The Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar - Door Number 13

Each day in December until Christmas Day we are opening a door on The Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar and posting our tasting notes on our blog.

An American independent bottler called Single Cask Nation are the creators of the whisky in door number 13. The label states that it is a 2008 Undisclosed Islay 7yo from a first-fill bourbon cask and bottled at 56.3%.

On the nose it's unmistakably an Islay malt. It's peaty in a medicinal way, rather than a smokey way. Having said that there's a sweet, smoked barbecue sauce note coming through. Generally there's seaweed, cereal and cut grass with a hint of TCP.

On the palate it's fizzy lemon sorbet and cream. There are spices, oak and barley.

The finish is long and prickly with some lemon sweets and cereal, and then treacle at the end.

With water the cereals on the nose are more pronounced, the palate becomes less fizzy and more of the treacle comes out on the finish.

This is a fresh, clean Islay dram that's fairly accessible for a peaty malt and is very drinkable indeed!