So, I forgot to enter my guess for the fourth dram, but didn’t have a clue anyway. I would have guessed a random Speysider and I think I wouldn’t have had any points anyway.

Yesterday’s entry post is a tad late since somehow I couldn’t open my blog for a while and only just remembered to try again. The tastings notes are here:

Sniff:
Grassy, and clean in a dirty way. A heavy peat scent, but not overly smoky. Stewed vegetables, plants, leafy greens in general. Again, pretty closed on the nose (like the one I forgot yesterday). Salty with minerals.

Sip:
Quite intense, and I think it’s of a higher strength. It might just be intense and very dry. Slightly tannic even, with oak, grain and dry peat. Earthy in a ‘dirt’ way. Some greens too.

Swallow:
The finish mellows quickly, but keeps the earthy, dry and woody notes. Wet, fresh (read: green) oak. Quite long, but also very predictable.

It turned out to be a Talisker, but I guessed it was a Ledaig. In my opinion it had that clean but big smokiness that I associate with Ledaig. Luckily, I got points again because I guessed the right region, and I wasn’t too far off from the age.

The dram is fine, and interesting for such a young one. Quite unlike many Islay whiskies at the moment this isn’t a razor edges peat bomb, but already shows some complexity. Still, it’s also not the most inspiring dram ever and in cases like this you’re far better off just getting the regular 10 years old.

83/100

Talisker 8yo, 2008-2016, 50%, Hunter Laing’s Old Malt Cask