Scarabus Islay Single Malt (2019 Fèis Ìle) / 46%/ 0.7l

Scarabus is a new whisky brand from Hunter Laing & Co., launched to coincide with the 2019 Fèis Ìle celebrations.

The whisky comes from an undisclosed distillery located on the Isle of Islay, of course, and is bottled at 46% ABV. Its name, in turn, refers to the small farming region in the north of the island, where the Scarabus distillery operated for a year (1817-1818). Today's Scarabus was first released at Hunter Laing & Co's Ardnahoe Distillery, which opened in April, and where Jim McEwan, previously a Bowmore and Bruichladdich distiller, is the master distiller.

Nose: classic Islay malt aromas, peat smoke, seaweed, vanilla, honey, white pepper, allspice, a dash of cinnamon and linseed, and a hint of tar.

Taste : peat smoke, sea breeze, green olives, seaweed salad, vanilla salt, white pepper, apples, tobacco and oak.

Finish: quite long and pleasantly balanced, with notes of peat smoke, cigar ash, vanilla, cinnamon, pepper and oak.