This is an undisclosed young Islay, bottled from a sherry hogshead at cask strength of 52.9% for Three Rivers Tokyo and The Whisky Agency. I drank this at The Writing Club, a fabulous whisky bar in the same mould as more famous names such as The Auld Alliance and Quaich Bar, but more intimate.

Distillery: Undisclosed (but my hunch is Bowmore)

Region: Islay

Price: $16/45ml (dram from a bar)

Cask Type: Ex-sherry hogshead

ABV: 52.9%

Chill-filtered: No

Color: 0.7, amber (natural colour).

Rested ~15 minutes before drunk neat in a tulip.

Nose: Hickory smoked bacon, honey glaze, BBQ sauce, steak butter, unmistakably sausages, mild cheddar. Insanely meaty and each note is so well-defined.

Palate: Hickory smoked bacon, BBQ sauce slathered on ribs, honey-glazed burnt ends, maple syrup, Werther's originals, thyme, potatoes, a hint of lemon juice and onion, thick sketchbook paper, smouldering ashes. Medium-thick texture. Not as oily as you might expect. Just insanely savoury-sweet, smoky and meaty.

Finish: Slate, charcoal fire, BBQ sauce, rosemary, parsley, orange juice, mushroom sauce, metallic meat and bell pepper(!) notes stretches on and on, oddly, chrysanthemum and chili flake a long time after. WOW.

Conclusion: Young and assertive, but incredibly, none of the downsides that come with the age. That this is a cask strength Islay makes it even more of an achievement. Dripping of honeyed meat sweetness. Still, I find it a bit too unrelenting, verging on cloying to be drank regularly. Drink this sparingly, and slowly and you will be rewarded. The smoke is actually fine in the arrival on the palate. It gets smokier as it develops on the palate, becoming almost too dense. Also, the finish would have been more focused and balanced if the thick, sweet BBQ sauce note did not linger and threaten to swamp out the surprisingly long and deep finish with the chrysanthemum, chili flake, bell pepper and herb notes.

I didn't add water, but I would hazard that a dash of water might help, though this is really very good neat. Highly recommended, if only for the experience of drinking liquid smoked bacon, BBQ ribs and burnt ends. If I had to guess, I would say a Bowmore. I also drammed a 16yo Irish Cooley bottled for the bar, and a Cadenhead 25yo Glenallachie. Both were spectacular, even better than this.

If it were named by the SMWS: A Fire Up the Bottom

Score: 88

Scotch Review #14, Whisky Network Review #16

H.Y.