Islay Blended Malt Trio | Various ABV

elements of islay bottle pics — Score: 7/10

**Very Good Indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Great bang-for-buck Islay malts*

An Elemental Trio

The number of affordable options for naturally presented, good strength Islay whiskies continue to dwindle with time. More and more then, we should keep an eye on the ones which bring us plentiful peat with value.

Of course the options will vary significantly based on geography, preferences and a few other personalised parameters. That said, most Western (and many Asian) markets seem to have some level of access to the Elixir Distillers products, among which there are some absolute belter brands.

Single Malts of Scotland has had some very tidy bottlings of late, particularly the single cask/cask strength range, for pretty darn reasonable prices, even considering some of the A-level distilleries they bottle. Port Askaig also has a few very tidy numbers in the lineup, including the 28YO I reviewed here.

Of course ED have recently purchased Tormore, so there will presumably be a new range of well presented core bottlings under that banner at some point. I’ve even heard the Black Tot rum series is rather good, though I haven’t had the opportunity to try any of them yet. Gold stars all around.

When it comes to value across the board though, I think the Elements of Islay range has had some of the heaviest hitters. As with most blended malts (Compass Box aside) we have little to no idea of what the blend composition looks like, although they typically quote a distillery from the South shore of Islay and another from the North as the two components. On the balance of averages, while considering what kind of prices the component casks would propagate to the bottlings, it’s very likely these distilleries are Laphroaig and Caol Ila respectively. What the future of the Elements of Islay series looks like is anyone’s guess until Elixir issues some kind of statement about their stocks of Caol Ila casks, given that these will probably be unavailable for use now that Diageo has pulled them from the wholesale cask market; grr.

There is a chance the Northern Islay distillery is heavily peated Bunnahabhain, however I’d be surprised if Elixir were able to acquire sufficient casks to make these bottlings with any consistency.

Anyway; monsieur Chilton has done a rather fabulous job of curating Elixir’s stocks while maintaining availability for the vast majority of us enthusiasts, and the EIements of Islay range is a prime example. To that point, I think it is worth our time to evaluate a few of their expressions.

Review 1/3

Elements of Islay Peat Full Proof, 59.3% ABV
AUD$110 (£60) AUD$80 paid

This edition has now been archived and functionally replaced by the bourbon cask bottling to come below. At the time that I bought this, it was an absolute steal at $90 retail. After tasting my first bottle, I immediately bought a backup. For a full year, if I wanted something cask strength and heavily peated, but didn’t want to diminish precious stocks of Lagavulin 12, Laphroaig 10 CS etc, this was the go-to pour.

Whether neat in a snifter, on ice in a tumbler or even mixed into one of my wife’s knockout cocktails, I care not; at the cost of entry, it’s all fair game. It delivers everything on the label; peat, at full proof, in a very typical Islay styling.

What’s more, while the liquid is evidently fairly young, it doesn’t appear as immature as many similar bottlings on the market. For example, I’ve owned and drunk bottles of the Hunter Laing Scarabus batch strength, Mac Talla Mara cask strength and even the Port Askaig 100 proof that have all had much more apparent new make characteristics than this sneakily good wee malt.

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*Utterly unpretentious and does everything the label promises well*

Nose

Pleasantly austere; citrus oils, moderately vegetal peat with a touch of potting mix and mentholated embrocations, then mild lanolin, smoked almonds, yeasty brioche, youthful bromophenols a la crustaceans and a tar/plastic/quasi-acetic note that's slightly mezcal analogous. A touch young, but not too overt.

Palate

More of the same, now adding some nice gristy malt notes, smoked fish, a touch of pleasant acridity accompanying the mezcal implications and more various smoked nuts. There’s a nice peach-driven orchard fruit tone that rounds things out nicely too.

The Dregs

Delivers everything we could ask on the label at a price which was, at the time, highly competitive with other bottlings, even accounting for the lower volume 500ml bottle. I maintain that the most likely candidate for the Southern distillery is Laphroaig, but the blending on this gives moments where there’s a slight impression of Ardbeg. The integrity of the bottling is tops, and the label is both concise and unpretentious; as I’m somewhat ambivalent to marketing (well, on a conscious level anyway), the minimalism is appreciated. I’m tossing on a bonus point here for value.

