Islay Mist Peated Reserve with Steve, Goran, Matt, Ryan, Dan & Julia

Peat party for particular palates! We’ve got our second Islay Mist, this time their Peated Reserve.

Islay Mist has done well for us in the past as one of the few geographically specific blends out there, and even beat the Islay single malt from McClelland’s (here, Matt is shouting that McClelland’s is too expensive to be considered a deal anymore). I found this new expression at the SAQ across from the Notre Dame cathedral in Montreal. Auspicious provenance, etc, etc.

The website points to this being very similar to the 8y, but with a smokier balance apparently matching 100 years of Islay Mist. Oh, and they use the fancy whisky bottle for this one too. Here’s what we thought:

colour
Simon – slick copper
Steve – thin amber/copper
Goran – oily honey
Matt – slick honey
Ryan – medium amber gold
Dan – watery honey
Julia – oily copper

nose
Simon – mash, peat, swamp, meat?
Steve – slight smoke
Goran – dark chocolate, salt
Matt – peaty, oat, subtle coffee
Ryan – cherry wood, butter, chocolate
Dan – slightly malty salted chocolate
Julia – woody

neat
Simon – chocolate, slight spice, wood, fruit, peaty. light, oily & powerful. sharp, seaweed, shellfish
Steve – creamy, powerful, smoky, little spice, seaweed odd?
Goran – chocolate, some iodine
Matt – dry, spicy, cereal, peaty, a bit thin, back of the throat burn, like milder single malt islay, good job at capturing a nice scotch
Ryan – dry, powerful, smoke, cranberry, brine
Dan – incredibly earthy (peat) astringently cold, fishy, possibly salt water
Julia – oily, powerful, woody, caramel

finish
Simon – long lingering chemical
Steve – short & horrible
Goran – medium, nutty
Matt – medium
Ryan – medium long
Dan – medium long, spicy and bitter
Julia – medium long, sharp aftertaste

splash
Simon – less sharp
Steve – worse. don’t splash
Goran – sea
Matt – improved, less burn
Ryan – n/a
Dan – like having scotch in a plastic bottle
Julia – n/a

overall
Simon – 6/10
Steve – 3/10
Goran – 6/10
Matt – 6/10
Ryan – 8/10
Dan – 6.8/10
Julia – 6/10

Islay Mist Peated Reserve – 40% 750ml – $42.75 – Islay

Try it? Sure. Buy it? Not better than regular Islay Mist.