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Islay Mist 8 Year Old

Light whisky with heavy peat

0 880

@MegawattReview by @Megawatt

5th Nov 2012

0

  • Nose
    19
  • Taste
    20
  • Finish
    19
  • Balance
    22
  • Overall
    80

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Nose: mossy peat and some dry smoke but not as ashen as I recall Laphroaig being. Some medicinal notes but also fruity sweetness; maybe honeydew? Light and appealing.

Taste: light-bodied and smooth. Some sweetness right off the bat and then peat coats the mouth. Very easy to drink. The grain whisky base provides some bite at the back of the tongue, but peat definitely dominates this blend.

Finish: all peat.

Balance: strikes a unique balance with its light body, honied sweetness and strong peat character. Not the most complex blend out there but it does a lot of things right.

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8 comments

@SMC
SMC commented

I recently tried this as well due to the reduced price and was surprised. Normally I avoid sub-$30 whiskeys because in my experience they're awful dreck, but too me Islay Mist is a good value pour. The grain sweetness and peat work well together.

Any plans to purchase the 17yo?

11 years ago 0

@cheeserandyburg
cheeserandyburg commented

I wrote a review for this a while back as well. I'm curious to how this compares to Laphroaig? Especially in the fact I found this blend to be highly "earthy" and "medicinal" tasting myself. Haven't ever tasted anything like Laphroaig/Ardbeg aor any of those big peat monsters, though I'm curious to know how much of a change there really is from going from this blend to a Islay single malt? After all, Islay Mist 8 is 50% Laphroaig anyways the rest being some highland malts.

11 years ago 0

@Megawatt
Megawatt commented

I highly doubt that Islay Mist is 50% Laphroaig. Probably it is at least 50% grain whisky, if not more. I've heard that Islay Mist has a higher percentage of malt whisky than the average blend but I don't know the specifics.

Laphroaig is much smokier, to my recollection. I've never done a head-to-head but I imagine you'd find Laphroaig to be much more flavourful, complex, full-bodied, and satisfying.

I'd like to try Islay Mist 17 but my budget probably won't allow it.

11 years ago 0

@YakLord
YakLord commented

I had a dram of this yesterday at a friend's place (I gave him the bottle as a Christmas gift since a) he is new to Scotch, b) has shown a preference for peated whisky, and c) is enjoying his bottle of Black Grouse), and it wasn't bad. You can certainly taste the Laphroaig influence, but I agree, it isnt' 50% Laphroaig, and there is certainly a lot of grain whisky smoothing it out and sweetening it. I'd call it Quarter-Cask Extremely Light, and it is easily at 75 - 80 score-wise for me. I have a bottle of the 17 year-old version in stock (it was $78.95 at the LCBO), but I have a couple other peated whiskies slated for rotation before I get to it.

11 years ago 0

@Newkophile
Newkophile commented

I do not understand why anyone (specifically YakLord above) would spend $79 for a peated blend when for roughly the same amount of money one could buy a Lagavulin 16 or any number of excellent peated Islay single malts.

9 years ago 0

@cheeserandyburg
cheeserandyburg commented

@ Newkophile - Laga 16 over here is $117 (CAD) unfortunately. No where near the much pleasing price of $79 (USD) and it keeps going up yearly. After trying Laga this year I must say I cannot justify spending of that much money ever again. It was a poor surprise especially after some much more rewarding whiskies from Springbank which go miles above the Laga 16. Come to think of it for $79 (give or take a few bucks) you're better off spending that on Sprinkbank 10!

9 years ago 0

@YakLord
YakLord commented

Thanks for the defence there, @cheeserandyburg...and as he's pointed out, @newkophile, pricing in Ontario is significantly different from what it is in the US...Lagavulin 16 is closing on $120 a bottle, while Laphroaig 18 is about $180...so yes, I'd willingly spend $79 for a 17 year old blended whisky that is around 35% to 45% Laphroaig, plus some well aged grain whisky, than the $180 for the Laphroaig 18...and that $79 is still $10 less than the Ballantines 17, so value is in the eye of the beholder, and plus whisky is about exploration and experimentation, so why not try something different?

9 years ago 0

@Newkophile
Newkophile commented

I guess I got it good (?!!)here in south Florida where I have noticed that prices for good single malts are a whole lot less than what I see abroad, e.g., France where I spent some vacation time this past year. Not only that, I find that many single malts have higher ABV in the U.S. than their exactly named counterparts in Europe. BTW, Costco here had recently been selling the Laga 16 for $76 so that's the source of my previous comment.

9 years ago 0

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