Islay Mist 8 y.o.

You know what they say: You get what you pay for.

Usually, I hate that. I'd much rather get a lot more than I pay for.

But every now and then, you pay for a bargain, and you get it. That's what happened when I picked up a bottle of Islay Mist 8 y.o. someone put between me and the wine I was sent to the store to buy.

Before I saw it, I only knew that such a blend existed. And until I opened it I was fully resigned to having a ten dollar bottle of Scotch marked up to seventeen based on the name "Islay."



To my surprise and delight, it turned out to be very much as advertised. The label says the whisky is "a premium blend of fine aged whiskies: the most distinctive of these being Laphroaig Single Islay Malt." MacDuff International, which blends Islay Mist in several expressions, gives some history:

Islay Mist Blended Scotch was originally created on the Scottish island of Islay in 1922 to celebrate the 21st birthday of Lord Margadale. It was thought that the local single malt scotch, Laphroaig, might be too heavy for all the guests’ taste so this unique blend of Laphroaig with Speyside malts and grain whisky was born.

Islay Mist's nose is just what you'd expect from such a blend: grains and peat, with some salt water taffy. There's a good amount of smoke on the palate, with salt and honey, though it has a much lighter mouthfeel than straight Laphroaig. The finish is a warm, peaty astringency; half an hour later, you might for a moment think you had been drinking Laphroaig.

All this for seventeen dollars? Sold!