Aerolite Lyndsay 10 Year Old

This is a bottle that sprung out of nowhere, spreading all over Social Media rapidly with everyone releasing a review. While I am late to that party (as always) I have got my hands on a sample ready for review.

Researching this bottle, I can see why I have seen it so much. It is part of Atom brands, who are owned by Atom Group, who also owns Master of Malt. This means The Character of Islay Whisky Company, who produced this bottle, is the same family as Darkness,  Drinks by the Dram and That Boutique-y Whisky Company. These companies are all masters of marketing and Master of Malt is one of the biggest online Whisky retailers. I am certainly not saying that this is a bad thing because frankly, they put out some great products, seem super genuine and are a key cog in the Whisky World, especially in the UK.

Experience

If you have heard of this bottle I am sure you will have read a thousand times that the unique name is an anagram of the words ‘ten year old Islay’. I will take their word for it as my dyslexic brain is not going to attempt to unscramble or attempt a better anagram.

The bottle design is smart, classic and fits in with other Islay bottlings. In my eyes, I think it looks similar to the TWE Christmas Malt and the TWE Black Friday release which again have strong branding.

The Aerolite Lyndsay 10 Year Old is non chill-filtered, natural coloured and released and a nice hearty 46 ABV.

Nose

I was expecting this to be a deep peat bomb flying out the glass, however, sits on the other side of the smokey section. It has a light and friendly peat aroma which is filled with wet grass, earth and damp wood. Almost like the smell of opening the shed after a wet winter with the damp mossy aromas tied in with the faint smoke from the BBQ after “forgetting” to clean it. Yes, this 100% is a reflection of my own shed. 

Taste

The taste is clearly Islay. The dusty smoke overtone mixed in with juicy ripe peaches and soot-covered toffees. The higher ABV really helps give this bottle a bit more punch and thickness. It finishes surprisingly quickly, only leaving behind cracked black pepper and dry smoke.

Value for Money

While the description of the nose may sound unfavourable, this is a nice peated Whisky providing a great foot into the world of Islay peat. The cheapest seems to be The Whisky Exchange at £42, but worth checking out Master of Malt for and promotions. It feels a little too high in the price when you compare to other easy Islay’s like Kilchoman’s Machir Bay.