Islay Whisky reviews by WhiskyRant!

June 30, 2015

Ardbeg Ardbog review

Well, it’s been two years since the tasting of this one but what the heck, better late than never with the reviews…Ardbog is a limited edition whisky by the Ardbeg distillery, famous for its peated whiskies from Islay. Ardbog was released during Fèis Ìle whisky festival and it was produced […]

July 13, 2015

White Horse Blended Scotch Whisky review

White Horse Scotch is a blended whisky from Edinburgh, named after a famous Edinburgh hostelry. The production was started by James Logan Mackie in 1861. The brand is nowadays owned by Diageo and Lagavulin is the base malt for this malt and grain blend. It contains approximately 40% malt whisky. […]

July 14, 2015

Kilchoman 100% Islay 2nd Edition review

Kilchoman 100% Islay 2nd Edition is a fifty-fifty vatting of 3 and 4 year old whisky matured in first fill and re-fill Ex-Bourbon casks. Kilchoman distillery started producing single malt whisky in 2005. It was the first distillery to be built on the island of Islay in 124 years. The […]

July 15, 2015

Bruichladdich 15 year old 1st Edition review

This is the First Edition of Bruichladdich 15 year old, matured 85% in American Ex-Bourbon and 15% in Ex-Sherry Spanish Oak. The 2nd Edition was matured only in American Oak and finished in Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes casks. Lightly peated, non chill-filtered and colouring free, like Laddies tend to be. Artsy […]

July 16, 2015

Kilchoman Machir Bay 2012 review

Kilchoman Machir Bay is a young peated and sherry cask finished malt by the newest distillery in Islay, Kilchoman. They started in 2005 and by doing so, they were the first distillery built on the region of Islay in 124 years. Kilchoman is a farm distillery, so in some releases […]

July 16, 2015

Laphroaig PX Cask Triple Matured review

Laphroaig PX Cask replaced their Triplewood in the travel retail but like its predecessor, the PX Cask expression has been matured in three different casks too. With the difference, that Laphroaig PX Cask spends its last 12 months in Pedro Ximenez Ex-Sherry casks. The whole maturation process goes like this: […]

July 17, 2015

Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2013 review

Kilchoman is a young, promising farm distillery in Islay. Started at 2005, Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2013 release was also their first release of this sherry cask matured, peated single malt whisky. Kilchoman is a small distillery with 90 000 litre capacity per year. They are one of the 6 Scottish […]

September 1, 2015

Chocolat made out of whisky – Laphroaig whisky milk chocolate review

Laphroaig whisky chocolate – milk chocolate review

Dammenberg is a Finnish company famous for making handmade chocolat for everybody. They make allergen-free chocolates – products, that are entirely free of nuts, gluten, egg and GMO. Their chocolates are also Halal certified. Dammenberg makes also soy-free, milk-free and sugar-free chocolat. Delivering specialties in the business field of chocolate, […]

September 1, 2015

Laphroaig whisky chocolate – dark chocolate review

These beauties come from Tampere, Finland. Dammenberg is a chocolate company famous for making handmade chocos for everyone. That means, that they make allergen-free chocolates. Dammenberg’s products are entirely free of nuts, gluten, egg and GMO, and all are Halal certified. The company also makes soy-, milk- and sugar-free chocolates. With a […]

September 18, 2015

Islay Mist Deluxe Blend review

Believe it or not, the Islay Mist blended whisky has some history behind it – it was first launched in the 1920’s. Islay Mist Deluxe got its inspiration from a special blend made for the 21st birthday of the first Lord Margadale, Laird of Islay. This whisky has some peating level, because malt […]

November 28, 2015

Finlaggan Old Reserve review

Finlaggan Old Reserve is another “bang for the buck whisky” for “peatheads” like me. It comes from Islay and is bottled by The Vintage Malt Whisky Company, but nothing else is being told about the whisky. Even the maturation is a guarded secret, but I’d guess it to be Ex-Bourbon […]

December 1, 2015

Bunnahabhain 12 year old review

Bunnahabhain distillery is a good divergent from the region of Islay, because their whiskies are usually lightly peated. Like this entry level Bunnahabhain 12 year old, which nowadays comes in a redesigned bottle and at higher strength. It is also declared to be un-chill filtered and natural coloured. Bunnahabhain has […]

