Secret Islay 9 Year Old 2011 BOYB-C

We’ve only just rescued the Snowtrooper from behind enemy lines and here is the next commando already. This one has just returned from a top secret mission on distant Islay, where he operated in the warehouses of an undisclosed distillery. His mission was to diffuse a wine barrique matured peat bomb. Time for a thorough debriefing.

Islay is unmistakable on the nose with lots of salt and seaweeds, a sweet and sour bomb. That is outfitted with wine notes like Seville oranges, brambles and plum marmelade. Hint of rhubarb and strawberry. Good balance, for the wine notes do not dominate.

Oily and quite feisty. My salive glands go into overdrive. Sweet and sour on a mix of citrus and salty, oyster sap and dark chocolate. A fresh lift of mint, while ginger and ashes offer fireworks. The second sip reveals more wine influence and brings with it a bitterness as if from a grape pith. Decision time for the commando: do I cut the green or the red wire?

The finish is very satisfying, smoky, sweet and long. The commando sighs. Mission accomplished.

In the dead of night, the commando rescues the 59 hostages and takes them from Port Askaig to the Sound of Islay, where a submarine picks them up.