Peated passed on as a cask characteristic
When: 17th September 2025
Where: Thirsty
Host: Elliott Drinks Whisky
Our third flight-of-three event and back to a smokey theme. This time with whiskies of a style I don’t feature often when I’m selecting a line-up. It isn’t because I don’t like them, but I had it in my head that to pick a whisky, with its smoke imparted by the previous cask inhabitant, meant I wasn’t performing my selection duties justice. I can’t really explain it much better than that, but it doesn’t matter anyway because I realised it was nonsense. Why should an ex-peated cask be any less valid than an ex-sherry/bourbon/wine/rum/anything cask?! Plus, I am always keen to see ways the industry is minimising and moving away from direct peat usage.
The Whisky
(Click on the images to buy a bottle)
Murray McDavid – Smoke & Citrus – Glen Elgin
Single Malt Scotch Whisky – 44.5%
Justification: Cask Craft range
I think this must be the 4th or 5th expression I’ve tried/presented from Murray McDavid’s Cask Craft range. It is a fantastic series of great value whiskies where each bottle aims to hit 1 or 2 general notes through knowing cask exposure. The idea being that a cheaper bottle with a simple message guiding the drinker will be appealing to people looking for a bit of help. They also work very well in tasting line-ups, where you know you want to convey something specific. And I’ve definitely enjoyed them at home and with friends, as they are genuinely good whiskies too.
This bottle contains whisky from the Speyside Glen Elgin that was finished in an ex-bourbon barrel sourced from the Islay Caol Ila. Both distilleries owned by Diageo, and both heavily used in their blends but fairly readily available through independent bottlers. Something I didn’t know, is that both were also demolished and rebuilt in the second half of the 20th Century to have their capacity increased (and presumably modernised as both were 19th century-founded).
This, the first whisky in our flight, was very enjoyable as the opener, but returning to it later on, it seemed that its impact was a bit muted. It definitely delivered on its Smoke & Citrus moniker for all of us around the table on first try. With other whiskies in the way though, we found the whisky flattened out into something creamier and maltier, possibly an effect of the 2 contributing distilleries themselves producing lighter whiskies, compared to the bottles that followed.
Initial notes: 👃🏻Lime, smoked salmon on a cracker 👄Green beans, ashy ⌛Very lemon sherbert.
Returning after #2: Sweeter, no smoke, minerality/chalk.
Returning after #3: Soft, sour, brown bread, ice cream soda, honey, chalky.
Lochlea – Ploughing Edition – Third Crop
Single Malt Scotch Whisky – 46%
Justification: Dedicated release
The selection of this line-up coincided with two things: the launch of Lochlea’s 3 new core expressions, and me going on holiday. Unfortunately, the two dates didn’t quite align, so putting the request in for one of those new bottles wasn’t possible. However, the foundational DNA of the core Smoke Without Fire bottle can be traced back through the 3 editions (crops) of the seasonally released Ploughing Edition.
This, the third and final crop, spent all of its maturation time in ex-Islay barrels. The theory is that these are Laphroaig barrels, due to Lochlea’s (now ex) manager, formerly being a manager at Laphroaig. It makes sense he’d have access to a barrel or two, right? So, theoretically, this ex-Laphroaig whisky should have more punch than the previous ex-Caol Ila whisky, in part because of their relative smoke styles, and because of the maturation vs finishing cask application.
The nose and the palate confirm that theory, and rather impressively, this is indeed like Laphroaig-lite. Over time, the farmyard Lochlea character surfaces.
Initial notes: 👃🏻Salted pretzel, salty smoke 👄Mossy peat, mint/peppermint ⌛Fizzy Laphroaig.
Returning after #3: Funky farm, bit of soap, peppery, crumble spices.
That Boutique-y Whisky Company – Adnams 8yo
Single Malt English Whisky – 50.5%
Justification: Interesting cask recipe
To finish, something a little different. This bottle is Boutique-y’s second batch of Adnams, and it seems like they kept some of the first back, which I’ll come to later. Adnams have been making beer since the 19th century, though brewing was taking place on their site since the 14th. Spirit production is newer, beginning in 2010, with their first whisky released in 2013. They use their 70 year old brewer’s yeast to ferment their whisky, which is made using locally farmed grains (rye, wheat, oats and barley), also used for their beers.
This is a single malt (so all barley) that was initially aged for 7 years in a 2nd-fill French oak barrel; that would typically suggest either cognac, wine or brandy. The independent TBWC first Adnams release stopped there. This second batch finished the journey off with a final year in an ex-Islay cask. So, it’s quite likely that that barrel was bigger than they wanted to bottle for the first batch, or one of a pair that they re-casked; either way, that extra, 8th, year made it eligible for this flight.
There was some disagreement around the table with this whisky. We didn’t all find the same level of smoke in it, and I certainly didn’t get the level I expected. But we did think the French oak was probably formally a cognac or brandy cask.
Notes: 👃🏻Rum raisin, butterscotch, Baileys 👄Salty, bit of earth, aniseed ⌛Buttery, bitter burnt berry/fig
The Winners
Vote Winner: Bottle #2 – Lochlea & Bottle #3 – TBWC Adnams
A tie around the table for a favourite. Maybe picking one favourite isn’t the way to present these conclusions. Personal preference has a lot to do with it, and by design, the line-up members are quite contrasting. There was some consensus that people’s second favourite was the Murray McDavid. In future, maybe I’ll put some energy into gathering data for a fancy graphic of vote weighting per bottle…
These flight events are undoubtedly a success though, giving us more opportunity to discuss notes and impressions, let alone the magic of moving up and down 3 glasses for direct and mixed comparisons. Eye-opening experimentation and whisky drinking experiences.