Islay No.4 11 Years (Boutique-y Whisky)

This Islay No.4 bottling is an 11 years old undisclosed whisky released in 2019 if I’m not mistaken, but also included as part of the advent calendar from That Boutique-y Whisky Company. And even now it’s still available.

The label depicts the 2008 Islay Distillers Boat Race. The boat in last position is definitely Jake Mountain who works for Atom Brands, but one of the other boats is named Laggan’ Behind. A hint?

 

Islay No.4 11 yo (48,8%, That Boutique-y Whisky Co 2019, Batch #1, 1586 btl.)

Nose: a warm, smoky profile with a lot of charcoal and leafy notes, evolving to tobacco with a pastry sweetness and wild honey underneath. A mix of cooked apple and rhubarb notes. Lots of ashy notes, burlap and a touch of mocha. Nice.

Mouth: a fairly sweet and smoky profile again. Barbecued bacon, hints of warm peat smoke, blackberry jam, mixed with lighter citrus notes. Sooty with hints of oak char and chocolate. Fading on tobacco and liquorice.

Finish: quite long, really ashy, with leathery, woody touches.

A nice, warming peaty profile rounded with a dose of sweet elements. It’s rich and full of flavour. I really like this one, and think value for money is high. Available from Master of Malt.