Like the 15 I picked up this Lismore 18 years Speyside Single Malt at Trader Joe’s around Thanksgiving of last year. I did it after picking up and trying the Lismore 15 which I felt only so-so about. I felt like it was over priced by about $5-$10 and so I approached this one with no small amount of trepidation but being only 1 away from having a full week of Lismore reviews was incredibly tempting.
I walked into Trader Joe’s that morning and the first thing I did was look at the bottle sitting there in it’s gift pack with the 2 Glencairns and after giving it a good look over I put it back on the shelf and walked away. I went about my grocery shopping and proceeded to rationalize the purchase. Sure it’s probably going to be a “meh” whisky and I’ll feel like I overpaid, but I have 4 other Lismore’s queued up. On the other hand I could use that $45 to buy something I know I’ll like… and on and on it went. You can obviously tell which part of my brain ultimately won that argument.
Lismore 18 years Review
Bottler: William Lundie & Co.
Age: 18 years
ABV: 43%
Price: $45
EYE
Light caramel
NOSE
Lightish nose all around, but layered with tropical and fruit notes. Some breezy notes of honeysuckle, vanilla, butterscotch, toffee and citrus float through with a bit of wood.
PALATE
Fruit is muddled together here on the palate and mixed with notes of dark honey, malt, burnt graham cracker pie crust, vanilla and a smoky char. There’s a darkness to the palate that wasn’t as apparent on the nose.
FINISH
Fruit, wood, vanilla and ash go on… and on… and on… and on…
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
The darkness of it pulls things in a weird direction; it’s a wobbly balance if you will. Medium body with a soft smooth texture.
OVERALL
This one I actually like and if it were around the $35 mark it would feel like a better deal. Compared to the Lismore 15 it’s a significant improvement but, again, what’s keeping it back is that ashy darkness on the palate and finish. It seems to dull down a potentially tasty malt and at the moment it’s hard to justify the price when Laphroaig 10 is the same price and sitting right above it at Trader Joe’s.
SCORE: 83/100
