Islay – Honest Booze Reviews

Laphroaig ‘Lore’ Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 750mL

December 13, 2021December 26, 2021 BuffaloJern Leave a comment

We first had a sample of this back on a whiskey Wednesday event, and given the course of that was a few folks and multiple tastings one after the other without a proper tasting it earned a solid A. Now though 3 years later it’s time to put it under the lights properly and see whether the Lore of this whiskey holds up. In short it does, but if you’re encountering this review due to a frantic google search in the local liquor store seeing if this is up to snuff – you likely have already spotted the main downside, namely the price tag.

Shieldaig Single Malt Islay Scotch ‘Finest Old’ Whisky 750mL

September 27, 2021September 19, 2021 BuffaloJern Leave a comment

Typically the concept of Islay single malt and sixteen dollars are not grouped into the same category. While there’s not an age on this bottle which makes the affair a tad more sensical, from the first crack of the bottle it’s certain you’re 16 buckaroos has given you a bit of Islay. However as for how the first sip treats you for you bargain purchase – well – it could be worse.

Bunnahabhain 12 Yr. Islay Single Malt Scotch 750mL

August 16, 2021August 1, 2021 BuffaloJern Leave a comment

So it’s pronounced Bu-na-ha-venn. Just felt the need to get that out of the way, because the name (and dear god their literature) can be summed up best by the word verbose. If we’re honest the contents of the glass can also fall under the category of verbose as well. The whiskey here is quite a complex thing – but the problem with complexity in a scotch is whether it fits the expectations and the desires of the drinker.

Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 750mL

March 29, 2021April 4, 2021 BuffaloJern Leave a comment

Now we’ve previously had an offshoot from the Bruichladdich in the form of Port Charlotte – which was *heavily* peated. Here though with the good old classic it’s actually un-peated relying wholly on barley for it’s flavor.

Caol Ila 12 Yr. Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 750mL

August 14, 2019August 3, 2019 BuffaloJern Leave a comment

Caol Ila is a name even if you’ve never seen it on a shelf or bought yourself (unlikely but go with us here) it’s surely cropped on the list of essential sprits, a common marker in blended scotches, and one of the premiere Islay scotches – (one of the older ones too). We, however, have yet to review it – well until now.

Bowmore Islay 12 Yr. Single Malt Scotch Whisky 750mL

February 13, 2019February 10, 2019 BuffaloJern Leave a comment

At this point, we’re fairly familiar with Bowmore. However we’ve sort of been going about it in reverse having started with the 17 year, and then near 6 years later (yikes), we did the 15 year. We’ve opted this time to go with the 12 year. We can therefore finally form a verdict on which Bowmore you should buy, and what (if anything) does time do?

Caol Ila The Distillers Edition Single Malt Scotch Whisky 1L

November 7, 2018December 22, 2018 BuffaloJern Leave a comment

This is normally the bit where we talk about how this relates to the regular version and what the distillery specific breed brings to the table. (But we’ve not actually done that yet – our bad). In fact, the only thing we’ve done that’s dealt with Caol Ila on this site is its inclusion into Johnnie Walker Green (which is defunct). But that’s okay.

Port Askaig 110 Proof Islay Scotch 750mL

August 29, 2018August 26, 2018 BuffaloJern Leave a comment

We originally tried this as the recent Whiskey America Day Special and knew we had to get it into the review banks. We then however totally forgot which version we gave an intial A- too, and picked up the 110 Proof for funsies. While we’re almost certain this is not the same dram, that A- rating may show up again in some form.

Laphroaig Four Oak Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 1L

May 23, 2018May 6, 2018 BuffaloJern 1 Comment

Alright, time to properly kick off the Whiskey Wednesday section with something that’s not terrible like Stroudwater. We, of course, decided the best course of action was to get on an international flight and pick up something from the duty-free. Since a trip there typically falls onto either an Auchentoshan or Laphraoig and we did Auchentoshan last time – here we go

Bowmore 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 750mL

April 9, 2018April 29, 2018 BuffaloJern 1 Comment

Leave it to Bowmore to take the common wisdom of ‘oh if it’s been 15 years it’s likely mellow’ and turn it into a fire-breathing monster that reminds you that the other thing you get when maturing a spirit for 15 years is the sheer power of that time.

Tag: Islay