall of 2016. It's Kilchoman's entirely sherry-aged offering, and I took an immediate liking to it. Unlike the Single Cask releases, which have a strong (and incredible) savory element, like barbecue ribs, Loch Gorm is more subtle, and perhaps a little more pure. So I bought a bottle, which I just opened.
My father donated this bottle, which I have been thinking about for some time now. I've had a bottle of the Cask Strength in the past, and it blew me away - almost literally. I remember huge waves of peat and brine and iodine and ash and seaweed. And after the liquid sat in the glass for a few minutes, a rich rich vanilla, a golden malt, and a thick biscuit flavor. Was my memory accurate? Was I romanticizing this potent, monstrous dram? Let's find out. This is 10 years in bourbon casks, batch 009, bottled at 58.1% ABV.
I went to the Ardbeg release party for their An Oa bottling last year, and it was a BLAST. I had a ton of fun, and I came away with nothing but positive vibes and delicious tastes of fantastic whiskey.
Well, this year's Ardbeg Day, part of Feis Ile, came today and I was lucky enough to be in attendance. At Jack Rose Saloon in Adams Morgan, a large crowd came together to celebrate Ardbeg whiskey, and specifically their new Grooves bottling for 2018.
This pour was a generous gift from the good gentlemen at Arrowine here in Washington DC. They had a sample bottle and poured me a Glencairn of this 18 year old Campbelltown Scotch. Heavily sherried (80%, I've read) and the remainder ex-bourbon, bottled at 46% ABV.
Port Charlotte is the heavily peated imprint of Islay distillery Bruichladdich. I've seen a few different Port Charlotte varieties - Scottish Barley, Islay Barley, Feis Ile, and others - but before now I'd only had the now-discontinued The Peat Project, which had a deeply flawed nose but had very savory flavors.
This was a gift from my good friend Mik of miksologist.com. He knows I'm a mammoth Scotch drinker, and found this for a steal. I do love the Balvenie lineup (and can't wait to try the peated cask), and have particularly good memories of the Caribbean Cask offering.
I've had several offerings in the Compass Box family - including Spice Tree, Orangerie, and Great King Street: Artist's Blend, which I reviewed and quite liked - but none has intrigued me more than Peat Monster.
