ABV: 46.6 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is peat, fruits and creamy vanilla. At first there’s a really big dollop of vanilla cream and a core of oakiness. just outside there’s a ring of fresh red berries. It’s mainly raspberries but there’s also a darker side to it. Surrounding everything is a sweet and warm peatiness with a hot burning fire and a hint of fresh hay. In the background there’s a creamy soft note, like unscented lotion. This is a beautifully rich and welcoming nose.

Mouth: It starts out with sweet vanilla cream and a fresh hay peatiness. It’s quite mild at first and it gives room for the complexity to build up. After a few seconds the fruitiness arrives. It’s a mix of fresh raspberries, overripe black grapes and a hint of lemon. The peatiness increases over time and gently fills the mouth from the outside layer working inwards. A hint of salt is added along the way. The oakiness is hiding in the background and it’s sending out a bitter note and some spicyness.

Finish: The finish starts out with a cloud of peatiness together with a sligthly bitter and spicy oakiness. The fruitiness is pushed back and the unscented lotion returns. This gives it a soft and creamy contradiction to the dry oakiness. After a few seconds the oak is very much the main attraction, accompanied by the peat. It remains a dry, spicy and bitter oakiness with a speck of dust on it. The finish is not as nice as promised by the nose and mouth, but this is still a very nice dram.

Additional information
An Oa is made from whiskies matured in Pedro Ximenez ex-sherry casks, new charred american oak barrels and american ex-bourbon barrels. The varieties are put together in a french oak marrying vat before being bottled. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.