Sheep Dip Old Hebridean 1990

WHEW!!! A few weeks ago I adopted two new bottles and brought them home with me. One a sweet candyshop delight bourbon called Hogs 3 and the other one a smokey fired blend called Sheep's Dip Old Hebridean 1990 vintage. I guess I must have just been in a farmyard kinda mood that day.

Now Sheep's Dip Old Hebridean 1990 vintage is a pretty cool blend. It's made up of 19 year old Dalmore, 21 year old Fettercairn, and 25 year old Ardbeg. Two Highlands and one Islay, three well known distilleries. On top of all this only 12,000 bottles worldwide. Pretty cool!

As I open the bottle I am SMASHED in the face! BAM!! It's like the 1960's Batman. POW! Smoke, lots of smoke! Charcoal, tobacco, Peat! FWAP!! A hint of spices comes through the smoke, a little bit of sherry and vanilla. SLAM! Burnt bacon?! Ok that was different!!

I now stare at my Glencairn with something not short of amazed respect. Batman is indeed lurking in this bottle. I slowly and RESPECTFULLY take a sip of this awe inspiring whisky. I taste smoke, charcoal, campfire smoke with a hint of tobacco. I feel like I'm in the middle of some sort of bbq or cookout. It's pretty awesome. A little bit of see air comes through. Just a hint of fruit flows through the smoke, cutting it a little bit for me and making it an easier whisky for this bourbon man to drink.

The finish is surprisingly mild for me with peat smoke flowing through me.

This is a smokey whisky, no doubt about it and it probably sounds like the smoke overpowers it, but weirdly enough it doesn't. The sherry cuts through the smoke a bit and allows you to enjoy this marvelous whisky. This would be a bottle that I might introduce someone who is new to smokey whiskies to. It doesn't feel as overpowered by smoke as so many of the Islays I've tasted.

At $100 AUS and with so few bottles out there if you can be sure you snag a bottle or two. As soon as I can afford another bottle I'm grabbing it for my collection!

This is an awesome awesome whisky and I am very glad I bought it. Thanks Systemdown for the heads up regarding it at Dan Murphys. I wouldn't have thought to grab it without you. Thanks Mate!

I'm going to preface this review by saying I haven't tasted a lot of old scotches--a handful, but not enough to claim any sort of extensive experience on this front. Of the three whiskies used in this malt blend (Ardbeg, Fettercairn, and Dalmore--respectively 25, 21 and 19 years) I have only tasted the Ardbeg, so I won't be able to tell you how each particular whisky contributes its characteristics to the overall blend. I will, however, be able to tell you this is a damned fine whisky.

Moving along...

Nose: Rich, sweet Ardbeg peat smoke with molasses and leather and a hint of ash. Breathing in deeper, you'll discover a really fresh, lively zest underneath the smoke... orange and lime rind (more lime than orange), sea air and sharp aniseed. A real dichotomy of aged earthiness and sprightly youth. If it didn't taste so good, I could just breathe this in all day. Moving along...

Taste: Slow graceful arrival--like the few old whiskies I've had. But in the later stages of the development there is a bit of a youthful suggestion on the tongue. I can't help but wonder if this is an effect of the new casks this blended malt was aged in after blending (I've read they age it for an additional 15 years, however the label only specifies "over a decade"). Quick and relatively subtle malt notes off the top. Evolution then to pipe tobacco, very mild mannered spice and bitter sea-salt chocolate.

Finish: Not as long as I usually like, but very nice nonetheless. Pipe tobacco sticks around but the chocolatey spice reveals hints of prunes and evolves to old, clean leather. It leaves with a soft, fresh, wet woodiness. Like a mossy wood stack after heavy downpour.

Summary: This whisky left my glass much quicker than I wanted it to. As much because it is delicious as because it was a bit of an adventure trying to pick out the flavours. Just as I figured I had a flavour pegged, it would change or elude me... so I'd have to have another sip to rediscover or catch up to it again. Really wonderful stuff. And at this price point, an excellent value for someone wanting to broaden their "old whisky" experience without having to fork out a wallet-load of cash.

Excellent!

This is a unique vatted whisky by Sheep Dip. A blend of Dalmore, Fettercairn, and Ardbeg. After blending, these whiskys are left to age for additional 15 years, making for a wonderful marriage. This is truly a great find for the price, well under $100. The word that I have read is that it's a 25 year Ardbeg, 19 year Dalmore, and a 21 year Fettercairn.

Nose: marriage of the three is seamless, sweet honey, orange zest, anise spice, bitter chocolate.

Body: Beautiful texture to this whisky, as the age is just perfect. Hard to believe the vanilla spice of the Dalmore and the peated Ardbeg work so well together, but they do. Much more enjoyable than a sherried peat, IMHO. Slight notes of tobacco, and peat leaf smoke. Very firm delivery, but not too aggressive. Cant get over how well these three marry together. Wonderful dram.

Mouth: A little disappointing is that fact that is was chill filtered and bottled at a weak %40 ABV. That is about the only set back of this great whisky. Thin and smooth on the palate, the leafy peat flavor gives way to citric acid, and spice. The finish is short to medium, leaving you with hints of brine and sea breeze. Bitter saltiness remains.

This whisky has been selling great, as people are drawn to the name Sheep Dip alone. Unfortunately I have not tried the traditional Sheep Dip, so I can not compare. The "Old Hebridean" is a must have for the price. Just shy of a 90 in my book, but I'm going to give it 9 stars anyway, as the price pumps it up a notch. If you see this one in your local tavern or pub, please try it.

89/100, 9 out of 10 stars.