A nice dram with plenty going on, but for some reason, this doesn't wow me. I expected this to be better than it is. Perhaps I'm being harsh. I am being harsh.
The details
Distillery: Two unknown distilleries; one Islay and one Speyside
Owner: N/a
Translation: N/a
Region: Islay and Speyside
Bottler: Atom Labs
Age: 10 year old Islay single malt; 8 year old Speyside single malt.
Distilled/bottled: Unknown. Likely bottled in 2022.
Bottle: 70cl. Good cork, tight fit.
Number of bottles: Unknown
ABV: 43.8%
Cask type: Unknown
Barley: Unstated
Yeast: Unstated
Filtered/coloured: Non-chill filtered
Sample date: Friday 24th June 2022.
Peated/unpeated: Combination of strongly peated Islay and unpeated Speyside.
Cost: £34.95 from Master of Malt
Availability: Limited. Still available at time of writing.
Barcode: 5052598261542
More info: Can't find.
Whiskybase: Not listed yet
This is a 50/50 blend of Seaweed & Aeons & Digging & Fire (SADF) with Christmas Cake & Dark Chocolate & Medjool Dates & Cinnamon (CCDCMDC). It's all malt; no grain. I've had bottles of both and they're both good value. Good enough for me to buy a second bottle of each. I prefer the SADF because I'm a peat fiend. My wife prefers the CCDCMDC.
Tasting notes
Eye
Burnished/chestnut.
Nose
Before water: Good, rich nose. Muted, earthy peatiness. Brown sugar, and dark fruits. Sherry (The SADF is 25% sherry cask, the CCDCMDC is also sherried). Root beer, vanilla cream, rum and raisin ice cream, hints of wet bandage, leafy fresh herbs, salted caramel, cinnamon. Touches of oak. Touches of menthol. A hint of creosote. Ever so slightly nutty. Very faint sawdust. The chocolate is there, but barely. At 43.8%, there's no prickle on the nose. It's very sniffable.
After water: Wood, cream, and old-school furniture polish. Biscuity. The peat recedes. Sweeter. Maltier.
SCORE: 19/25
Taste
Before water: Sweet peat. Some nice, earthy woodiness in the middle, along with some decent spice. Pencil shavings. Yes, cinnamon, but not loads. Raisins. Plums, maybe. Nicely balanced. Quite a dry mouthfeel. The alcohol is more prominent on the palette than the nose. A touch of cardboard.
After water: Gets quite cloudy. The peat recedes. Sweeter. Spice still prominent. Wood shavings. Sherry comes forward a bit. Still very warming. The alcohol is quite prominent for 43.8%+water. More water (around blender's strength) takes away the alcohol and it becomes more velvety and creamy, bringing tobacco/leather/polish.
SCORE: 18/25
Finish
Before water: The smoke is there. And the sherry. Sawdust and caramel. Spice lingers. Bitter cocoa. Hints of spent match.
After water: More dark fruit-forward. Almonds appear. A leathery hint. Burnt sugar. Hints of pipe tobacco.
SCORE: 17/25
Overall
I like peaty stuff, so I liked the SADF more than the CCDCMDC. For me, this sits in the middle of the two in terms of how I would rank it. It works pretty well. For me, the problem is that the peat isn't very nuanced. It's definitely more of a winter dram than for summer.
SCORE: 18/25
Final verdict
This is the second dram out of the bottle, so I'll be getting to know this better over the coming weeks. But I'm not sure how interesting I find this, yet. I have no doubt I will discover there's more to this once it's got its breath. This is a post I'll probably come back and amend.
Is it more than the sum of its parts? I don't think so. Given a choice, I think I'd prefer a dram of each instead of two drams of this. I had high expectations. Perhaps too high.
Wife's verdict: Mellower than the CCDCMDC. Easy to drink. She still prefers the CCDCMDC.
TOTAL: 72/100
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