Laphroaig Cairdeas Port Wood

Grade: B

Type: Scotland, Single Malt, Islay

Age: N/A

ABV: 51.30%

Price: $70

Availability: Better Whiskey Stores/Limited Run

The nose has a much lighter peatiness to it than that of a standard Laphroaig expression. There is a lot of dark fruit on the nose. The palate has some orange, sweet tawny port, smokey malt, The finish is dry and fruity like a white wine, medium peat. This is a unique Laphroaig expression that is certainly worthy of owning/trying. I tasted it with two other standard Laphroaig expressions and while I didn’t prefer this to the QC or 10 cask, I did think it was unique and quite good.

Laphroaig 18

Grade: B-

Type: Scotland, Single Malt, Islay

Age: 18 Yrs

ABV: 48.00%

Price: $145

Availability: Better Whiskey Stores

The nose has some peatiness, oranges, cereal and a bit of honey. The palate is salty, wood, leather, malted vanilla. The finish is much lighter than most Laphroaig expressions, it’s long but not overly complex, peat and some orange, toffee. Overall I prefer the younger Laphroaig expressions to this one. If you decide to give this a try, I encourage you to try it next to either the 10 yr expression or the QC.

Duncan Taylor Bruichladdich 19 Yr

Grade: B

Type: Scotland, Single Malt, Islay

Age: 19 Yrs

ABV: 50.80%

Price: $210

Availability: Limited Run

The nose is soft on this with some dried fruit and honey melon. The palate is much of the same, soft and a bit grassy with some oranges. The finish has a bit of spice/pepper and is a medium finish. This is another solid expression put together by Duncan Taylor. If you are looking for peat, look elsewhere as this bottle from Islay has no real peatiness to it.

Kilchoman 2007 Vintage

Grade: B-

Type: Scotland, Single Malt, Islay

Age: Vintage 2007

Price $85

Availability: Better Whiskey Stores

The nose of this is peat and white wine with some dried fruits. The palate is a nice smoky campfire that tastes like smoked meat and fruit. The finish is medium and adds a decent ballance to the expression. I like this bottle but it’s far inferior to some other expressions by Kilchoman. To much white wine and not enough complexity for me.

Ardbeg Corryvreckan

Grade: B+

Type: Scotland, Single Malt, Islay

Age: N/A

ABV: 57.10%

Price: $80

Availability: Better Whiskey Stores

The nose has a lot of peat, tar, dark chocolate, and pepper. On the palate there is seaweed, currant, cake bread, and a serious amount of peat. The finish is very long, lots of iodine/smoke and more dark chocolate. I like this expression a lot. However, I do like the Uigeadail slightly better as I feel like it is slightly more ballanced.

Kilchoman 100% Islay 3rd Edition

Grade: B

Type: Scotland, Single Malt, Islay

Age: N/A

ABV: 50.00%

Price: $85

Availability: Better Whiskey Stores

This expression is called 100% Islay because unlike most distilleries the process from barley to bottling is done completely on Islay at the Kilchoman distillery. On the nose there is peat, iodine and some dried fruits. The palate is malty with some decent peat, not a lot of peat but the ballance is superb, dry but lightly sweet with the taste of fruit. The finish is light with a bit of a lemon zip to it and smoke. This bottle is slightly lighter than some of the other expressions I have had by Kilchoman. However, the ballance really does make this is an excellent whisky that is a must try.

Caol Ila 14 Year Chieftain’s Rum Cask

Grade: B

Type: Scotland, Single Malt, Islay

Age: 14 yrs

ABV: 55.00%

Price: $105

Availability: Rare

The nose on this is peat, tar, and dried fruits. On the palate, iodine, malt, lots of chocolate, dark rum taste. The finish is long and lingers with some brown sugar. This expression when you find it is a must try. Having trouble finding it? It was a limited run but I do believe it can still be ordered online as of 09/2013

Bruichladdich The Laddie 10

Grade: B

Type: Scotland, Single Malt, Islay

Age: 10 yrs

ABV: 46.00%

Price: $55

Availability: Better Whiskey Stores

The nose is light peat and fruit. The palate is very lightly peated with some malted sherry and dried fruits. This expression is extremely well ballanced. The finish does have a little smoke to it but overall it’s smooth with a medium finish. This single malt is ballanced and lightly peated with some fruit forward notes, has some nice white wine qualities. I am a fan.

Bruichladdich Octomore 5.1

Grade: B+

Type: Scotland, Single Malt, Islay

Age: 5 yrs

ABV: 59.50%

Price: $190-210

Availability: Better Whiskey Stores

Looking for peat? Try 169 PPM, that’s about triple the standard Ardbeg. The nose on this is massive peat (no suprise there) smells like new rubber. On the palate it’s super rich and really coats the entire mouth. Hard to believe that it packs this kind of ABV, there is virtually no heat at all. The finish is like the ending of a barbeque, you may feel compelled to lick the inside of your glass, your behavior is understood at this point. There is a bit of dry fruit in the finish as well. Fantastic stuff, this is a must try for Islay peat junkies.

Mcclelland’s Islay Single Malt

Grade: B-

Type: Scotland, Single Malt, Islay

Age: N/A

ABV: 40.00%

Price: $25

Availability: Better Whiskey Stores

If you are looking for some inexpensive peat, then look no further. This is probably some young Bowmore. The nose has some citrus and a light smoke with a dash of honey. The palate has a good amount of malt and some light but effective peat, very nice ballance. The finish is a  bit salty with iodine/peat. At this price….I’m a fan