Professional reviews
Serge Valentin (80)
I'm sure there's a story here – NAS need them - but the world is getting sick of gooey stories, is it not? Products and features please, keep your stories for Zooms (or stinky SEO). Colour: pale white wine. Nose: a light peatiness, distant whiffs of green peppercorns, perhaps a little iodine, a little new wool, a little earth… All that is very 'little' indeed, almost shy I would say. Whispering whisky (yes I know alliterations always kill). Mouth: olives, peat, salt, lemons. Repeat. Extremely narrow and young, a little rudimentary. Not bad at all, just rudimentary. Great surface, little depth. Finish: rather long, greener, more peppery. Comments: it's very good no doubt, but this is something I often find in peaters from the Scottish mainland too, they would lack depth. Which generates frustration and a wee feeling of, well, how would I put this… Coitus interruptus?
Words of Whisky (85)
Proper whiskey at a young age that regresses a little on the finish.
Nose
Charcoal but also a sweet fruitiness. Think some port poached pears, pineapple and honey-glazed apple. Touches of barbecued, charred bacon. Finally a whiff of smoked barley husks too. And some Irn-Bru? I thought this was Irish!
Taste
There's yellow fruits, stewed apples, bonfire and a pretty distinct ashiness. Also bitter pineapple, refined sugar and ripe red apple parts.
Finish
A tinge of wood smoke and soft yellow fruits. Short to medium in length.
BOW (86)
Whisky Notes (83)
Nose: a fairly mezcal-y smoke, green and herbal with a thin structure. Heady eucalyptus and pine smoke. Then some raw wool, ginger and a subtle salty touch. Maybe very unripe pineapple in the background.
Mouth: still this high-pitched style, with lemon zest and leather, hints of black pepper and salt. It is rather gentle if you compare it to Islay malts. Burnt herbs and heather, maybe coriander on the barbecue. Then some menthol, a floral / youngish spirity note.
Finish: not so long, with green herbal notes, dry ash and some cold mocha in the end.
A light peated malt, so light in fact that it may appeal more to people who normally don’t like peated whiskey. Clearly not a rival for Islay whisky, and that’s probably a smart choice.