February 6, 2016

Classic of Islay Jack Wieber 2015 review

Friend of mine told me about a German importer from Berlin, who has released bottlings under the name of Jack Wieber since 1998. Jack Wiebers Whisky World is a wholesale business operating in Wiener Strasse, Berlin. Owned by Lars-Göran Wiebers, the whisky shop is specialized in independent and rare bottlings. And they do release […]

February 11, 2016

Laphroaig Cairdeas Port Wood Finish review

It’s been a while since I tasted a sample of this single malt whisky made for Laphroaig Fèis Ile 2013. So this is an old review but I figured out I had to get it online like all of my whisky reviews. Laphroaig Cairdeas Port Wood Finish is a limited […]

June 4, 2016

Lagavulin 12 year old single malt whisky review (2015 and 2014 editions)

Lagavulin 12yo 2015 edition Lagavulin 12yo 2014 edition Lagavulin 12 year old single malt is a yearly special release by one of my favorite distilleries in the world, the Lagavulin distillery from Islay. I just absolutely love their 16 year old peated single malt from the core range. Well, I […]

June 12, 2016

Black Bottle (new bottling) review

Black Bottle was relaunched in 2013 by Burn Stewart Distillers. They decided to change its nature – the old version (which was revitalised in 1990) was a blend of almost every Islay malt whisky and grains from different regions. This new bottling of Black Bottle Blended Scotch whisky is a […]

July 27, 2016

Bowmore Tempest 10 year old Batch 6 review

Like the name states, Bowmore Tempest VI 10 year old single malt is the 6th batch of the nowadays famous Tempest series by one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland. Bowmore was founded in 1779 and it is the oldest distillery in Islay region. Bowmore is one of only 6 […]

November 26, 2016

Lagavulin 8 year old single malt review

WhiskyRant’s conclusions Tasting notes Lagavulin 16 year old single malt is my all-time favorite, so needless to say, I’m a big fan of Lagavulin distillery. Lagavulin is not known for wide range of whiskies: they have their flagship whisky, the 16YO, and a cask strength 12YO – both absolute beauties. […]

December 28, 2016

Compass Box Flaming Heart 15th Anniversary Whisky review

Celebrating Compass Box’s fifteenth anniversary, the 2015 edition of Flaming Heart is another fine example of top notch blending by John Glaser and his company. Glaser has been named “Innovator of the Year” four times by Whisky Magazine and “Pioneer of the Year” twice by Malt Advocate. He has stated […]

February 18, 2017

Port Charlotte Scottish Barley – heavily peated whisky review

Port Charlotte Scottish Barley is a heavily peated whisky from Bruichladdich distillery who usually are known for unpeated whiskies. If you don’t count Bruichladdich’s über peated range called Octomore. Actually their Port Charlotte range is nowadays so wide, that you can forget the statement “Islay’s non-peated distillery”, which was widely […]

April 11, 2017

Compass Box The Lost Blend review

Compass Box The Lost Blend is a continuum to their first blended malt called Eleuthera, released in 2001. First whisky ever by Compass Box was Hedonism by the way, a blended grain whisky which I got a chance to taste in 2016. Eleuthera was a blended malt containing approximately 80% […]

August 12, 2017

Port Charlotte 10YO Second Edition review

WhiskyRant conclusions Tasting notes Port Charlotte 10 year old Second Edition single malt whisky was released in 2016 – as part of a trio of 10 year old whiskies, along with Octomore & Laddie Ten, released by Bruichladdich. Second Edition is a successor for Port Charlotte PC10. Its alcohol by […]

June 5, 2019

Bowmore 10 year old Dark & Intense

Quick review of Bowmore 10 year old Dark & Intense, which was originally released for travel retail market. A mixture of classic Islay coastal notes and sweet sherry cask influence. This 10YO Bowmore single malt has been matured in a combination of Spanish oak Sherry casks and hogsheads. Bottled in […]

August 10, 2019

Islay Mist 12 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky

Islay Mist 12 year old blended whisky review

I liked Islay Mist blended whisky so I was expecting this 12 year old Islay Mist blend to deliver a decent experience. To set the record straight, I’m not a fan of grain and malt whisky blends. And that is the category which Islay Mist brand represents. Islay Mist 12YO […]