May 23, 2016

So once again we couldn’t make it to Islay for the festival, but our good friend Angus McRaild is over there and could send us his own tasting notes. I think it’s important to know that Angus and yours truly share very similar tastes with regard to whisky (perhaps not w.r.t. folk rock, though), and that you may take his scores exactly as if they were mine, should scores matter. - Serge

Palate: Hot, syrupy oak at first with lots of glazed fruits and tar liqueur. This is much nicer on immediate delivery than the nose. More fat, pulpy fruits and oils but also quite a lot of oak still, there is more distillate character but you’re never forgetting it’s really an oak-forward whisky. Some nice sweet gristy notes and peat oils emerge on second sip with notes of orange marmalade and something slightly coastal like sandalwood. With water there is a little more deft green fruit but its no fruit-bomb Bowmore. Greengages, various jams, then more wood derivatives such as pin resin and tea tree oil. With a bit more time it really starts to display some nice notes of wormwood and Green Chartreuse.
Finish: A lot of residual tingling on the front of the palate and a nice coastal fade but not overly long. Slightly sticky woody notes and something menthol in the background.
Comments: It has its moments but this sort of bottling feels a little like a missed opportunity. Bowmore’s distillate is so distinctive it’s kind of frustrating that for a Feis bottling they don’t embrace and show off their own best qualities. The oak is just a bit too prevalent here and there is a bit of a confusion between the virgin oak and the sherry. 79 points.

Palate: Peated sticky toffee pudding (that doesn’t exist but perhaps it should...?). Also smoked Dundee Cake (time to stop inventing phenol-infused puddings perhaps?) Lots of jams, creosote, tar liqueur, camphor, hessian cloth and some dark fruits. Maybe becomes a bit tart and tannic after a couple of sips. Lets add some water... more brine notes, smoked mussels and syrupy camphor notes. The sherry and the distillate remain pretty well integrated with nice notes of warm rye bread, black tea and freshly kilned malt. Some more medicinal qualities appear with time such as mercurochrome and a lick of iodine.
Finish: Good length with some solid resinous smokiness, seashore bonfires and peat oils.
Comments: I often find these big, sticky sherry casks and Bowmore can become easily disentangled and a little un-balanced. This, however, was a solid one and a good surprise. A highly quaffable and very worthy Feis bottling. Coming soon to an auction near you no doubt... 89 points.

Nose: What’s great is that they’ve really tried to embrace the distillery character. Immediately you have lots of these elegant dried kelp notes, subtle camphor aromas and mineral qualities. Lots of fresh oysters, lemon juice, wet rocks, seashore pebbles, sheep’s wool and various medicinal tinctures. Totally classical and quite seductive. I almost don’t want to add water but I don’t want to bring Whiskyfun into disrepute (again). Water brings out some autolytic qualities, the breadiness of a good Blanc du Blanc Champagne along with preserved lemons, smoked cereals and crisp white peppery note. Even a wet dog or two (Serge always apologises to the dogs but I think they probably enjoy being wet). Totally wonderful. 
Palate: Bready, peaty, slightly yeasty, gristy, lots of these wonderful tertiary notes which are only found in peated whiskies given sufficient maturation time. Green fruits aplenty, almost more fruity than most modern Lagavulins with a wonderful citrus edge; lots of lemon peel and citrus oils. Some green olive notes and resurgence of these briny notes including capers and anchovies. Perhaps you could add this to a Puttanesca...? With water... it dons a Mezcal mask and gives up notes of smoked agave, more various olives and a soft but luscious phenolic signature.
Finish: Lemony, oily, fruity, smoky, peaty long and totally satisfying.
Comments: This is quite a departure from previous years Feis bottlings, it doesn’t have the same blade-like, ashy sharpness. Instead, this really reminds me of the very early 16 year old White Horse bottlings from the late 1980s. It’s the same kind of fruit-driven, gently phenolic sort of Islay malt. A little paean to the past and a great bottling for their 200th anniversary. I love it, a hugely pleasurable dram. Lets hope that quite a few will be opened and enjoyed rather than just traded at auction. 92 points.

Nose: Ash, mercurochrome, iodine, some mineral notes and creosote. It’s a big, bone dry Laphroaig that almost has something of good Sancerre (although the colour would suggest a rose). Thankfully the Madeira is quite shy on the nose at first, you rather just get some pretty typical and good modern Laphroaig characteristics. Develops on oily, fulsome peat qualities with brine, TCP and a variety of medicinal notes. Perhaps a tiny shred of red fruits from the Madeira but its very quiet; it was probably a dry Madeira. With water: no massive changes, still a big, dry, hyper-clean, coastal Laphroaig.
Palate: Quite consistent with the nose, lots of TCP, tar, iodine, wet beach pebbles, seaweed in the sun and wet smoked grains. So far the colour is where the Madeira has the loudest voice. A nice savory smokiness develops all on gentle ashy notes, bonfire smoke and olive oil. Not hugely complex but quite direct, well structured and precise. With water there is a little suggestion of fruit from the Madeira but again it is very subtle and totally dominated by these quite straightforward Laphroaig characteristics. Really good stuff.
Finish: Ashy, mineralic, briny, lemony. Another big, bone-dry blade that lingers to nice smoky embers on the palate.
Comments: I think Laphroaig are very smart with their Feis bottlings. Not expensive, quite simple, very classical in style and loads of bottles so there are no silly queues and everyone can afford and acquire one. The Madeira finish seems a little pointless and disposable to me but it certainly didn’t hurt the whisky and was well integrated. A good, solid Laphroaig that is destined for hip flasks on the shore in years to come. Which is exactly what these bottlings should be I think. Well done Laphroaig. 86 points.