I recently participated in another session of the Attic Islay tasting, which I had mentioned a couple of months ago. The June event showcased six Islay whiskies, adhering to their usual format of featuring one whisky per distillery. The tasting was lively and engaging, conducted across multiple platforms, including Zoom, Facebook, and YouTube. The team of David Brodie, Katie Cairns, and Colin Stroud led the session with their characteristic enthusiasm.
During the tasting, we sampled each whisky blind, made our guesses, and then had the trio reveal the details before moving on to the next one. The lineup included an unpeated Caol Ila, an unpeated sherried Bunnahabhain, a Bowmore 15 Sherry Oak, a Lagavulin 11 Offerman, the Ardbeg Eureka (which I have previously reviewed and thus won’t cover here), and an Octomore 15.1. This selection offered a diverse representation of Islay whiskies, some of which were not universally liked by the hosts but were included to provide a comprehensive view of Islay’s offer.
Here, I will review five of the six whiskies from the Attic Islay June tasting. I extend my thanks to the organisers for putting together this really enjoyable event for whisky and Islay enthusiasts.
Caol Ila 11-year-old Ambrosial Feast Unpeated (2024) Review
We began the tasting with an 11-year-old Caol Ila named ‘Ambrosial Feast Unpeated’, part of Diageo’s 2024 Special Releases. Bottled in 2024 at 11 years old, it matured in refill, rejuvenated, and ex-wine casks, and was bottled at cask strength with 57.3% ABV. It appears to have natural colouring and no chill filtration. This Caol Ila stands out as one of the few unpeated releases from a distillery known primarily for its peated whiskies. It retails at approximately €103/£105 per bottle when not on offer.
Colour:
Burnished.
Nose:
Neat: The nose is quite sharp, with the STR and ex-wine casks bringing out winey aromas. The alcohol isn’t well integrated initially but calms down after a few moments. Notes of red and dark fruits, sea breeze, wood, sour cherries, and light whiffs of smoke emerge despite it being unpeated.
With water: Reduction reveals more red fruits like cherries, raspberries, strawberries, and redcurrants. There are also hints of pastry with orange blossom and some apples. The nose improves significantly with water.
Palate:
Neat: The palate is surprisingly prickly with a bite from the alcohol, suggesting it could have benefited from more time to mellow. Flavours of Black Forest cake with raspberry coulis dominate, focusing on tart red fruits, spices, and wood. The wine casks are quite prominent.
With water: The mouthfeel becomes creamy, benefiting from reduction. Flavours of apples, ginger, lots of nuts, herbs, flowers, wood tannins, and wine come through.
Finish:
Medium length, with cherry liqueur and wood, fading quickly in intensity but leaving a lingering aftertaste.
Comments:
This Caol Ila is heavily influenced by the wine casks, which overshadow its typical peaty and coastal characteristics. It’s not a bad whisky, especially when reduced, as water tames its heat. I’m glad I tried it, having not tasted an unpeated Caol Ila in a while, but I won’t seek out another bottle.
Rating: 6/10
Bunnahabhain 2012 Warehouse 9 – Hand-Filled Exclusive (2024) Review
The second whisky was a Bunnahabhain 2012 hand-filled exclusive from Warehouse 9, where the distillery organises some warehouse tasting experiences. This Bunnahabhain matured in a third- or fourth-fill ex-Oloroso 700-litre sherry butt #3135 before bottling at cask strength (57.6% ABV), without chill filtration or added colour. It’s available directly at the distillery for about £145.
Colour:
Pale gold
Nose:
Neat: Well, the colour makes you think the cask would not have much influence, but in fact there is no doubt this is an Oloroso matured whisky, even in a third- or fourth-fill gigantic butt. There is a lovely mix of nuttiness (hazelnuts, nougat) and red fruits (raspberries and strawberries, some redcurrants), oranges for a nice tang, some chocolate and some spices, with a good intensity. There’s also a soft dunnage warehouse aroma that makes you long to go back to Bunnahabhain for a Warehouse 9 tasting with David Brodie.
With water: Crushed seashells, more orange, and drying sea foam on the sand.
Palate:
Neat: The palate is stunning, coastal, and sherried. Despite being unpeated, it gives an impression of light peat and a strong coastal character. Flavours of oranges and red fruits return, accompanied by musty undergrowth, fern, menthol, and eucalyptus for freshness. Dark chocolate, double ristretto, and spices like cinnamon and ginger are also present.
With water: Icing sugar, preserved cherries, and the empyreumatic flavours get stronger. Some pepper also appears, and the mouthfeel becomes slightly astringent.
Finish:
The finish is warm and long, with red fruits, oranges, and ginger lingering, along with some leafy flavours.
Comments:
Stunning Bunnahabhain, with a really surprising ol’ cask, larger than the usual butt, on its third or fourth fill, but despite that, really adding to the unpeated Bunnahabhain. Stunning whisky, and said to be still available at the distillery. So if you can, treat yourself to a Warehouse 9 tour, I really do recommend it, then go to the distillery shop and buy yourself a bottle of this handfill. Oh and get one for me as well. Please and thank you.
