Morissons single islay malt?

[Ben]

Feeling a bit skint I thought I'd give this a shot... Half the price of any Islay single malt wearing it's own clothes, and one begins to wonder why- it's really quite tasty.

Definately south shore, I half suspect it of being Ardbeg.

Anyone tried it who'll hazard a guess at its true identity?

Or any other cheap supermarket single malt bottlings?

[Deactivated Member]

And this is a whisky event?

[irishwhiskeychaser]

And this is a whisky event?

I can't see why not ... it was an event for Ben to make this discovery

Welcome Ben by the way

[Ryguy]

Ben, I've not tried the Morrisons, so I can't comment there. But I did want to take a moment to Welcome You to the Forums!!

[Spirit of Islay]

Ben , I suspect you're on the wrong bit of the Isle with your guess . More or likely Slightly north or an even better guess would be North - east of your suggestion .
You will not get Ardbeg in a supermarket own make......

[Ben]

Woops, this most certainly isn't a whisky event, posted in the wrong group due to incompetence and a small screen on the phone I was browsing with yesterday whilst on a train.

Thanks for the thoughts and wecomes though!

Ben

[Leither]

Ben, a warm welcome to the forums

I also like the Morrisons own-label Islay, it's great value as you say. Pretty much like it, and at a similar price of circa £15, can be found at Asda (a 'Pure' malt ie not from one 'Single' distillery like the Morrisons is).

Pay a quid or so more, worth it, for both the Sainsbury's Pure Malt (my favourite own label Islay) and Tesco (Single). M&S Islay is also good but at a 'whopping' £20 too rich for me ! Waitrose's offering was not so good for me, as a recent bottle I had I found some off-notes of rubber/bicycle inner tube and I suspect a fair bit of caramel/artificial colouring.

The thing is tho - they change all the time and you'll never know what they are, other than opinion and often conflicting rumour around here or perhaps some 'insider' knowledge ie we have discussed them here many times before. Indeed it was trying to find out what they were that led me here and after 2+ years I'm really none the wiser - all I know for sure is that they change from year to year and are now between £15-20, whereas a year or so ago they were £12-15.

I think, as SoI states above, they are much less likely to be Ardbeg or Lagavulin and more likely to be from Caol Ila or Bowmore, so from less 'in-vogue' distilleries that have high levels of both output and stocks.

My advice would be try a couple and if you find one you really like, wait til they go on offer and stock up - I bought a few Sainsbury's for £11 a bottle around a year or so ago

[Spirit of Islay]

I've got around half a dozen "Own Brand" Islays (most are from a few years ago)....
Glen Cairn Islay (Tescos) SM.
Ardnave (Tesco) 12yo Islay SM.
Tesco 10yo Islay SM.
Safeways Pure 10yo Islay .
Oddbins 1990 10yo Islay SM .
Morrisons 10yo Islay SM .

The Ardnave is a pretty poor Bruichladdich and i'm a big fan of Laddie !
The Glen Cairn could be a Bowmore ( Slight perfume like a Bowmore....) , it looks Caramelised as well !
The Safeway smells and tastes like a Caol Ila / Laphroaig it could also contain Bowmore seeing it's a pure....... but it's a pretty good one .
Morrisons (older one with a screw top) - This one i would definitely say is a Bowmore , peaty but with the Bowmore Floral/perfume .
Oddbins 1990 - The hardest one of the lot , especially as it has tasting notes on the back and it doesn't point to what i'm tasting ! Could be a Laphroaig ?

Tesco 10yo Islay - the latest one i bought , simply because i was told where it had came from by a person in the know , probably my favourite "Own Brand " Islay ....and it's not an Ardbeg !

Colour - Pale Straw.

Nose - Sweet Peat , Pepper , a little earthy , a wee bit of sherry as well ( 2or 3rd refill casks or one sherry thrown in for luck) , seashore , seaweed ..

Taste - very sweet peat on the palate at first , again a slight sherriness , peppery and a touch of cocoa .

Finish - surprisingly long and peaty , pepper but smooth .

[Spirit of Islay]

It's a Single Malt and it's not a Laphroaig.......
Or a Lagavulin before anyone says.....

[Spirit of Islay]

Bowmore.

nope , but you are , geographically , getting closer.....

[Spirit of Islay]

You're not telling me it's a Laddie?

Nope , You shouldn't have turned left at Bridgend when coming from Bowmore.....

[Spirit of Islay]

So you took the first turning left after passing through the Village of Keills.....
Good Call !
Don't think that all Bunnie is un-peated......
It's not !

[Newbie]

Peated Bunna?!? You don't find to much of that around! Was going to pick up some black bottle next time I was at Tesco but I'll have to give this a try instead!

[irishwhiskeychaser]

I had a Bunnie IB and it was a bit peppery/woody so maybe not out of the question... (white pepper and dry wood)

Unfortunatey we only get Tesco Scotch or Irish Whisk(e)y even though thinking about that I may have seen a Highland Malt also but never seen an Tesco Islay

In all fairness to them though there probably is not the demand for it over here. I wish more Irish people got into Whisk(e)y

[BruceCrichton]

Feeling a bit skint I thought I'd give this a shot... Half the price of any Islay single malt wearing it's own clothes, and one begins to wonder why- it's really quite tasty.

Definately south shore, I half suspect it of being Ardbeg.

Anyone tried it who'll hazard a guess at its true identity?

Or any other cheap supermarket single malt bottlings?

Had it about a year ago. It's probably Caol Ila.

Sainsbury's vatted Islay is worth the money. You can't really go wrong with Islay from supermarkets. You pretty much know what you're going to get.