ABV: 40 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and peaty. At first, the peat with notes of hay and vanilla incense fills the nose. When the first impact resides it reveals a fruity middle layer. It’s ripe raspberries and a sweet and sour lemon freshness. The backdrop consists of a dry earthiness and cold ashes. With time in the glass it grows sweeter and a honey note comes through. This is a nice nose with enough things to find to make it interesting.

Mouth: It starts out very sweet with a full impact of ashy peat. After it settles it brings notes of honey-glazed barbeque meat with the fresh lemon note in the background. The red berry note is not as pronounced as on the nose, but it still in there to find. The background is still earthy and now also slightly medicinal. After a few seconds it starts to lean over towards a vanilla note. It never feels watery or too mild.

Finish: At first there’s just a second or two without anything happening. First to arrive is a bitter note and oak together with a medicinal peatiness. The fruitiness is gone and it’s basically a decent oakiness and the peatiness from here on out. The oak surpasses the peat in the end. This feels somewhat young but it is very much a bang-for-the-buck whisky.

Additional information
The Ileach is a single malt made by an undisclosed islay distillery. It’s bottled by the independent bottler Vintage Malt Whisky Co’s sister company Highlands & Islands Whisky Co. There is a cask strength version available too.