Torabhaig – Sound of Sleat – Batch Strength
Tonight we taste the batch strength edition of Sound of Sleat. This edition is bottled at 60.2% Alc/vol. Whereas the previous Sound of Sleat I tasted previously was 46% Alc/vol.
If you check back to our blog on May 14th for my review of the Torabhaig distillery and tasting of the no. 3 Legacy series bottling, you will agree that this is a fine distillery with a grand selection of expressions. Visit Torabhaig for all details of their Whiskies and tours.
This is the 4th in the Legacy Series. Matured in Band virgin oak casks with no age statement. Peated to over 70 ppm.
Let’s now open the bottle and have a taste.
Nose…No hiding from the peat, crisp and pure, salty ocean spray, smouldering pine wood with delicate farmyard and bonfire inclusions, there is also a citrus burst mixing in with the peat.
Taste…I get more prominent peat, some briny and savoury notes and a delicious sticky sweetness. Blazing driftwood on a bonfire turned to charcoal and soot drifting down onto lobster pots and fishing nets, yet above the heavy fumes is a sweetness. If you really have to add water, make sure it is only a teardrop.
Finish…Wow the finish is delightfully long and peaty, long after the taste, you have a warming in the palate and your heart, great dram.
Well, well, this is a keeper, a great burst of peat that explodes onto the nose and the palate. All at Torabhaig have created quite a triumph of a cask strength peated Whisky. It is only priced with an RRP of £73.25, which I think is very good for a dram of this quality.
Like the nose, there is no point pretending this isn’t a big whisky on the taste front. There is an abundance of creamy oak spice, smoky bonfire embers and a hint of incense.
The saltiness from the nose translates to an anchovy-like taste, and there is a bit of earthy, bark-like quality to it, combined with hints of vanilla, crème caramel and liquorice. The mouth feel is thick, drying and waxy: the finish lasts an age, and it is a lengthy warming glow long after the liquid is gone.
A touch of water can open this up a bit, but personally, I’d be careful not to drown it.
