Review: Isle of Skye 12 Years Old (2011)

Review: Isle of Skye 12 Years Old (2011)

Review: Isle of Skye 12 Years Old (2011)

Ian MacLeod’s 12-year-old Isle of Skye whiskey — an upscale blended malt whisky — makes the move from Britain to the U.S. this month, following the 8-year-old version that arrived in 2009.

This is an intriguing whisky on its production alone: Using (various) Island and Speyside malts, it is put back into cask after the initial blend is made, a rarity among blended malts, which are typically blended, then go straight into the bottle.

The whisky is a solid one, bold and assertive, with a big mouthfeel you don’t often get with blends. On the dark side in color, it offers clear honey character, caramel and nougat, copious sherry, and wisps of smoky wood beneath. If I didn’t know better I’d say it was a single malt: Rounded and long-lived, a really solid dram.

86 proof.

A- / $39

Isle of Skye 12 Years Old (2011)

USD39
9

Rating

9.0/10

A veteran journalist, the author of four books, a published poet, and an award-winning winemaker, Christopher Null has more than 25 years of experience writing about wine and spirits. He founded Drinkhacker in 2007. He also writes regularly about the science of booze for WIRED and is an occasional contributor to ADI's Distiller magazine. He has been a judge for both the American Distilling Institute Judging of Craft Spirits and Whiskies of the World spirits competitions and often works as a consultant, developing formal tasting notes for spirits brands around the world.

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