Review: Two Isle of Skye Drams (50 y.o. and 24 y.o.)

Peter Krause — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 22:47:09 +0000

The idea of a blend and Skye doesn’t quite match as there is only the Talisker Distillery on the island. However, this doesn’t mean that other whiskies can’t be put into the mix under such a name. More than a quarter century lies between today’s examples, only one of which is a blend. The other one just can’t bear its legal name due to legal reasons. Let’s start with the younger one, the Single Malt, as a warm-up (I pre-warmed up with my calibration malt):

Skye 24 y.o. ‚Undercover #2‘ The Nectar of the Daily Drams 1984 – 2008, 82 btl., 51,9%

Comment: Not very typical but clearly Talisker when you look for the classic features. We have loads of pepper, maritime moments, coffee, vanilla and a nice clean character overall. Good choice!

Score: 89

Isle of Skye 50 y.o. Ian MacLeod, bottled 2008 (Blended Scotch Whisky), 400btl., 41,6%

Comment: Rumour has it that this blend contains a high percentage of Single Malt and even more so, a lot of Talisker, hence the name. Other ingredients are from Girvan and Cragganmore, I heard. It better be good at a price point of roughly 900 pound, but fifty is a magic number. The oldie starts out fresh and fruity (peaches, passion fruit) with vanilla, toffee, candyfloss, some herbs, a saw mill oakiness and a bit of pepper in the background. A classic old Bourbon cask style in the nose. On the palate it is way more herbal than expected, an elegant and green whisky: green tea, green herbs spring meadows and slightly bitter aromas. There also are faint peat, wet moss and crystallized oranges – a very unusual taste (which we should embrace). The finish is not ultra-long but a real pleasure, mostly on fruit and oak. Good whisky, crazy price.

Score: 89

Isle of Skye 50 y.o. Ian MacLeod Blend – Slowdrink.de

Review: Two Isle of Skye Drams (50 y.o. and 24 y.o.)