Young guns, having some fun...

there's danger in emotional ties.

It's Whisky Review Time again. This month Regional Wines put on a tasting of young whisky's, nothing over 8 years. Here's the lineup along with my notes:
Hazelburn 8yo x3 distilled 46% unpeated : raisin dry nose, very sweet muscatel taste, med long finish. nice, but nothing special. 7/10
Dun Bheagan single malt Speyside 43% unchill filtered : sweet sultana nose ?sherry, quite a ginger flavour, short-med finish - a bit light in taste/finish, 7/10
Signatory Islay 5 yo 58.4% no chill/colour : huge nose, smelt young, overtones of petrol in nose, turps/phenol flavour, short finish 6/10
Kilchoman New Spirit Islay 1 month old Bourbon/sherry 63.5% 50ppm phenol Optic Barley 06.12.06 : OMG this was something fascinating nose: turps, salty, phenol disgusting; palate god knows how to describe it, everything in there wow; finish: my notes say 'fascinating, mind blowing'. 8.5/10
Ledaig Provenance Spring 97-Spring 05 2 refill hogsheads DMG1767-1768 46% no chill/colour : bacon/iodine phenol nose, orange light flavour, medium peppery finish. 5/10 (yeah didn't like this one)
Laphroaig finished in quarter cask 48% non chill filtered : nice, fruity, sweet vanilla nose, soapy salty taste, very smokey long finish. 7/10
Ardbeg Still Young 56.2% 1998-2006 no chill filter : smokey/ash islay sweet nose, bacon/salty flavour, and long finish 9/10.

No major surprises there, looking at the line-up I'd have picked the Ardbeg as the best. Shame you can't get hold of them at the moment :(

What was really interesting was the Kilchoman new spirit. Daniel and Regional had managed to get 30 minitures of the new spirit (can't be called whisky until its been aged 3 years). The smell was over the top - but the taste was fascinating. It also polarised our tasting with a lot of people failing it, and Nick and I going my god, this is incredible. All of the traditional whisky flavours were in there, hidden, but the more you let it roll around in the mouth the more they came through. It is obviously an Islay even at this age ! I'm really looking forward to seeing what this distillery will produce when they come of age - which apparently is 2011 - when a 5yo will be released. There's a couple of us thinking of going in on that here...actually Daniel might be keen too...

B