Welcome to Dreaming of Islay!
Welcome to this whiskey blog! Not sure how you ended up here, but hopefully Google didn’t let you down on this one.
I started this site to reflect on my exploration of this hobby, which began in my junior year in college with a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label. Although seen by some as a basic blend, at the time it was a world away -- really a quantum leap forward- - from the $10-a-bottle, borderline undrinkable dark liquids we downed as shots at dorm parties. Tasting Black Label wasn’t exactly a revelatory moment, but it did make me realize there was something to this whole business besides trying to impress peers (let’s be serious, female peers) with how stoically one could take a slug of Imperial. From those humble beginnings, I more or less stumbled into the world of single malt scotch by accident. Like many of you, I’m sure, I ordered a Glenlivet 12 and enjoyed it immensely. At a graduate student bar, no less -- I wish I could still pay those prices!
My tastes have evolved and developed in the seven years since then. As the name of the blog suggests, I’m a devotee of the peated scotches of Islay, and we’ll typically have several bottles from Laphroaig, Ardbeg, and Lagavulin in the house. (If anything, my wife loves them more than I do!) But whether you’re a fan of the peat monsters or the sherry bombs, I hope this site will have something for you; and that in my journey, you’ll see a reflection of your own.
I've also started this blog in anticipation of a trip to Scotland in 2018 that I've been planning for a few years now. The general plan will be to spend a few days at Feis Isle on Islay, before hitting the road and taking a big loop around the Highlands, seeing the sights and doing distillery visits along the way, and ending with a weekend in Edinburgh. Before hitting the road, I'd like to try as many different scotches (and bourbons and ryes, for that matter) as I can!
I'm going to try to put up reviews every week or so, depending on where my adventures take me. Some of the reviews will be of bottles I've purchased, but I'll also post shorter notes on restaurant or bar picks from my travels. There are two features to my reviews that I want to emphasize, and which are important for the way I think of and enjoy whiskey.
Value and the “Sweet Spot.” As a luxury hobby, it may seem uncouth or perhaps simply unnecessary to question the value one gets for one’s money when buying a bottle of whiskey. I don’t subscribe to this idea, and I’m happy to see a lot of writers also share this instinct (likely because buying a nice bottle of scotch is a meaningful splurge for us!). In each of my reviews, I’ll try to provide a sense of the value of the bottle relative to what I think of as the current sweet spot of the market: the price range between $50 and $80 a bottle.
Why $50 to $80? It starts with an arbitrary and Laphroaig-centric reason! $50 to $80 currently represents the range between the basic expression (Laphroaig 10) and several of the special editions that are simply spectacular, including the recent 200th Anniversary release of Laphroaig 15, which is my favorite scotch.
$50 to $80 also represents the price point at which one can experience the full range of scotch whisky styles, and at a high enough quality that one can enjoy them. Below $50, there are some reliable options, but it’s hard to get a true representative of the Islay or Campbeltown styles, as well as many of the minor Island scotches that are absolutely spectacular. Even stretching the budget to between $50-60 opens up a world of possibilities, from Springbank in the south to Highland Park in the north, and two of the three gems of the A846 (Laphroaig and Ardbeg’s 10-year expressions both nestle down in this comfortable price range).
At the top end of that range, one is able to sample alternative expressions from major distilleries, which gives you a sense of how time and aging technique transform scotch. In fact, within the $80 and under price range, one could experience a wide range of scotches just by doing a vertical tasting at a single distillery, such as Glenfiddich 12, 14 Bourbon Barrel Reserve (at least in the U.S.), and the 15 Solera Reserve. Or, if you’re an Islay fan like me, Laphroaig 10, 10 Cask Strength, Quarter Cask, Triple Wood, and the yearly Cairdeas limited editions all fall within that price range. It's also the price point where one can experience some spectacular cask strength bourbons, like Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, which can be tough to find at $50 or under.
I’ll give more scrutiny to, and hold whiskies above that price range, to a higher standard. And they should be held to a higher standard, especially when they may easily be double the price of a bottle in the sweet spot that offers just as much depth, complexity, and simple pleasure.
Comparison to Reference Drams. The second feature I’d like to have in my reviews is a comparison of the review subject to one or more reference points. By that, I mean whiskies that are easy for everyone, even non-whiskey drinkers, to try in their regular bar, and which are widely available in liquor stores around the country. I'll sometimes do these comparisons based on memory, and sometimes I'll actually have the drinks side by side so I can get a more direct comparison (which I prefer, but which may not be possible depending on what I have lying around the house at any given moment).
This comparative method of reviewing whiskies seems to work best for me because of my own limitations. While I love reading detailed tasting notes, I confess to being amazed by, even verging on skeptical of, how many different flavors that better tasters than I can identify in a scotch. I do not have as refined a palate, and I often have to search the internet several times when reading others’ more detailed tasting notes to learn what the food or scent they’re describing even is (sultanas? That was a new one). The point of comparing a scotch to a reference point is so that I can give a rough sense of relative merits, such as whether one scotch is fruitier, sweeter, richer, or spicier than another one. I hope these sorts of comparisons make it helpful in deciding whether to buy a bottle. If you know you’re a huge fan of Macallan 12’s fruity, sherried flavors, then hearing about a bottle that’s even richer and fruitier may be just the ticket.
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That’s a lot of writing for not a lot of scotch tasting, isn’t it? I’ll try and post some reviews soon, starting with Aberfeldy 12, which is a nice alternative to the Glenfiddich/Glenlivet/Glenmorangie trio of popular single malts. Thanks for reading!