What do we have here? A blended malt, but we already know that’s often just a way of obfuscating the actual (single) distillery. In this case it says LG, which reminds us of a famous Islay distillery.
Surprisingly it also says Origin: Europe on the label so legally it’s not even a Scotch whisky. That’s because it came to mainland Europe after three years of maturation, where The Whisky Jury poured it into a fresh Oloroso sherry cask which they sourced directly from Jerez. It then aged for two more years in Belgium, which makes lose the right to be named Scotch whisky.
LG 2019 – ‘Origin Europe’ (48,88%, The Whisky Jury 2025, Blended Malt, Oloroso cask #15)
Nose: classic South shore Islay, with hints of bandages, seaweed and iodine, leafy notes and hints of wormwood. A few herbal elements but also a nice sweet fruitiness underneath (peach?). Then a combination of warming coal smoke and light minerals. A bit of raisin as well, but the sherry is very balanced.
Mouth: highly drinkable and rather oily. Still a bit of that fruity sweetness (pears for sure, also banana cake? and raisins), with plenty of big, warm wood smoke and medicinal notes. Some bready notes, along with lemons and vanilla. Sooty touches. The sherry made it quite sugary without disowning the Islay character.
Finish: long, still quite sweet, with leafy notes, subtle coastal hints and warming smoke.
The epitome of card players Islay whisky. You should buy this European Lag and grab the bottle on an evening with friends. The price makes it even harder to resist. TWJ welcomed a couple of new retailers, see the full list here.