Macgavin's single malt scotch

[timd]

Anybody give this a try? It was on sale this weekend for a bit under $20, so I picked up a bottle of the Islay offering - and it's not bad. I'd be tempted to say it's a very lightly peated Caol Ila, not as citrusy/enjoyable as the OB of Caol Ila's Unpeated, and certainly not as smooth, smokey and olive-y as the regular CI (which I've had all manner of ages of).

If I had to guess I'd say it's a very, very young (3-4 years) Caol Ila, watered down to 40% with only the faintest amount of peat (arguably it may not have any...). But it's still got the Islay vibe going on, despite the lack of smoke/peat.

I guess it could be a really young Bowmore, too - but I've only had a handful of Bowmore to compare it to - and it feels more like CI (and CI has the largest production of all Islay distillers to be able to spin off young casks for Independents like this).

Curious if anybody else knows more - or has tried the other regional offerings. It's honestly not bad for $20... I wonder if the Speyside or Highland versions are this tastey?

[Stu]

Anybody give this a try? It was on sale this weekend for a bit under $20, so I picked up a bottle of the Islay offering - and it's not bad. I'd be tempted to say it's a very lightly peated Caol Ila, not as citrusy/enjoyable as the OB of Caol Ila's Unpeated, and certainly not as smooth, smokey and olive-y as the regular CI (which I've had all manner of ages of).

If I had to guess I'd say it's a very, very young (3-4 years) Caol Ila, watered down to 40% with only the faintest amount of peat (arguably it may not have any...). But it's still got the Islay vibe going on, despite the lack of smoke/peat.

I guess it could be a really young Bowmore, too - but I've only had a handful of Bowmore to compare it to - and it feels more like CI (and CI has the largest production of all Islay distillers to be able to spin off young casks for Independents like this).

Curious if anybody else knows more - or has tried the other regional offerings. It's honestly not bad for $20... I wonder if the Speyside or Highland versions are this tastey?

Never heard of it before, but if I see in a store at that price I'll buy a blttle and let you knowe what I think.

[timd]

Had another glass last night - and still feeling good about my Caol Ila guess.

There are 3 other offerings in the series:

Speyside

Highland

Lowland

All were same price ($20) and one of the employees said she'd had the Highland and it was very good - they can't keep it in stock (they were out when I was there at Specs), and have ordered all they can get.

At this point, at that price - $20-$25 - I'd be more than willing to try all of them!

[tmckenzie]

Sounds like a line like Mcclelands. Which is an excellent value for whiskey. I love their highland and islay.

[bcrossan]

Anybody give this a try? It was on sale this weekend for a bit under $20, so I picked up a bottle of the Islay offering - and it's not bad. I'd be tempted to say it's a very lightly peated Caol Ila, not as citrusy/enjoyable as the OB of Caol Ila's Unpeated, and certainly not as smooth, smokey and olive-y as the regular CI (which I've had all manner of ages of).

If I had to guess I'd say it's a very, very young (3-4 years) Caol Ila, watered down to 40% with only the faintest amount of peat (arguably it may not have any...). But it's still got the Islay vibe going on, despite the lack of smoke/peat.

I guess it could be a really young Bowmore, too - but I've only had a handful of Bowmore to compare it to - and it feels more like CI (and CI has the largest production of all Islay distillers to be able to spin off young casks for Independents like this).

Curious if anybody else knows more - or has tried the other regional offerings. It's honestly not bad for $20... I wonder if the Speyside or Highland versions are this tastey?

If there is no peat it could also be Bunnahabain. They sell a lot of casks to independents and the majority of their malt is unpeated. I just got a bottle of the Highland as a gift so i am curious to give it a try soon

[ebo]

Sounds like a line like Mcclelands. Which is an excellent value for whiskey. I love their highland and islay.

The only Mccleland's available to me is the Islay. It isn't horrible, but I still have a hard time paying the $20 something I find it for. If it was in the $15 range, I might buy it. For the $20-$24, I'd rather get a decent, inexpensive bourbon or Tennessee whiskey. But, thats just me.:cool: