Isle of Skye 18 Year Old Scotch Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B

Continuing up Ian Macleod Distillers’ ladder of Isle of Skye blended whiskies has taken me to their 18 Year Old expression. It’s a pretty typical progression, really, although one that seems to show large jumps to American eyes. The cooler, milder climate of Scotland and heavy reliance on used cask stock means Scotch whiskies mature more slowly than their American counterparts. It’s standard operating procedure to see a line start with an eight or ten year old expression, then a twelve or fifteen year old, and then probably an eighteen year old before moving on into the twenties.

That this expression is now available in the US and in regular distribution is due to a recent change in liquor laws, allowing the 700 ml bottles the international liquor industry considers standard to be imported into the country. Prior to that, all imports had to be in 750 ml bottles. Like the rest of the Isle of Skye line, this is a whisky based on sourced stock acquired by Ian Macleod Distillers. The malt side of the blend takes peated Island whiskies and combines it with Highland and Speyside stock. As a blend, grain whisky from an undisclosed source is also part of the recipe. The 18 Year Old is bottled at 40% ABV.

The Scotch
This middle-aged Scotch has a copper look in the glass. I found the nose to be mild and airy, nearly to the point of faintness, but berries and sea spray coupled to cinnamon and pepper were there. The flavor offers butterscotch and pound cake, served on a platter of dry, peppery wood. The mild, subdued character of the nose continues on, however, so the peppered dryness is quite restrained. The finish is also a touch dry and peppery, but fades fast.

This is an 18 year old that doesn’t really offer the wow factor that so many jumps into the middle aged range do. My feeling about it is that while the 18 Year Old is undeniably better than the 12 Year Old, I gave both a B. If I were grading essays instead of whiskies, the latter would score an 84 and the latter an 86. All that said, the price point is still very fair (see below), so give it a look.

The Price
Officially, a bottle of Isle of Skye 18 is pegged at $64.99.