Islands Single Malt, No Age Statement,
40%ABV, $50

This is yesterday’s dram… one more and I’m caught up!  This is also my first Island malt… here I go!

Wow! Lots of smoke rising from this baby. I also smell seawater soaked peat with vanilla and caramel trying to break through. After letting it breath a bit, lemon drops appear as the smoke dissipates lightly. There’s still a bold peaty fragrance. The taste is notably salty, peppery and sweet with the peppery finish lasting 40-40 seconds leaving behind smoke, peat and oak. The last thing to go is the smoky peat, but its not overpowering anywhere along the way. Back to the initial taste… there’s plum, ginger, tart apple and, of course, the salty, peaty smoke and pepper. The body of this whisky is full and flavorful… nothing seems particularly out of balance, but there’s a bit of something missing that I can’t quite put my finger on. Still, my first Island experience is a good one.

Master of Malt can’t identify the source of this whisky, saying:

Rather smoky with a classic Island flavour – think coastal notes and thick malt. Our Island single malt is from an unnamed distillery, and we can’t specify the age. The result of this is we can buy and sell these bottles at ridiculously low prices considering how good the whisky is. Try it, try and guess where it’s from and post your comment below if you think you know! (We can’t tell you though, it’s a secret!)