Review by: dustbunna
I always entertain the notion of finding cheap young IB peaters that present a lot of flavor and good value. James Macarthur (AKA the folks who bottled the sole Malt Mill mini Serge acquired) put out this value series bottled at 45% ABV, without chill-filtration or added color. I had heard about several other bottles from the 45s getting good reviews, so when I saw this one go on closeout sale at K&L for $41, I decided to take a blind chance on it. The distillery is undisclosed, though K&L in their blurb for this bottle mentioned it was a South Islay distillery, and heavily hinted at it coming from Laphroaig. Matured in “a bourbon cask”, according to the label (could be 1st-fill or refill, not a wildly active one in any case.)
Distillery: Unknown.
Bottler: James Macarthur.
Region: Islay.
ABV: 45%.
Age: 6 years. Distilled in 2008. Bottled in 2015.
Cask type: Ex-bourbon.
Price: $41 USD.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 4 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
Nose: banana candy up front, lemon cleaner, pine resin, roasted nuts, icing sugar, banana begins to recede in favor of honey-roasted nuts.
Palate: thin ~ more lemon cleaner, ash, vanilla sponge cake, custard, charred sticks.
Finish: medium length ~ menthol, pipe smoke, a bitter aftertaste, some more icing sugar, earthy roots, hints of mint and cured meats.
Conclusion: Honestly this reads more like a very young Lagavulin to me— the banana candy, lemon cleaner and icing sugar all overlap with the core 8yr. If it is Laphroaig, it’s pretty far off-profile, which would perhaps explain JM not disclosing the distillery. It’s very simple whisky, a bit angular, and somewhat thin especially on the palate (though the nose and finish improve quite a bit once it has room to interact with air.) It’s all right for a $40-ish bottle, I’m not disappointed as it is easy to drink and enjoyable as a young Islay peater, but there was more potential in my mind than what was realized in the glass.
Final Score: 75.
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 