The second to last day of the Blind Tasting Competition brings us back to Islay, and another re-tasting. I have no idea what happened here, and why I didn’t get any of the typical smoky notes that are normal for the distillery, and that I really enjoy too.

So, you guessed it. I was completely off. But I still think this must have been a weird day for me in the competition to be this far off. I went for a Glentauchers in the end, because of the strange funky notes, and the intensity of the whisky. I also went for a far lower score than I gave this in my initial review of the whisky.

Sniff:
There’s dried mango and almonds in this one, a hint of orange as well. Quite a bit of oak, garden mulch, tree bark, old and wet casks. Behind it all I get a note of minerals and slate. After a couple of minutes, after having tried it, I start getting a note of chocolate as well, but also beef broth.

Sip:
Initially the palate starts slightly sweet, but turns towards more bitterness quickly. Syrupy with mango, a bit of browned butter, cough syrup. Yeasty sherry, sawdust, cherry stones. A weird and volatile concoction of flavors.

Swallow:
A slightly rubbery mouthfeel remains, but again with dried mango, papaya, a bit yeasty. Some oak too, but not a lot.

Of course, it’s been a year since I reviewed this, but I still figured I remembered this one quite well. I fondly keep checking whether or not a bottle pops up at a decent price, and would even consider buying at a slightly higher price because I loved it so much. Now I doubt this, but let’s chalk this one up to me being an idiot, having an off day and the sample or glass changing the whisky compared to when it comes from the bottle.

85/100

Still available at Best of Wines for € 200