Whisky : Islay Storm

Country/Region : Scotland/Islay

ABV : 40%

Cask : n/a

Tasting : Neat in a Glencairn @ Home

Nose : Subtle scent of oak soaked in rubbing alcohol. There is some smokiness to nose, but its an almost artificial smokiness, as if someone added a drop of liquid smoke into the glass. There is some faint iodine to remind you that this is a coastal scotch, but it comes out in a rather off-putting manner as the sweet sticky scent of salt water taffy.

Palate : Weak and watery, the high note is banana laffy taffy— an artificial fruit flavor accompanied by faint saltwater. There is not much to be found aside from the artificial fruity flavor of candy, the smoke of the nose seems totally lost.

Finish : Quick if not a bit sour. You might forget you were even drinking scotch between sips of this.

Score : 1

Mental Image : Halloween as a small child, this scotch is one of those really cheap sickly sweet candies of a bargain bin brand you don’t even recognize that you may find in the bottom your trick-or-treat pale and which your parents throw away after you’ve passed over it for the good stuff.

Something Better : Port Askaig (independent mystery bottle, more traditional peaty Islay palate)

Something Similar : McClellan’s Islay Single Malt (similar notes & weak mouthfeel)

Something Worse : Johnnie Walker Red (also best used in mixed drinks/food)

Notes : I picked this up at a Trader Joe’s in Boston; I was hoping to find Finlaggen, which I’ve always found to be a great value Islay, yet all they had was Islay Storm… It did not look very promising. A few texts back to the wife and she declared we might as well try it. I will note here that I had already picked up a few other more promising bottles elsewhere in Boston. So it seemed fine to gamble on a $20 bottle to complete my cross continent haul.

My fiancé declared Islay Storm to be but a shadow of an Islay— a faded memory of a proper scotch. As poor as her review may be, there is something redeeming in memory. Islay Storm, while not great, can at least remind you of better scotch when you just want something cheap to drink. And, we did find that Islay Storm paired very well with briney pickles which seemed to cut down some of the sweetness and bring out a bit of smoke. Definitely a scotch to consider drinking with, not water, no no no, but some pickle back.

Otherwise our bottle of Islay Storm was duly finished off after it became our go-to cooking scotch. It was a fine ingredient in steak sauces and other gravies. Its best attributes came out as it deglazed pans, adding a hint of smokiness and barley sugar to round out whatever gravy or sauce we (I) was making.

Will I buy this again? Definitely not. If I want cheap scotch, I’ll stick to Kirkland and maybe next time I’m at a Trader Joe’s I’ll find Finlaggen again.