Abhainn Dearg ‘The Spirit of Lewis’

The Abhainn Dearg distillery, founded by Mark Tayburn in 2008, is located on the the west coast of the Isle of Lewis, one of Scotland’s Outer Hebrides.

Since 2011 they are selling a 3 years old Special Edition whisky (at a whopping £ 150), but this is their new make, a single malt spirit (not yet whisky) which is aged in sherry casks for just a few months before it’s bottled.

 

abhainn-dearg-spirit-of-lewisAbhainn Dearg ‘The Spirit of Lewis’ (46%, OB 2014, 50 cl.)

Nose: strange. Huge rubber and plastic comes out. Burning plastic. Pear syrup and honey pops. Burnt grasses and hay. Hints of grappa.

Mouth: quite acidic and bitter, a kind of planky bitterness. Hints of burnt herbs. Rubber and gravel. Brrr… Again a berry / pear sweetness behind it.

Finish: invasive, dry and bitter with some metallic notes.

Oh boy, oh boy, it has been a while since I tried something this bad. It’s maybe even the worst thing I ever tried that was labelled ‘whisky in progress’. Very disappointing, really off-track. Around € 50 for 50 cl.

Score: 25/100