Rating: 8/10
Bowmore 15-year-old Sherry Oak Cask (2024) Review
Bowmore introduced a new range to their core lineup: the Sherry Oak series. This series includes four age-statement whiskies (12-, 15-, 18-, and 21-year-old), all matured in Oloroso sherry and ex-Bourbon casks, with finishes varying by expression. The 15-year-old reviewed here is finished in European Oak Oloroso Sherry seasoned casks. Bottled at 43% ABV with added colouring and likely chill filtration, it retails from £93 in the UK and €100 in Europe.
Colour:
Tawny (fake)
Nose:
Neat: There is something between fresh leather and chemical tropical fruits aroma at first, but these fake tropical fruits dissipate quickly. Hints of lavender, oranges and a touch of lemon, mint and vanilla. On the nose you don’t really get the Oloroso, nor the peat.
Palate:
Neat: On the palate there are hints of peat, a light smoke, oranges, then spices, bitter oak, hints of red fruits and tropical fruits as well. But it doesn‘’’t strongly evoke Bowmoreor sherry characteristics, and the mouthfeel is a little light.
Finish:
The finish features bitter oak, tea leaves, mint, eucalyptus, and orange, with medium length.
Comments:
I didn’t notice the tropical fruits in my first two tastings, so they might appear after some aeration. But overall, this Bowmore is lacking what it is supposed to stand for: a good sherried version of Bowmore 15-year-old. It does neither. At least it is easily drinkable.
Rating: 5.5/10
Lagavulin 11-year-old Offerman 4th Edition (2024) Review
Nick Offerman is an American actor and humorist, known for the TV Show ‘Parks and Recreation’, where he plays an office manager with a deep love of Lagavulin whisky. And thus, since 2019, there is almost every year a new Lagavulin 11-year-old Offerman Edition released, with different cask finishes. We have the 4th edition, released in 2024 and finished in Caribbean Rum casks. Bottled at 46% ABV, it is unfortunately coloured, but at least it is unchill-filtered. The first editions were only available in the USA, but this one is available on more regions, from €95 in Europe, an unreasonable price in the UK (at an online retailer with huge markups), and C$120 in Canada. I’m not sure if it’s still available in the US or at the distillery itself.
Colour:
Amontillado (fake).
Nose:
Neat: The nose is immediately smokier than the Bowmore. This is vaguely reminiscent of the Lagavulin 16-year-old, but with a very light rum influence bringing some very light funk, bananas and pineapple. Some lemon meringue,
Palate:
Neat: Notes of barbecued pineapple and a compote of tropical fruits alongside a bright touch of lemon. The character feels heavy and oily, with hints of charcoal and a distinct campfire aroma. Salty and maritime nuances mingle with a dash of white pepper. The mouthfeel is okay but could have been creamier and thicker; it is a little thinner that I would have liked and expected.
Finish:
Ashy and lemony finish, with cream and orange blossom, charcoal and some oak spices.
Comments:
Because I’m a fan of Nick Offerman, I wanted to love this whisky, but in fact, it is just ‘’good’. Not boring, but not mint boggling either.
Rating: 6/10
Octomore 15.1/108.2 PPM (2024) Review
Octomore is Bruichladdich’s brand for extremely peated single malts, with 3 to 4 expressions being released every year. 2024 saw the 15.x series to be released, and we try the 15.1, distilled in 2018 from Concerto malted barley grown in mainland Scotland and peated at 108.2 ppm (in the grain). After maturation in first-fill and recharred bourbon casks, it was bottled in 2024 (there were some bottled in February and others in September, I don’t know if this is the exact same batch bottled in several times) and bottled at 59.1% ABV. The Octomores are usually young (the phenols disappear over time), cask strength and expensive, and this is verified once more, as this costs around £140 a bottle in the UK.
Colour:
Jonquille
Nose:
Neat: The nose is peaty and farmy, like smoke getting out from a cowshed on fire. Behind that, vanilla, pine resin and needles, and hints of smoked salmon.
With water: More farmy notes, cow dung, and some minty herbaceous notes.
Palate:
Neat: Good chewy mouthfeel. The palate is peaty but not excessively so, and there are also lemons, a bit of drk chocolate, wood and a pinch of pepper. Haribo banana candy, coffee.
With water: A bit more fruits with granny smith apple and peaches, then a stronger hit of pepper than neat.
Finish:
The finish really concentrates on hot smoked chocolate covering some vanilla sponge cake and a light pinch of pepper again, with a good length.
Comments:
This Octomore 15.1 is a bit charming, clearly showing its youth, but not overpeated (there have been far peatier Octomores) and not hidden behind ex-wine casks. This shows a bit more the distillate, and this is quite nice and more easily drinkable than you’d expect from a 5-year-old almost 60% ABV heavily peated whisky. If only the price was not as expensive…