John Glaser, the owner of Compass Box and whisky artist, created this blended malt (previously vatted malt) from three very special casks. A 14 year old Imperial from 1995 (cask 1000049) and 2 Coal Ila casks of respectable age, i.e. 29 year old from 1980 (cask 8165) and 25 year old from 1984 (cask 5384). It would seem strange to blend very old Islay with not-so-old Imperial, a fruity Speysider that was mothballed in 1998.
The young Imperial rears its head first on the nose, with sweet apples, citrus, vanilla and toffee, sprinkled with cinnamon. But soon the old Islay steps in. The Coal Ila guarantees peat, barbecue ashes and charcoal with a wonderfully sweet touch of citrus. Magnificent!
On the palate, the whisky is rather oily and allows the peat to show its power. This time, it’s the Caol Ila that gets all the attentions and overpowers the sweetness of the Imperial. It’s also quite coastal with lime, oysters and olive oil. And some woodsmoke. Very nice.
The finish is drying, sweet and very long.
Only 754 bottles of Lady Luck are available and hence it’s a tad difficult to find. If you are lucky enough to score a bottle, be prepared to pay around 135 EUR for it But what a whisky… a true work of art. This is the Peat Monster to the power of three!
Yes a splendid work of art as a whisky - and the art work on the bottle is quite attractive too.