Rounding off our review of Feis Ile 2022 we start with the festival release from neighbouring Jura.
All the fun of the Feis isn’t contained to Islay, as the Jura distillery have their own day of festivities. Their release for 2022 was distilled in 2007, matured in a single sherry butt for 14 years before being hand filled and wax-sealed on the island. Bottled at cask strength (57.2%) and limited to around 700 bottles.
Returning to Islay, we start with a particularly special bottle from Kilchoman. For Feis 2022 they have released a 16 Year Old that has been matured entirely in 1st-fill bourbon casks. These cask were among the first filled at the distillery and this 16 Year Old is the oldest whisky yet to be officially released by the distillery. Fewer than 900 bottles of this are available and it is an absolute must try for fans of the distillery.
Laphroaig’s Càirdeas whiskies have been a staple of Feis Ile for a number of years, but the 2022 release is a slight departure from the norm. Moving away from interesting and usual cask finishes, the 2022 Càirdeas honours where the whisky has been matured - the famous Warehouse 1 at Laphroaig distillery, right on the shore on the south side of the island.
The Feis release from Lagavulin is the first to be released by new distillery manager Jordan Paisley. This 12 Year Old has been matured in virgin American oak casks and bottled at cask strength (57.7%). Those lucky enough to get one of the 6,336 bottles can expect an interestingly rich expression of Lagavulin that balances spicy and sweeter flavours.
