Aerolite Lyndsay

A surprise package through the post a couple of weeks ago was a curiously named bottle of single malt Islay whisky from a new whisky company.

The Character of Islay Whisky Company is part of Atom Brands and a sister company of That Boutique-y Whisky Company and Master Of Malt amongst others. The whisky is called Aerolite Lyndsay and it turns out the name is an anagram!

So what we are getting here is an 10yo single malt from an undisclosed Islay distillery, it's been matured in 70% ex-bourbon barrels and 25% Spanish oak sherry quarter casks, with the final 5% coming from specially-selected ‘character’ casks.

The Character of Islay Whisky Company pays homage to the legacy of Islay with a tongue in cheek take on the mythical legends and poetic licence rife in Islay whisky marketing, and instead shifts focus firmly to the whisky itself (which as I may have already mentioned is delicious). The only ‘stories’ that matter are made while sharing a dram with your mates. As the collection grows, other ages and ‘characters’ will be introduced.

The back of the box includes the humorous message:

This is the part where we are meant to ENTICE YOU, dear drinker, with tales of this MAGICAL ISLAND of ISLAY in all its splendid isolation.
The ISLAY PILGRIMAGE of any discerning whisky drinker is paved with provenance, heritage, and of course, PEAT SMOKE-BREATHING DRAGONS. (But you know that already.)
We’ve chosen to focus on what matters most…the contents of your glass, a GREAT STORY, and of course, the ferry timetable.
This is AEROLITE LYNDSAY.

Bottler notes: 46% ABV

Nose: Lots of maritime peat, with notes of iodine intertwined with honey sweetness, paprika, salted caramel and old bookshelves.

Palate: Smoke returns alongside mint dark chocolate, espresso and new leather, with honey and soy sauce mixed together.

Finish: Boiled mint sweeties, liquorice allsorts, bonfire smoke and toffee penny, with a pinch of salt.

My thoughts:

Appearance: very pale gold in the glass, swirls cling to the glass before falling at slow fat legs.

Nose: Very fresh, cut grass, maritime breeze and of course a good dollop of peat smoke. It's not in your face peat smoke, actually fairly gentle and I don't get any medicinal notes.

Palate: A thick almost syrupy arrival, fairly sweet but with a sour citrus note. It's mouth coating with lingering tropical fruit notes before the blanket of maritime smoke covers everything leaving an oily yet dry feeling in the mouth.

Finish: More tropical fruit and maritime smoke, not awfully long but enticing - I'll need to pour another dram!

Overall: As the cold nights of winter approach this is a perfect fireside dram, warming and smoky but with a lovely fruity maritime edge.

Of course with any undisclosed distillery bottling your mind immediately starts trying to guess where it's from! Normally you would think it's the distilling mega factory that is Caol Ila, but I'm not so sure... yes there is a huge maritime influence, but the nose is far fresher than I'd associate with Caol Ila. The bottling notes hint at iodine, maybe a south coast distillery but I didn't really get them notes. Then again there is that 5% from specially-selected ‘character’ casks, do they hide the real distillery notes?

At the end of the day we'll probably never know and to be honest it doesn't matter - this is a great 10yo smoky dram from Islay at a very reasonable price - just buy a bottle and enjoy it!

Many thanks to Atom for the bottle!