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Distiller and Bottler – Ian Macleod

Price – £35/£40 (£25 when on special offer)

Region – Islay

Strength – 43%

Colour – Overly caramel

When I saw this whisky on the shelves, I was still very much a Metalhead (Still am.It’s just not my only thing anymore) and the skull design on the metal tube made me think ‘Ah, ha! A whisky for me and my kind.’

That was some years ago. Things have changed. I’ve changed. I’m about to complete my third year of my self-imposed whisky apprenticeship and I’m currently drinking the Smokehead after seeing it reduced at my local Tesco some weeks ago. I didn’t buy it because of the design and its connotations. I bought it because it was reasonably priced and I was curious.

Not a lot is known about just what’s inside the bottle. For the uninitiated, they’ll be overwhelmed with the peaty aromas coming from the glass. That in itself would be enough to live up to the ‘heavy’ and ‘edgy’ promise of the branding. But, my more developed nose and palate says different. It’s certainly got the phenols from the peat smoke alongside some iodine, however, when I taste it and let my tongue have a good look at the liquid, there’s sweetness there too. Quite a bit. And some briny notes. This indicates to me that the whisky in this bottle is Ardbeg. Having only ever had the 5 and 10 year-old bottlings once before (distinctly memorable though), I can say with almost 100% certainty that Ardbeg is being used. An offshoot, of course. Either bought wholsesale from Ardbeg by Macleod to bottle when they choose or, potentially, lesser stock that Ardbeg wanted rid of without having to pay the disposal fees.

Not that this is a bad whisky, mind. It’s just not…there. For fans of Ardbeg, Islay and peated malts, this won’d do much to excite. It’s reasonable and perfectly acceptable if you’re new to peat and don’t want to fork out the prices of the official bottlings. There’s enough peat to overpower any beginner and give them the experience that they’re drinking a whisky with ‘punch’ and ‘fire’. But the sweetness (I think it’s overly sweetned by the addition of a decent chunk of the old E150a caramel colourant) is what helps make this more palatable because, let’s face it, no serious whisky enthusiast is going to buy a bottle with a pop-out gold skull on the bottle then find a load of caramel’s been used to make the malt look more appealing. This is very much for the ‘alternative’ market where black, skulls and bold ‘look at me, I’m edgy’ designs on their clothes are the thing. And that’s fine. It really is. These people want something that ‘belongs to them’ and the whisky industry’s giving it to them. Fair play. Everyone’s a winner in that respect.

I decanted this bottle over two weeks ago and, I must say, over time and with suitable gaps between drams, the smoky element does devlop. As I write this, I got a faint cigar note. Almost like a cigar that had been dipped in molasses before being dried and smoked. Might not sound appealing but that’s what I’m getting. You might be different.

And like any good peated whisky, the Smokehead does have a lingering finish but that sweetness remains as well to temper it down. Fans of the Ardbeg 10 will be disappointed that they’re not getting campfire ash remaining overnight.

On Ardbeg, a bit of digging around brought about the suggestion that this may be a 6 year-old malt being used. Having had the recently released ‘Wee Beastie’ 5 Year-Old, I can believe this may be a bit older but being diluted to 43% instead of the 5’s 47.4% ensures it lacks the strength of character and flavour of the official bottling. That’s if this is Ardbeg which I’m pretty sure it is. But we can’t know for sure since the whisky industry likes to be all ‘hush, hush’ about this kind of thing. Trade secrets and all that.

So, what is there to recommend this whisky. Unfortunately, not a lot. As said before, if you’re new to peat, live in the UK and see this on special offer then it’s worth a shot. At offer price, it’s not a lot to spend to find out whether you like or loathe peated whisky. At full retail, however. Well, the competition is stiff. The aformentioned ‘Wee Beastie’ floats between £30 and £35 and is a far superior dram to this offering giving much of the same flavours only amped up and more defined. The superlative 10 Year-Old enters the fray when it’s on special offer at £37.

Then, we have Laphroaig’s Select and 10 Year-Old which are no more than £40 and, whilst at minimum bottling strength of 40%, they provide a lot of peat, phenols and smoke to create a wonderfully characterful and heavy malt.

If you’re paying £40 for a peated whisky, you’re as well stumping a little bit extra for Bruichladdich’s Port Charlotte 10 Year-Old. Not tried it yet but it’s sitting in the cupboard demanding to be opened.

Of course, for lighter peat there’s Highland Park’s 12 Year-Old Viking Honour and recently re-released 10-Year Old Viking Scars. The 12 gives wonderful heather peat smoke, sherried fruits and a viscous, oily mouthfeel that requires you to chew. Like the Port Charlotte, I’ve yet to have Highland Park’s 10, however, once I saw this back on the shelves after an absence of two or more years, two bottles were purchased to be enjoyed and discovered at a later date. Both bottlings retail between £30 and £40, bottled at 40% ABV. When on special in the UK, they can be picked up for £24 for the 10 and £25 for the 12. Both are aged differently in bourbon and sherry casks respectively.

Then, there’s Bunnahabhain who, just last year, brought their Moine single malt. The name is Gaelic for ‘peat’ and is supposed to be rather good coming from a distillery not traditionally known for peated malts depsite being from Islay. Expect to pay around £35 and find a bottling strength of 46.3%. Got one of these too and will get around to it.

In conclusion, there’s a lot of competition at the price point that this Smokehead is operating at. The malt is young as confirmed by the thin, runny legs and doesn’t hold up against what I’ve tasted from Ardbeg, Highland Park and Laphroaig. It’s competent and, in all fairness, will suit non whisky drinkers more. It’s a tourist or occasional whisky. Not something the experienced dram sippers will buy more than once including this blogger. I’m enjoying this for what it is and, when I’m done, I’m done. Not another will be bought. Curiosity satisifed.

And so, it really comes down to marketing. As with many things that aren’t great where the producers know it, they market the crap out of it. Whether it’s a bland film, song, beer, burger, you name it, if it’s rubbish, it will be marketed to the High Heavens to ensure people buy that product above all others. Just to get the money back. That’s perhaps a bit harsh on this malt, but given what it’s up against, it needs to stand out from the crowd and the actual product won’t do the talking. So, pop-out skulls, edgy name, metal tube, slightly above average bottling strength and suitably wishy-washy wording on the back are what’s needed to get this malt noticed. The fact it’s still on the shelves shows the strategy works because the commentators certainly don’t rate it highly. Another case of style over substance.