Isle of Harris The Hearach

Nose: Mild peat, citrus. 7/10. Palate: It arrives dry, and this character persists throughout the palate. Spicy, hot ginger, black pepper, mild smokiness and a strong briny note in the later palate. 4/10. Finish: Medium/Short. All peated whiskies have a good degree of persistence but in this case there is not much else contributing length. Cereal trailing to sour mash. 4/10. “Soft/Dry” is a standard polarity for whisky, but this spirit goes beyond dry into a profile I would describe as distinctively “Hard” with sour and briny notes competing against hot spices. It’s not what I would call a friendly or particularly impressive whisky and despite being 7-8 years old (apparently) it tastes very young and undisciplined. The nose is the best aspect by far and if the palate and finish were equivalent I’d be giving this 3.5 stars. Sadly, this is not the case. However, to be fair, it was hard to review this whisky properly as the distillery only gives you a tiny tasting sample in a plastic shot glass, and I’m sure I missed a lot of nuance. They really need to invest in proper tasting glasses and provide a better tasting environment. Selling samples in 50ml and 200ml bottles in addition to the full bottles would also be a good idea. I will give this another try some time, as I have a feeling it is better than my first impression indicates. “Average” : 76/100 (2.5 stars)

There is a sugary covered lemon on the nose, sweet autumn trees, but not their fruits - just the smell of a tree garden. Also baking spices and far vanilla. Taste is full of citrus, sweet spices, red pepper, warming green tea with lemon and beautiful touch of salt. I can't feel any smoke, despite the comments I read before tasting. A solid, young dram but far too pricy for its quality.

Nose : light peat, medicinal, evolving to cacao notes Mouth : dry, eucalyptus, quite complex Finish : short, missing structure For me a super complex whisky because can’t really put it into a box. Maybe that’s what’s good about it.

Little bit of pit, and little bit of apricots. Pretty smooth. Decent first batch, but lacks some character. Maybe a longer maturation would benefit this, or maybe my expectations were too high. Still a decent release

Whiskey Tour of the World 2nd Edition #19. Clear pale gold body thin legging. Spicy bready earthy aroma. Spicy woody earthy smoke flavor. Light body moderately low warming. 8/2/8/4/16 3.8

The first thing that hits is the smoky aroma. The immediate flavour is earthy, followed by a peppery aftertaste. It’s easy to sip at and best enjoyed slowly. Fantastic scotch.