Filthy Smoke 10yo Whisky 50cl 42.8%

Bottling note from the team at Master of Malt:

Different people like a lot of different qualities in their whisky. Perhaps you know someone who likes honeyed Speysiders, or grassy Lowland single malts. However, what you've done here is click on a whisky called Filthy Smoke, so there's a chance you like your whiskies to have a certain muckiness to them, and were hoping that was what this one is all about. If so, you are indeed in luck. This is a 10 year old Islay single malt, packed with earthy, peaty notes, which has been finished in sherry casks that were specially selected for their robust, gunpowdery, somewhat sulphury elements. It's those notes that add the eponymous filthiness to this smoky sipper, and it certainly lives up to its name.

Tasting notes:

Nose: Big, intense medicinal peat. Toasted granary bread with a later suggestion of raspberry jam, spent match, a hint of BBQ sauce sweetness and dry-rubbed ribs.

Palate: Grilled tropical fruit with a touch of char, pink peppercorn, damp wood, flamed orange peel, still has that subtle spent match hint to it underneath.

Finish: Baked earth, five-spice, lasting smokiness with just a smidge of toffee apples on bonfire night.

Overall: Thankfully it's not like taking a bite out of the ground - it's a well-put-together whisky, just with a good helping of muckiness at its core.