Whisky Review: Abhainn Dearg Cask Strength

• Category: Island single malt scotch whisky
• Origin: Abhainn Dearg Distillery
• Bottling: Abhainn Dearg
• ABV: 58%
• Cost: £2.99

What they say

Abhainn Dearg 3 Year Old Cask Strength Miniature Island single malt Scotch whisky. Exclusive to The Whisky Barrel. Cask strength Miniature (5cl) bottling of the historic release of Scotch whisky distilled on the Isle of Lewis, the first Lewis Scotch in over 170 years. Bourbon cask matured.

• ABV:58.0%
• Age: 3 Years Old
• Vintage: 2008
• Cask Type: Bourbon Cask Matured
• Bottler: Distillery
• Region: Island
• Type: Single Malt Scotch
• Volume: 5cl

What I say

Secured via an auction win, I haven’t tried any of Abhainn Dearg’s output until now and other than their initial releases this seems to be quite a quiet distillery?

I bid ~ £5 for a pair of these miniatures on the understanding that the initial release of 50cl bottles was formed from some of the first casks distilled at Abhainn Dearg back in 2008 when they reached 3 years old. Seemingly there was a small volume left over which was used to make up these 5cl minatures by the distillery which is now exclusive to The Whisky Barrel.

My tasting notes:

• Appearance: Champagne gold (2/20), thick oily legs and quick large tears.
• Nose: Fruity and spirit, lime and lemon citrus, green grass, oak wood, buttery cereals, malty, nutty, spicy, green apples.
• Taste: Raw and rough, quite spirit, lemon pledge/polish, cereal, grassy hay, ashen peat, salt, sour grapefruit, pith and juice, quite vegetal, when reduced with water a creamier vanilla notes comes out along with some more oak wood and also some sulphur.
• Finish: Medium-short, cereal, grass, hay

Overall

Quite rough and ready this one. Young, spirity, and exuberant but not quite tamed by wood. Reduced it still revealed some odd flavours and tendencies, this really reminded me of agave spirit or mezcal rather than whisky.

Score 66/100

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