Get ready for the first taste in Australia of a brand spanking new whisky out of Islay for our resident peat freaks this month and to make it even sweeter we negotiated an absolutely bargain of a deal on this months whisky! This month we’re proud to offer the Scarabus Islay Single Malt for the first time in Australia.
Yep, if you think phenols are pheromones, if you don’t just want to breath smoke – you wanna drink it, if kelp on a storm-pounded pebble beach with a peat fire warming your boots is your idea of olfactory heaven… then you are going to love this month’s Scarabus from Hunter & Laing.
Created specifically for the 2019 Feis Ile (Islay Festival of Music and Whisky) – this Non-Age-Statement (NAS), undisclosed distillery bottling of Islay whisky is from 3rd generation blenders and bottlers Hunter & Laing. This is the first expression of a new Range of Islay whiskies to be released under the ‘Scarubus’ brand and its first taste in Australia goes to our members!
Enjoy for the first time, the uniquely superb Scarabus Islay Single Malt!
OUR TASTING NOTES
Despite its mysterious origins, this is definitely a complex and moor-ish whisky that will delight those who like a little bit of smoke in their lives! It showcases beautifully all those flavour elements that lovers of Islay whisky delight in.
Colour: Medium-amber
Nose: All the sweet and smokey, hospital, tar and seaside you’re looking for. Also a lovely salty-savoury charcuterie in the background.
Palate: A surprising initial hit of sweet stewed prunes and caramel precedes savoury cured meat notes and mouth coating spices which then gives way to a sweet smoke. A most interesting and defined progression of sweet-salt-spice-smoke in a precision procession!
Finish: Soft and sweet at first and then a soothing campfire smoke rolls in and fades with a long spicey chew.
FROM THE BOTTLERS
“We’re extremely proud of the Scarabus whisky and the Feis Ile Festival is the perfect place to release the first bottling. We aimed to produce an expression that showcases a traditional Islay whisky style, and the unmistakable Islay smoke matches wonderfully with the rich, sweeter notes that linger on the finish.” – Stewart Laing, Managing Director.
Scarabus is known as a mystical area on the Isle of Islay, and the name dates back to 13th century, and translates to “a rocky place” in Old Norse.
Bottled at the perfect drinking strength of 46% and proudly without colouring or chill- filtration.
Islay Peat smoke and sea salt on the nose, followed by warming leather notes and a wonderful vanilla sweetness in the mouth, leading to a rich lingering finish.
ABOUT THE DISTILLERY
Now just to be very clear – this month’s whisky is from an undisclosed distillery, but there once was a ‘Scarabuss’ distillery in Islay. An ill-fated endeavour, it ran for only a single year before closing down for good. It’s ruins still stand.
Scarbus Distillery stood in the middle of a hill about a mile away from Bridgend. Though this place is not certain. It was established by John Darrack & Co. in 1817-18. The exact year when they started distilling and ceased is not certain. The local people there says that there used to be a farm called Balole Farm, a mile away to the east from Scarrabus Farm, where they made whisky in those days. Loch Cam, just a few minutes from this place, springs superior water.
Scarabus, is an isolated farm about two miles north of Bridgend, roughly midway between the Lochs Skerrols and Cam. It is close to a burn (creek) that feeds into the River Drolsay on its meandering course from Glen Drolsay to Loch Skerrols and from there on into the north end of Lochindaal near Islay House.
Scarabuss distillery was licensed to John Darrock & Co. in 1817 but he closed the following year. The farm on which the distillery was located is currently still in operation.
