Peaty Flight Head-to-Head 4 Expressions

[Quaich1]

Decided to take taste notes of some of my opened Islay regulars as I compared the 4 peaty drams, side by each going back and forth looking for differences and similarities. Here's my notes from tonight.

The Peat Monster, Compass Box 46% abv

Nose: Instant peat hit, smokehouse hues, smoky summer meadow flowers, sea air, medicinal, seaweed and salted licorice.

Palate: Peaty, extreme maritime notes (sea and salt), medicinal and warming.

Finish: Peppery peat, sea salt, leathery hues from a belt shop and hint of Australian black licorice.



Smokehead Islay Single Malt 43%, Ian Macleoad Disitillers

Nose: Peat, iodine, sea salt, anise, black ball candy, salt water taffy, spicy Calamata olive juice and Mennonite smoked beef.

Palate: Peat, pepper, medicinal, fireplace ash, whiffs of coal and billowing smoke.

Finish: Long, peat, some oak tannins, hint of chili, pungent seaweed, leather and faint hint of BBQ's smoked salmon.



Lagavulin 16

Nose: Sweet peat, crème de caramel, smoky sweet, seaweed, sea breeze, BBQ sauce and steak grilling on BBQ and Vidalia caramelized onions.

Palate: Peat, medicinal, spicy oil and aged balsamic vinegar melange for bread dipping and fireplace notes.

Finish: Long, billowing smoke and peat, sea salt, medicinal and distinct touch of iodine.


Ardbeg 10, 46%abv

Nose: Peat right up your nose, medicinal, sea air, fireplace ash, smoky, brazier of coals and seashells encrusted in sea salt.

Palate: Intense peat, pepper, heavy ash, medicinal, seaweed and iodine.

Finish: Long, peat and white pepper, salty, intense iodine and sea water blast to the face.


Comments: The nice thing about doing taste notes on 4 drams almost simultaneously is that you can go back and forth many times between the drams during the nose phase and one can really distinguish differences which is sometimes less evident when you just focus on one dram without comparisons during a tasting.

The Ian Macleod Smokehead has a lot of variation in nose elements which is very gratifying. The finish on the Peat Monster is very pleasing. Lag 16 in comparison to the others in some ways presents as more delicate and subtle which is most interesting but has so much to offer. The Ardbeg 10 is more "in your face" and builds in intensity throughout. As a flight, this is a dramatic lineup which is everything you would want in an Islay experience.
_________________
"Always carry a large flagon of whisky in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)

[Quaich1]

Just to add that these 4 drams are somewhat like looking at a pyramid from different angles, all the same shape but with somewhat different profiles.
_________________
"Always carry a large flagon of whisky in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)