Let The Drink Talk

[Spirit of Islay]

Just to keep you going....

Tasting notes From The Jim McEwan Masterclass 28th May 2006

Malt No.1 - The X4 !
The 4 times distilled Bruichladdich
ABV- 86%
Colour – Off white (it’s had 6 weeks in an American Oak Cask .)
Nose / Taste – Flowery , very smooth , Oompth I think is the word ……
Finish – Long

Malt No. 2 – Rosebank 1989
14 years in a 1st fill Hoggy , 5 months in a wine cask
ABV – 56.2%
Colour - Bronze getting onto light amber .
Nose – Fruity , vanilla , with water honeysuckle
Taste – lots of vanilla w/w fruity and vanilla .
Finish – Medium and very well balanced .

Malt No.3 – Bruichladdich 1989
Bourbon casked finished in a guigal syrah cask
ABV 52.4%
Colour – Hell of a red tinge , beyond Rosé
Nose – Vannila , Strawberry jam , touch Atlantic freshness
Taste – Lots of Red Fruits
Finish – Long and sweet (Jammy/ sugary)

Malt No.4 – Bruichladdich 1970
Good ol’ Bourbon Cask though soon to be ace’d ! took me back to the first Jim-san tasting in 2002 and the superb 70 we there …….
ABV – 43.1%
Colour – Bright Gold
Nose – Vanilla , Fudge , green fruits and sherbert
Taste – Vanilla and creamy fudge , touch Maritime
Finish – Long and Beautifully exquisite , the perfect Laddie!

Malt No.5 – Duncans’ Bottling
A vatting of loads of Laddies of all ages
ABV – 46.8%
Colour – polished Bronze
Nose – Vanilla , fudge and an abundance of fruits
Taste – Creamy toffee , vanilla and atlantic freshness
Finish – Long and creamy fudge , stupendous !

The Drambuster Valinch!

There are 2 other valinches (details on my site) but haven't tasted them yet .
1990 Bruichladdich
Bourbon Cask no. 473 Bottle No 89 of 487
ABV – 56.9%
Colour – Golden Straw
Nose – Typical bourbon Laddie , vanilla and creamy fudge , green apples and a touch citric .
Taste – smooth Toffee , sea air , very sweet !
Finish – fairly long with a nice creamy sweetness .
A very nice Laddie , good balance , will go down well I would have thought .

Ardbeg Committee Reserve – Young Uigeadail (The Oogling)
Young Ardbeg mixed with a 2002 sherry Butt
ABV 59.9%
Colour - Bright Bronze
Nose – Bags of Malt (most I’ve tasted in an Ardbeg !) , Cereal , peat , the sherry is fighting to get through but not winning .
Taste – nice young spirit , very sweet , bags of peat and after a few tastes the smoke burst out and then the touch of sherry emerges .
Finish – Sooooooo Long , still warming the cockles of my heart ………
Could be a bit too spirity for some people but I personally like this type of raw young spirit .

Slainte
Gordon
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[Spirit of Islay]

Bunnahabhain Festival Bottling
14yo Pedro Ximenez finished 1 of 761
ABV – 52.6%
Colour – Orange Marmalade
Nose – Sweet sherry to start with then Dark chocolate Sherry liqueur sweets (like the ones you get at christmas ).
Taste – Dry and sweet then dark chocolate , eventually the Bunnahabhains maritime background emerges .
Finish – Long , dry and Cocoa powder .

Very good Bunnahabhain finish , the Pedro ximenez is stronger than the port of last year but it makes an interesting combination
_________________
Homer's Hypothesis - One can never own too many Ardbegs.......

And a dedicated Islay Forum !!!!

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