Islands Single Malt, 15 Years, 46% ABV, $104

I’m a day behind again. Here’s yesterday’s dram.

The nose is a soft note of seawater and smoke with caramel, grass and vanilla. The taste is very salty throughout with a lead-in of bitter orange, vanilla and ginger, followed up by white pepper, vanilla and more ginger. The finish is mildly leathery smoke and oak, with plenty of pepper. This is the saltiest whisky I’ve had and it seems to enhance the spicy aspects. The sweetness is mild, but it could use a bit more to provide balance. The smoke is most noticeable after the salt and pepper fade. Highland Park has come highly recommended, but I’m not too impressed with this one.

Master of Malt offers the following description:

A beautiful single cask Highland Park distilled on the 5th March 1992 and aged in cask 1233 before bottling by Montgomerie’s in June of 2007.