Isle of Skye 12 Year

Nose: Oak, light but noticeable peat, chocolate digestive Palate: a bit thin, peat, developing to sweet berry fruit Finish: light pepper, chocolate, Darjeeling tea _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Last 16, Match 4: Isle of Skye 12yo versus Ben Bracken Highland Isle of Skye is a blend from Ian Macleods and you’d be forgiven if you thought the name meant this was solely Talisker malt blended with grain whisky. Their website says however that it contains a high proportion of carefully selected Island and Speyside malts, so maybe Talisker is in the mix – maybe not. I did not get the signature Talisker pepper kick until the finish. But it is a well-crafted, steady blend. In the matchup with the discount supermarket’s “finest” it wasn’t really an even bout, Isle of Skye winning handsomely. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Qtr Final, Match 2: Isle of Skye 12yo versus Old Pulteney 12yo In addition to previous notes I get caramel and tobacco on the nose and a sinus-clearing menthol burst on the palate. Not bad all round but no match for OP12 and so it goes no further. Mar sin leat. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The intolerable torment of a whiskyphile. Faced with a large array of samples and miniatures I can suffer from analysis paralysis - deciding on a dram can often take twice as long as drinking it. I have selected sixteen scotch whiskies that are 12yrs or younger or NAS to battle it out in a Scotch Deathmatch. It’s my incentive to lighten the logjam. Follow along if you care (and really why should you?). Oh the drama! https://challonge.com/ScotchMadness

The color is a nice, autumn sunset of reddish and golden hues and I don't get much on the nose other than cinnamon, oak and a hint of (maybe) nutmeg. It doesn't smell bad or harsh, but I guess you could say that about most blended whisky. It starts off pleasant enough on the tongue, but a strange tinnish metallic bite takes over that abruptly ends anything good that should've come from this juice. There's an artificial cinnamon flavor that helps wash the tin away, but something about it does taste artificial- too sweet, perhaps. Almost like cinnamon imperial candies. The finish is quick and quite harsh for an aged, blended whisky. There's nothing really refined among the base whiskies uses for this blend, I think, and that's the biggest downfall here IMO. Better quality base products would easily bring this up a bit, maybe to Johnnie Walker Red level. I don't get much, if any, smoke either so there's nothing redeeming here. Maybe it would work better mixed with cola or ginger ale to spice it up and hide the tin metal harshness. Not a whisky for sipping neat for sure. If it's cheap then that's it's calling card- mix it up and tie on a buzz. That's it's purpose in life I suppose. Moving along...

Drinking this neat was tough for me, because there is a combo of big rubbing alcohol burn, plus the presence of bing cherries, port wine and sugary sweetness. I diluted it more than normal, due to its 43% nail polish remover burn. The vanilla creme busts out, and the burn is milder but it's not gone. The peat finally pokes its head out with enough dilution, but it's mild and pleasant. RECOMMENDED, with a big cube: the smoke finally emerges from the shadow of the fire. The creamy vanilla, lemon drop, toffee and cherry really bloom. Some charcoal, tobacco ash and leather also burst out this way. It definitely has a creamier quality to it once you tamp down those fusels. A bit of oak. I will try drinking this neat again later but it's not gonna be easy.

Not bad at all! Ended up getting it for $32 due to some confusion, finagling and some class by the seller, but still under retail and still happy about it. Aroma is brown sugar and raisins, some vanilla, marshmallows and wisps of oak. Taste is sweet initially and follows the nose. Medium bodied, being pleasant for a blend, then lingering for a while from its oily nature. Finishes a bit spicy and peaty, but with a slight off note that I can only guess is due to it either being a blend, a $32 bottle or both. Nothing that stops me from enjoying though. Might even disappear as I let the bottle breath. All in all, it won't wow anyone, but it certainly won't piss them off. Well worth the money spent!

Review transfer from Barreled from March 2016 Sorry to say I did not enjoy this one. Bought it on a whim while perusing my local liquor store. The nose is heavy oak and I'm guessing European oak because I'm not getting any vanilla or caramel typical of American oak. But there is also a strange metallic smell that is very unpleasant and harsh alcohol I suspect is from the grain whisky. I added a little water and it toned down the harshness. The palate, thankfully, is better than the nose. More oak spices and some smoke, but mostly just the oak. The finish is decent enough with a nice smoky pepper with cinnamon. This blended scotch will be better served with ice or mixed rather than neat.

Color is amber. Nose starts with mild peat smoke. Sifting through the peat, layers of fruit and vanilla appear. Finally, notes of malt appear. First sip is creamy in texture, with mild peat smoke and spice, with vanilla and subtle dried fruit in the background. On further sips, notes of milk chocolate are apparent. Finish is short, with the peat and a little fruit just barely lingering. Overall, nothing amazing, and definitely could use more finish, but for the price, this is a solid value.