Tag Archives: Ian MacLeod

MacLeods 8 Year Old Highland (Ian MacLeod)

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Highland Single Malt, 8 Years, 40% ABV, $47

The nose is light with notes of raw honey, butterscotch, pear and burnt sugar. The taste is tart, sweet and lightly peppered. Lots of vanilla, apple, salted caramel and ginger lead in and settle into a slightly bitter citrus vanilla finish. The pepper is soft throughout, so the fading is much less notable. When its all said and done, all that remains is a mild oaky bitterness. The entry is very bold as compared to the nose and the finish. Still, this is a decent dram.

MacLeod’s bottling notes:

An undemanding 8 year old single malt from an unnamed Highland distillery, this was bottled by Ian Macleod.

MacLeods 8 Year Old Islay (Ian MacLeod)

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Islay Single Malt, 8 Years, 40% ABV, $50

This my first Islay Scotch and I’ve really been looking forward to the experience. I’ll just dive right in.

Salty seawater, orange and lots of smoke. I think I need to give this one some room to breath. Okay, the smoke has settled down some and the orange has become orange peel and shortbread with just a hint of creamy vanilla. I also detect a faint spruce tree. I was expecting a note of iodine based on what I’ve heard, but this may be coming through as the fir for me. Anyway, its time for a sip. The taste is a lot of peat and oily smoke… not my favorite. Now, I do get a taste of iodine that persists for quite a while. Also, not my idea of a desired flavor. Other flavors I detect are vanilla and pepper.

Master of Malt says:

A peaty 8 year old Single Malt from a secret Islay, bottled by Ian Macleod as an introduction into malt whisky.