Whisk(e)y Wednesday 2026-04-15

Another head to head matchup with bottles from the 2025 24 Days of Whisk(e)y ... plus a bonus one as well (: We are trying out the peated Scotch Whiskies this time, the lineup is ...

Port Askaig 110 Proof (that's the name... and the proof, go figure!) 55% ABV

Highland Park 12 Year 43% ABV

Compass Box Peat Monster Cask Strength 56.7% ABV

Kilchoman Cask Strength 57% ABV

and the bonus pour is ...

Ardbeg Wee Beastie (5 Year) 47.4% ABV

The Ardbeg I haven't taste tested since 2020 and I thought it might be a good addition to the mix. I poured these and randomized them - let's see what I think about them.

Glass 1 : Nose is sweet and BBQ, some rubber and some dirt too. The taste is sweet with ash and some pepper. The finish is heat, ash in the back with some sweet too. This seems well balanced for sure, I'll rate is a 4.25 today as I really enjoyed it.

Glass 2 : Nose I get some ash, some sweet and some char. The nose seems hotter and on the 2nd round I get a touch of mint too. The taste is hot spice, some sweet, ash, tar ... and then more sweet. The finish is hot pepper, then sugar, it lingers nicely, then I get some simple syrup and ash way in the back. I'll rate it a 4.0.

Glass 3 : I get a sweet BBQ and pepper. On the second nose I get more heat and ash in the back. The taste is candy sweet, with some ash and char too - peppery after a bit. The finish i candy sweet as well, then pepper, a nice tingle with some heat. I will say that this feels one note-ish to me, but that note is good. I'll rate it a 4.0 as well.

Glass 4 : This one seems less peaty on the nose ... it's sweet and has some heat too. The taste does have some ash, along with some sweet and pepper. The finish is peppery that turns to sweet and savory, it lingers with a nice tingle. I'll will also rate this one 4.0.

Glass 5 : I get matchstick on the nose, some sulfur and some sweet as well. The taste is fruity with some sweet, some matchstick and this is a bit prickly - it's a bit proofy. The finish is fruity, sweet and has some sulfur as well. I'll rate this one 4.25.

Trying the ones I rated 4.0 - I'd have to say Glass 3 was my least favorite, with Glass 2 being my favorite of the 3. Which means Glass 2, Port Askaig was #3 tonight, with Glass 4, the Highland Park being #4, and Glass 3, the Compass Box coming in last place. It was a tough crowd for sure.

Trying Glass 1 vs Glass 5 ... I have to give it to Glass 1. Glass 5 turned out to be the Kilchoman, and was #2 tonight. Which leaves Ardbeg Wee Beastie as my favorite for the night. I currently don't have a bottle of this, and should pick up another one for sure. Cheers!

24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 16

Tuesday Whisk(e)y Time! Tonight... on the nose, peaty! I get the malt, ash, medicinal, toffee, some chocolate. I keep going back and fining more, including some savory bbq meat, really quite nice, the nose is excellent. The taste I get the sweet and savory, peppery heat, toffee, smoke and ash... and then even more pepper. As I acclimate to this, I also find on the taste the bbq meat I found on the nose. The finish has a spicy heat tingle on the tongue, char and ash that drifts away to be replaced with sweet toffee ... and then finally the heat comes back to linger.

With water the nose is similar, the taste seems more spicy and the finish is more sweet. This is quite excellent overall and well balanced. I'm pretty sure it's a peated Scotch, and I think it's probably around 55% ABV so likely cask strength. This is the best of the year so far... I don't think I can quite go to 4.5 for this, so I'll call it 4.25/5.0 - tonight bottle is...

Kilchoman Batch Strength Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 57% ABV, no age statement. I've had other Kilchoman Scotch Whiskys before, but I'm pretty sure this is the only Cask Strength one, and this is certainly better than the other ones I've tried. A winner for sure, cheers!

2018 12 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 2

From 2018-12-14

Day 2 of 12 Days of Whisk(e)y: Today we have Kilchoman 100% Islay (100 proof) non-chilled filtered single malt, 6th Edition (Bottled in 2016, 6 Year). A sample of Kilchoman was in both of the advent calendars I had in years past, and when I was placing an order from England for a few bottles hard to find in the USA, this one caught my eye so I ordered it.

Nice light smoke aroma. Fairly smooth taste, with some peat, vanilla, and a bit of spice. Adding a dash of water seems to bring out the sweetness a bit. Enjoying this one - 3.5/5.0

2017 - Day 21

Today we have Kilchoman Single Cask 524/2011 Single Malt 58.3%. Strong alcohol from the aroma, which is to be expected. First sip - yep, this is nearly 120 proof, quite a kick. I do get a touch of peat along with some spice. Adding a dash of water brings the flavor to the front. Strong peat, some toffee and spice. Overall very enjoyable, could see buying a bottle. Rated 3.5/5

Day 2

Today's offering was a Kilchoman 5 Year Old 2010 Single Octave Cask Release, coming in at 58%. I was a bit worried given the strength and the age, but it was smoother than I expected but sill packed some punch. Really awesome smokey aroma, nice balanced taste. Enjoyed this one, but looking online at Master of Malt, it doesn't look like they carry this, so it must have been a limited bottling.