MacNair’s Lum Reek Peated (46%, OB, 2018)

• ABV: 46%
• Age: NAS
• Bottling: OB, MacNair’s
• Category: Blended malt scotch whisky
• Cost: £40
• Origin: Unnamed Islay / Speyside
• Vintage: Undeclared

What they say

A smoky blended malt from GlenAllachie Distillers Company, blended by the legendary Billy Walker using peated Islay and Speyside single malt, as well as whisky from the GlenAllachie distillery. Inspiration comes from Victorian distiller Harvey MacNair, as well as the Scottish toast “Long may your lum reek!” (it means “Long may your chimney smoke!”). This expression features whisky aged in first-fill bourbon, Oloroso sherry, virgin oak and red wine casks, and packs a hearty helping of smoke at its core.

What I say

Sampled during the #MacNairsWhisky Twitter tasting on Wednesday 13th February 2019.

This Peated no age statement blended malt comprises a mixture of Islay and Speyside single malts, most likely some from parent company Glenallachie. Natural colour and non chillfiltered.

My tasting notes:

• Appearance: Light champagne gold (2/20), slow, medium tears and long, fine legs
• Nose: Sweet and earthy peat, peanut brittle, floral honey, some biscuity malt and a little milky/creamy new make spirit
• Taste: Thick and full-bodied, double cream, a slightly iodine and ashen peat smoke precedes apple, celery, white grape, elderflower cordial and thyme jelly, a little toffee and red cherry on second sip.
• Finish: Long, smoke, chlorine and a little ash, some dried oak wood

Overall

A great blended malt, a little youthful but this brings power to the Islay smoke, some nice floral and herbal elements in here but difficult to assign much specific cask influences. The result is very drinkable and unsurprisingly a complexity that you could easily believe this was a single malt. Reminds me a little of some early Kilchoman’s but with much less power in the peat influence.

Score 83/100

Don’t take my word for it:

Bloggers submit link to your review