As I get close to the end of my look at Blended Malts, I am closing my mini-series on peated blended malts. After Douglas Laing’s Big Peat and Compass Box the Peat Moster, I review the Elements of Islay Cask Edit. This Islay Blended Malt is aged in refill, bourbon and Sherry casks. After two almost exclusively ex-Bourbon peated Blends, I look forward to seeing what the Sherry influence adds to the mix.
TL:DR: Delivers what it promises: a smoky, maritime, sweet dram with well-integrated Sherry notes
Score*: 6.5, Good stuff, close to very good.
Together with the Port Askaig and Single Malts of Scotland, Elements of Islay is one of the Elixir Distillers brands dedicated to independently bottled Scottish single malts. Elixir has recently moved into distilling as well. They have taken over Speyside’s Toremore in 2022 and the upcoming Port-n-truan distillery on Islay, expected to commence production at the end of this year (2024).
An evolving Elements of Islay?
It took me a while to take the plunge and grab a bottle of Elements of Islay. I am slightly ashamed to admit that the branding didn’t help. The plain branding didn’t exactly inspire me. Some may disagree, but I find the faux-medicinal style gimmicky. But more than anything else it, I still am unsure what the Elements of Islay positioning is, especially with Port Askaig also available from the same owners.
Looking at some of the initial information available online, the original positioning was split between milder and more intense peat. Port Askaig, started in 2009, was created to offer single malt whiskies, showcasing the milder side of Islay. Born in 2008, Elements of Islay focused, mostly, on cask-strength IB single malts showing a more medicinal and peaty Islay character.
Today Port Askaig continues delivering on its original positioning. Hopefully, it will continue to do so although there are doubts due to potential sourcing issues with the base spirit used coming predominantly from Caol Ila. Elements of Islay, on the other hand, seems to have become mostly dedicated to blends, with the current core range made of Bourbon, Sherry and today’s review, the Cask Edit. The last cask strength IB single malt appeared in 2022, according to Whiskybase. It’s hard to tell if this is a definitive or temporary change. Time will tell.
And with that let’s move to the review of the Elements of Islay Cask Edit.
Elements of Islay Cask Edit
Specs
Price paid: €45.37
Lot: L22/8296
ABV: 46%
Natural colour: Yes
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Blend components: A blend of Islay single malt aged in Refill, Bourbon and Sherry Casks.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Golden like a cask-aged Chardonnay. The hue hints at a definite but not excessive Sherry cask use
Nose: Sweet, smoky, medicinal and maritime. The sweet notes hint at fresh and baked pear and apple, enriched by raisins, a drizzle of honey and vanilla. The peat is woodsy, medicinal and iodine-rich. A minty and aniseed note is in the background mixed with just a hint of milk chocolate.
Taste and Finish: Intense. Markedly peaty, medicinal and maritime. A bit of toast There is some sugar, lemon peel and pear with a tiny bit of peppery spice and toasted nuts.
The finish is medium-short. Like on the nose, the medicinal peat is integrated in a background of, sweet, maritime (crushed seashells), raisin and a slight pepper spice.
Score*: 6.5, Good stuff, close to very good.
The mix of peat and Sherry is something that can be divisive. Many love it, but those who dislike it, do so with a passion. I am somewhere in between. I usually prefer my peated whisky aged in ex-bourbon, and, blasphemy, I don’t mind a touch of wine cask. Sherry-cask ageing can be fantastic when done right, but can also result in jumbled aromas when it is too over the top. The Cask Edit does justice to the sherry influence: it is well integrated into the peaty character of the whisky. It may be a tad mild for some, but I enjoy how it lets the spirit still shine through.
And since we are on it, what is the spirit? A while back Dramface published a review sharing some insight from the Elixir team, sharing that most of the blend is a mix of 7-12 year old whiskies, with Caol Ila refill cask making up close to 75% of the blend and Laphroaig (frst fill Bourbon and Sherry) most of the remaining 25%.
*Scores are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
Would I buy it again?
I am enjoying the bottle of Cask Edit, and yet I will probably not repeat the purchase. This has more to do with my preference for ex-bourbon aged peated whiskies than anything. I might grab the Bourbon edition to compare and contrast.
Would I offer this to a new whisky drinker?
The Cask Edit might not be the first bottle I grab to introduce a new drinker to peat, or even sherried peat. On the other hand, it makes a great addition to a flight looking at various cask influences on Islay whisky, especially Caol Ila.
After writing my tasting notes, I always find it interesting to look at other opinions. Here are a few other reviews of Elements of Islay Cask Edit I enjoyed:
If you have enjoyed this content, please share a comment below and consider supporting the cost of this blog via the button below