Seaweed & Aeons & Digging & Fire, 10 Year Old, Single Malt Scotch Whiskey, 40%, 70cl

This right here is a 10 year old single malt from an undisclosed distillery on Islay, with 25% of it having been finished in first-fill Oloroso sherry octaves, and bestowed the decidedly descriptive name Seaweed & Aeons & Digging & Fire. If those four words (and three ampersands) aren't quite enough of an explanation of what this expression is all about, here are a few more: stripped-back, smoky, complex, a bit sherried, balanced, coastal. Yeah, that should do it. Great for people who love uncompromising Islay whisky and sans-serif fonts.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Rich, powerful sherry with a well-integrated core of peat. Solid.

Palate: Well-balanced but extremely forceful on delivery. The sherry makes itself known in a really good way.

Finish: Red apple sweetness gives way to oaken-vanilla goodness and fades elegantly into the embers of a chargrilled well-aged steak.

Overall: A thoroughly impressive dram. One would be forgiven for mistaking it for an OB with another 5 years of age on it.