Carn Mor Strictly Limited – Williamson 700ml

2013 9 Year Old from Williamson AKA an major Islay Distillery starting with L….

Yes, it is Laphroaig, only labelled under another name.

Islay icon, Bessie Williamson was the first female distillery manager at Laphroaig, and the first woman to own and run a Scotch whisky distillery in the 20th century.

Carn Mor have bottled theirs after nine years. Matured in a hogshead, the aromas slowly build with ginger root, smoked ham hock and sweet malt. The palate is emphatically Islay, though not without some restraint.

Flavours of chimney soot, seaweed, smokey mezcal and bitter chocolate effortlessly glide across the tongue. At 47.5% ABV it’s a step up from many official releases, but it’s still no heavyweight.

From an outturn of 1798 bottles. Non chill filtered.