Review by: The Muskox
Sanaig was one of the very first nice bottles of whisky I ever purchased, serving as my introduction to peated sherry-cask whisky and remaining one of my most-recommended whiskies. Since then, the recent bottlings seem have gotten much darker in colour, to the point where this 2020 bottling is even darker than the entirely sherry-matured Loch Gorm! Let’s see if that colour really does mean more more flavour.
Distillery: Kilchoman.
Bottler: Official bottling.
Region: Islay.
ABV: 46%.
Age: No age statement. Bottled in 2020.
Cask type: Predominantly sherry casks.
Price: $110 CAD.
Color: Amber. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: Leads with spicy peat smoke, but with a sticky sweet undercurrent. Barbeque sauce, burning cedar, hot genoa salami with black peppercorns, and mild camphor. Frutti di bosco, blackberry brambles, blood orange candies. Deep maple sugar richness and baked bread.
Palate: Oily texture. Arrives with creamy orange and bitter burnt sugar, a little shy at first but quickly intensifying as the smoke comes in. Very woody, spicy, dry peat – burning twigs, wet clay, salt-soaked marsh, and iodine. Savoury cumin and cedar spice, with molasses and dark maltiness.
Finish: Medium-length, salty and somewhat sweeter than the rest of the dram. Milk chocolate, berries ‘n’ cream, candied nuts, and malt. Lingering salty peat, some camphor, and prosciutto.
Alternative SMWS bottling name: “Bramble barbeque”
Conclusion: A bona-fide spicy boi. Such a bold and fresh style of peat, with the sherry cask influence integrated beautifully. This bottling has really become a modern classic from Islay, and it’s certainly a nostalgic whisky for me. Despite the colour, I don’t think it’s as sherry-forward as Loch Gorm, or even that 2017 bottling. I think a lower score for this bottling compared to the 2017 is more a reflection of how my palate has expanded over time, rather than a knock on the whisky.
Final Score: 82.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 