2013 Carn Mor Strictly Limited Williamson (Distilled at Laphroaig) 9 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

This is a follow up release (one year older) from the previous Carn Mor bottling of the same provenance. If you're a little confused, 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. We can only assume that the Williamson title is been adopted by independents in order to differentiate their product from the 'lesser' and now ubiquitous 'supermarket' Laphroaigs. Carn Mor have bottled theirs after nine years. Even though the outturn is over double last year's, Australia gets just one small allocation. 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.