Chapter 7 Williamson 9yo...

Chapter 7 Williamson 9yo (53.9%): After that cracker Caol Ila from two days ago I am now all geared up for another 9yo Islay whisky from Chapter 7... To tell the truth this time the whisky is teaspooned and therefore technically it should be called a blended malt but we all know for a fact that what we have in the bottle is a Laphroaig. Folks in Laphroaig like to name their teaspooned whiskies Williamson after the legendary distillery manager Elizabeth Leitch "Bessie" Williamson. Like I mentioned above it is a nine year old whisky aged in an ex-Bourbon barrel for its entire lifespan before being bottled at cask strength. 235 bottles have been made available.

Color: Bright yellow gold color like canola flowers with quick but thick and oily looking legs.

Nose: Sea spray, wet sand and dried mackerels. It feels like I am crawling into the oil soaked engine room of a fishing boat... Fish skin, olive brine and fresh rosemary leaves. It gets green and vegetal with a few drops of water: Aloe vera, steamed green asparagus and celery hearts.

Palate: Salted and cured fish, grilled lemon halves and burnt ends. Yellow grapefruit slices, sea salt and samphires. Adding water adds a creamy texture... Quite dry: Dry roasted salted nuts, lemon juice and mineral water. Peat, dry soot and charcoal.

Finish: Long with burnt firewood, burnt lemon peel and ground coriander.

Overall: Powerful whisky... I love these bone dry, young(ish) and citrusy Laphroaig bottlings and this whisky is definitely checking all those boxes. Actually it reminded me very much the Cairdeas 2017 release which was a cask strength Quarter Cask if you will remember. A very solid cask choice and an equally good decision to bottle it at cask strength.

Price: £110

88/100