Secret Islay 2012 Claxton's Exploration 8 years 50% (refill sherry butt)
The final Claxton’s Exploration I’ll be looking at for now. We’ve got another blended malt – presumably teaspooned. Coordinates are 55.63N, 6.15W. This one leads to a quite legendary south coast Islay distillery. Thoughts on the bottling series itself also after the fold.
Colour Straw.
Nose Peat. Intensely herbal and medicinal. Fire and sand. Seaweed and salt. Heavy, sticky, orange almond cake. Minerally and coastal malt, salty. A little woody, but fresh. Plum sauce and wine gummies (hello cask?). Some pepper and menthol.
Palate Thick, oily and medicinal – almost bitter (this is a pleasant thing). Moss, smoke: peat. South coast in character. Scotch fingers and grain – malt. Black tea. Some sweetness, and a fruity, berry note. Like a handful of blueberries and raspberries. Cream. Interesting contrasts here. Back to grassy and herbal.
Finish Oil and smoke. Cough syrup, but the sweetness isn’t artificial. Varnish. Bready. A touch of olive oil. Moderate, but the peat does power on. And isn’t that what we signed up for?
Comments Classic south coast Islay style. Through the peat it does strike me as a lighter malt. I’m very much enjoying the fresh woodsy notes: herbs, grass. It’s a bit like a forest meeting the coast. 85/100.
All in all, Claxton’s Exploration series is probably my favourite entry level IB lineup. I’m impressed by both the quality and value of these bottlings. I strongly recommend checking it out.
