The San Francisco World Spirits Competition recently hailed the Isle of Skye 25 as the best blended Scotch in the world and who are we to argue, we have known it all along.
A blended Scotch at this age is not unique but it's very rare. All the various whiskies in this delicious 25-Year-Old blend were being put into the cask at the very end of the last Millenium and/or at the beginning of this one. Two and a half decades in oak has seen all the varying maturations given plenty of time to work their magic. If time is often seen as the fourth ingredient in Scotch, then this is a recipe made in heaven.
The Isle of Skye whiskies, known for their high malt content range from 8 years old to 30 years old and are all created by the award-winning Ian Macleod blending department, headed up by talented John Glass, our MaltMaster. The team has a whole portfolio of malt whiskies and multiple grain whiskies to choose from when creating our smooth and multi-layered blends.
Each expression has its own recipe, in the case of the twenty-five the malt component is primarily Highland with of course some influence from islands, and the grain component is primarily from the lowlands, including closed distilleries.
As the aging happens, we see a change in the spirit. Oxidation, often overlooked, is beginning to have a say on the whisky at this age. With the increased head space in the casks oxygen begins to change the composition of the whisky in subtle ways, and we see some delicate tropical and floral notes emerging in the 25 year old which aren't there in the younger whiskies.
This is very special and it’s what I think blew the SFWSC judges away. With some single malts at this age, it can be all about the wood, but not here. We have two styles of whisky ageing for 25 years, malt and grain, which are then married together, and each have a different story to tell.
The grain whiskies which start off with a very light spirit style, transform and gain more character and become a very significant part ofthe flavour in our older Isle of Skye's, especially here. Malt whisky on the other hand almost takes the opposite journey, being quite bold at a younger age softening as it gets older.
It is this interplay of grain and malt, diverse spirit styles,and cask character which in the hands the IMD blending team elevates this blend into being more than the sum of its parts. The Scotch is bold and rich, with a hint of smoke but delicate and tropical. It is old grain and old malt beautifully balanced. There's rich oak, hints of vanilla and ginger, gently drying as the age reveals those delicate floral notes and more nuanced layers.
For many years, the conventional wisdom in some whisky circles was that it was single malt that stood at the pinnacle of the Scotch tasting hierarchy. With the Isle of Skye 25 Years Old, we are turning that on its head. Whisky is about flavour regardless of what the mash bill is. What we love to hear is that they never knew a blended Scotch could be this complex.
We are not a ‘single’ malt, we are much more than that!
We are the world’s best blended Scotch.
