Islay | Page 3 of 3 | Tasting Notes

Islay vibes

A little story on how it’s like to be on Islay, one of the most peaceful places in the world. Especially for whisky lovers like us!

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The Caol Ila 14yo Unpeated 2012

The Caol Ila 14yo Unpeated from 2012 is a part of the collection for quite some time. To me, this has always been a good competitor for the discontinued Glenlivet Nadurra 16yo.

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Bruichladdich The Laddie Valinch 34 2004-2018

If you ask us to describe Bruichladdich in one word, it would be: mavericks. They are definitely not afraid to experiment and when it comes to their less experimental whisky’s they don’t necessarily care what others do or say. In short: they do things their own way, and they...

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Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Cask Exploration 20 Valinch

Leaving Kilchoman behind, we went on to our last stop on our trip: Bruichladdich. There we tasted the Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Cask Exploration 20 Valinch

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Kilchoman Distillery Exclusive 8yo Madeira Cask Matured 2010-2018

A quick stop at Kilchoman, discussing their early years and a review of the Distillery Exclusive 8yo Madeira Cask Matured edition.

Ardbeg Day 2018

It’s Ardbeg Day, let’s celebrate and share the love! Our review of Ardbeg Grooves is on the way (edit: you can find it here), so for now we’ll do with the extraordinary Kelpie, cheers!

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Islay’s Ardview Inn and Bruichladdich Black Art 1990 (04.1)

The bar at Ardview Inn and tasting notes of Bruichladdich Black Art 23yo 1990 04.2

Islay Travelblog 7: Bunnahabhain Distillery

Ahoy mateys, strap in for a bumpy ride to Bunnahabhain distillery. Unconventional and not afraid to do things a little different, like real pirates of Islay.

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Caol Ila Distillery Exclusive 2017

Visiting Caol Ila Distillery, getting the full Islay-weather experience and tasting notes of the Distillery Exclusive.

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Lagavulin Distillery Exclusive Bottling 2017

The Lagavulin Distillery, easily recognized by It’s tall red smokestack is not a complete stranger to us. Our collection contains the 8yo 12yo CS, 16yo, the Distillers Edition and some indie bottlings which don’t bear their name, but obviously come from this distiller. So we thought Lagavulin couldn’t surprise...

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Ardbeg Kelpie

When you think Islay, you think Ardbeg. One of the most renowned distillers on the island. For some it’s too bold, for some it’s heaven.

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Kilchoman Madeira Cask Matured

A Kilchoman with a Madeira twist. A great cask experiment from Kilchoman, but how does it taste?

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Bowmore Warehousemen’s Selection 2017 – Distillery Exclusive

We made love to Bowmore, we visited her distillery and the final result: tasting notes of the 17yo Distillery Exclusive from 2017.

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Laphroaig Cairdeas 15yo

About our first moments on Islay, visiting Laphroaig and the Cairdeas 15yo tasting notes.

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How we traveled to Islay

Our travel to Islay by plane, bus and ferry, a tasting note of the Arran 14yo and a glimpse of what heaven looks like.

Our wonderful trip to Islay

We’re back home after a wonderful trip to Islay. We’ve had a great time visiting the (for now) eight working distilleries, tasting lots of drams and talking to the beautiful people living on the island.

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Laphroaig Triple Wood

Spotlights on, theatrical smoke filling the room, give a round of applause, here is Laphroaig Triple Wood!

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Bunnahabhain Toiteach

This whisky has been part of the collection since a very long time. And it grew on me, to the point that I can’t live without.

Peated distillers editions

Peaty distillers editions, which one do you think is best? Our pick is definitely the Talisker, which has been finished on Amoroso sherry casks. A review on this one is coming soon!

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Caol Ila 12yo

An all-time favourite, this beautiful Caol Ila 12. This was one of our first discoveries from Islay, a long time ago, and we have never forgotten it.

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Kilchoman Red Wine Cask Matured

Let’s review another wine matured whisky. Most of you have seen this one passing by, it’s the limited edition Kilchoman Red Wine Cask Matured.

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Laphroaig Quarter Cask

The Laphroaig Quarter Cask, a highly affordable dram from our friends of Laphroaig.

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The Ileach Cask Strength

The Ileach Cask Strength scores well with the critics, Jim Murray awarded this single malt from an unnamed distillery a mindblowing 97 points.

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Kilchoman Sanaig

A Kilchoman with a maturation of roughly 25/30% bourbon and 70/75% sherry casks. Interesting!

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Lagavulin 12yo Cask Strength 2012

If you have tried Lagavulin 16yo, 8yo and distillers edition already, this could be your next step.

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Bunnahabhain 12yo

Sweet floral aromas and a touch by the almighty sea, here’s a classic: Bunnahabhain 12yo

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Ardbeg Uigeadail

Ardbeg Uigeadail, do we need to say more? As far as the Ardbeg core range is concerned, this one became a staple in our collection, for a long time already.

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