Dark Side of Islay 22 Year Old Mulindry

The Dark Side of Islay series from Malts of Scotland currently consist of 4 releases: Scarabus from 2016, Octovulin from 2017, this Mulindry from 2018 and the 2020 release of Ardenistiel. These are all blended malts that consist of – obviously – malts from Islay. I tried the Scarabus end of 2018 and thought it was divine. Now the Mulindry sits in my glass, named after the Mulindry Farm, just north of Bowmore and close to Bridgend.

Leather and tobacco, dried fruit like figs and dates, mild smoke and quite some spices like coriander, cloves and cinnamon. Pretty herbal indeed. Dark chocolate and toffee start to dominate and hide the fruit a little, but all in all this is a very pleasant, dark & sweet and very sherried nose.

Nicely oily and immediately sweet on dried fruit, raisins and sherry. Hazelnuts, nougat, espresso and chocolate precede the spices. And those are aplenty: cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, cloves and black pepper. Feels almost like I’m drinking spicy sherry, if not for the lovely smoke – which does not dominate by the way.

The long finish starts off quite sweet, fruity and very smoky, but then quickly evolves towards dry and even a tad salty. At the death, it’s all about smoke.

Intense blended malt that enjoys three sides: sherry, spices, peat. Wonderful winter dram.