Score: 6/10

Review 2/3

Elements of Islay Peat Bourbon Cask, 54.5% ABV
Typically £60 and still available

For most whisky enthusiasts, I think this has become the new flagship bottling in the Elements of Islay range. There’s the Cask Edit release which is probably a better all rounder given the blend of cask types, but the bourbon cask is what seems to have grabbed the attention of most in the community via social media, and it’s easy to see why.

Peated distillate, in my humble opinion, shines most clearly out of bourbon casks, particularly refills, though when the whisky is on the younger side a blend of first and second fills makes more sense. I’m not a betting man, but if I was I’d punt that the stocks going into this bottling have a few more first fills in the mix and average a couple years older than the Full Proof; around 8-10 perhaps.

As a disclaimer, this was an industry trade sample which I acquired from my workplace. I didn’t speak to any reps, nor did any handshake deals or other shenanigans transpire; my boss received a batch of samples from the distributor and asked if there was anything of interest that I’d like to sample. This was one of the few which I took gratefully.

Score: 7/10

**Very Good Indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*700ml bottle and great selection of casks takes things up a notch*

Nose

Rich, full and vibrant; even less new make and more outright smoke, if you take my meaning. Hot BBQ soot, lapsang souchong, lime juice, a lighter sense of the same bromophenols, some quality inks, a stronger maltiness, touches of rauchbier and perhaps just the very lightest of medicinal inflections. There is just a little American oak spice and white pepper creeping in to round off the edges; more of those first fills’ influence perhaps?

Palate

Broadly similar, though there’s also a tinned-fruit syrup quality which joins the baking spice geared cask extract bits most welcomely. Otherwise we’re in the same territory; a largely non-medicinal, sooty, smoke driven malt with some semi-sweet citrus and cask spice roundness. It’s perhaps not massively complicated, but the profile is powerful and well balanced.

The Dregs

This is a belter. It’s just my two cents, but I think the extra age and/or use of younger casks in this blend work a treat. Now of course the price of entry is a bit higher for this bottling than the Full Proof, however we’ve moved to 700ml bottles, so equating for volume the pricing is almost identical. As a result I’m giving the same bonus mark for value; this deserves to be on every peat-head’s shelf.

Score: 7/10

Review 3/3

Elements of Islay Peat & Sherry, Australian Exclusive, 56.8% ABV
AUD$140 (£75) AUD$100 paid

I was sceptical of this bottling for my usual sherry-averse reasons. Not only that, but the colour of this liquid is DARK for what is presumably still fairly young whisky. That means there was probably a lot of first fill sherry cask finishing, which implies a certain degree of sweetness among other things. Still, the EoI range had a good track record and I had built some trust in Elixir distillers, so I snagged a bottle with the hopes that some blending wizardry had occurred and that balance had been maintained.

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*A clever bottling where the sherry adds without dominating*

Nose

I had expected this to be dominantly Caol Ila like the others, but this is vastly more medicinal; very Laphroaig-esque.

Medicinal tinctures, strong coastal tones with good natural tar, black pepper, a smidge of menthol and diverse phenols. Getting past the peat, the sherry starts to contribute some wet earth, freshly roasted coffee, leather, a suggestion of rice wine vinegar blended with light soy sauce, then some blackcurrant lollies and dried fruits (figs, plums, raisins etc).

Palate

Much of the nose again- big phenolics with medicinal tones, tar, camphor and sweetish petrolic benzenes, mild mezcal, glazed meats cooked over coals, black pepper, lemon oil and smoked fish. The cask goes on with ristretto, more leather and soy, less prominent dried fruits, earth and the barest touch of tidy rancio. There is certainly some sweetness, but it’s nowhere near as heavy as one might expect from the colour.

The Dregs

A happy surprise all round. Not only the lack of total cask dominance, but a distillate which feels considerably more phenolic compared to the other two bottlings.

Sherry can be problematic at the best of times, peat and sherry doubly so. There are some parallels between this blended malt and something like the Laphroaig 10 sherry cask, although for whatever reason (maybe some dampening effects of the presumed Caol Ila distillate?) for my palate there’s a better integration here. It borders on being a bit sweet for my palate, but honestly the phenols keep things pretty well in check, and the lack of prominent rancio earns credit for me too.

The value proposition isn’t as good as the other two, but I think the quality is rather good. Kudos to the Elixir team on a damn solid peat & sherry bomb!

Score: 7/10

Tried these? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Alias Initials

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