Elements of Islay Bourbon Cask Blended Islay Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 54,5%

The label looks like something lifted from an old pharmacy, and that is deliberate. Elixir Distillers built the whole range around the idea of Islay as an element you could extract and bottle in its pure form.

The expert description

Elements of Islay Bourbon Cask is a Blended Islay Malt Scotch Whisky matured in 1st fill and refill bourbon barrels and bottled at 54.5%.

The range began in 2008 with small apothecary bottles and a code in place of a distillery name. Bourbon Cask is one of the core releases and brings together malt from several Islay distilleries, where the heavy barbecue smoke of the south coast meets the lighter, zestier style of the north. Elixir Distillers does not disclose which distilleries are involved.

The bourbon wood was chosen because it lets the smoke stand clearly in front. Where a sherry cask would lay dark fruit over the top, American oak contributes vanilla and coconut that push the peat forward instead of covering it. The whisky is neither chill filtered nor coloured, and the 54.5% was chosen to give it full weight.

Tasting notes

Nose

Sugar and vanilla pod first, then tropical fruit, mango and pineapple, and behind it a thin ribbon of chimney smoke drifting in and out.

Palate

Cappuccino dusted with cocoa, warm vanilla brioche and fruit poached in maple syrup, while a peat fire builds underneath it all.

Finish

Long and sooty with salt, lemon peel and a dry ash note that stays well after the sweetness has gone.

Specifications

Name: Elements of Islay Bourbon Cask
Distillery: Elixir Distillers
Region/Country: Islay Scotland
Type: Blended Islay Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 54.5%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill and refill bourbon barrels
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Edition: Elements of Islay
EAN no.: 5060880920435

Flavour profile

Smoky · Maritime · Fruity · Vanilla · Cask Strength

Did you know?

Elixir Distillers was founded by brothers Sukhinder and Rajbir Singh, the pair behind The Whisky Exchange. They are now building on Islay themselves with the Portintruan distillery, so a range that started by bottling other people’s whisky will end up with its own.

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Frequently asked questions about Elements of Islay Bourbon Cask

How smoky is Elements of Islay Bourbon Cask?

Clearly smoky, but not extreme. The smoke sits as a sooty frame around vanilla and tropical fruit rather than dominating, and the bourbon wood keeps the profile brighter than a sherry matured Islay would be.

Which distilleries is the whisky made from?

That is not disclosed. Elixir Distillers keeps the composition secret and describes it only as malt from the south and north coasts of Islay. The anonymity is a deliberate part of the concept, where the liquid is meant to speak before the name.

What does Blended Islay Malt mean?

That the whisky is built from single malts from several Islay distilleries and contains no grain whisky. It is malt whisky throughout, simply drawn from more than one place on the island.

Why bourbon casks rather than sherry casks?

Because American oak gives vanilla and coconut without laying dark fruit over the smoke. Sherry casks are fuller, but they often blur the peat character, and here it is deliberately kept in front.

Should you add water at 54.5%?

Give it five minutes neat first. The smoke needs air to unfold, and a few drops of water afterwards draw the tropical fruit forward without putting out the fire.

What characterises whisky from Islay?

Peat smoke, salt and a maritime note that comes from the island climate and from drying barley over peat fires. Character varies a great deal from coast to coast. See our full range of Islay Whisky.

Which glass is recommended?

A tulip-shaped glass. At 54.5% the alcohol can easily overpower the nose in a wide glass, while a narrow rim keeps smoke and fruit apart. See our whisky glasses.