Smokehead High Voltage IM

I am absolutely surprised and happy that there is still such a whisky. Especially at a time when the prices of Islay Sherry whisky are rising higher and higher, this is simply a great alternative. I do not have to say anything more, except DELICIOUS.

Good balance of smoke and soft sweetness - very drinkable and enoyable

- very tasty high-proof smoky NAS single malt - not intrusive or unpleasant despite the high% - better than the standard Smokehead - Much better than many other bottlings from NAS well-known stills from ISLAY

A friend who has a great taste and tastes like drinking It is said that independent bottled whisky has a lot of kuilla, but I don't think it's their feet, but seeing that there is no objection, it is like an ardbec with a light body (maybe 10 enhanced version). It smells a bit like rubber bullets.

Medicinal and smoked smokehouse. Full and expressive.

A young, wild, but really good malt! My first impression - completely biased: that must be an Ardbeg ... But well - unfortunately we don't know - you can't say it either! Good value for money!

This is the basic Smokehead, matured in Bourbon barrels, offered at a high alcohol content. Color: amber Good, much better than the basic Smokehead, alcohol handled very well

Banal harsh and even a bit rough whisky. The fortress was not particularly good for him, but it is still a little more interesting than the basic 43-degree version.

Delicious, smoky whisky. Unfortunately a bit expensive.

20 19 19 19 77 power and youth, dry and flat, simple really winter whisky, just for a drink.

Great young sherry smoker. The flavors come relatively structured, gradually. Great PGV

Upon entering a violently herbaceous peat, we recognize a famous Islay distillery, located in the south of the island and whose name does not begin with L. It is dark and humid, you have the impression of walking in a tunnel. Ash and white fruits, vanilla, a touch of citrus, caramel and wood. With the addition of water it becomes a little swampy, a little elderberry, some mold and a medicinal touch. In the mouth, it's young but it's drinkable, it's obviously very peaty, vegetal. Maybe a little salt. The finish is explosive, with returns of wood and caramel, really pleasant and rather long. A metallic aftertaste in retro-olfaction. It's all nice, but let's not forget that for 10 euros more you get the Uigeadail. A real Peat Bomb, as medicinal as it is charcoal, which will not disappoint fans, and at a very appreciable price. https://ilikesky2020.blogspot.com/2020/05/smokehead-high-voltage-58-independent.html

Notes from a blind tasting:

Harsh new make alcohol needs toning down to bring out flavour notes. Caramel, dark chocolate syrup, loads of peat. Still needs more water. Cask strength does not work here.

Tasty Smokehead, which is even stronger than normal due to the cask strength. But since the alcohol is very well integrated, the whisky still remains very digestible. Highly recommended for the price of today.

Balance (21) I think this is Lagavulin (85) Go

Absolutely great PLV purchase recommendation. Successful combination of Islay smoke (Caol Ila) and Sherry sweetness.

This is the second whisky after Smokehead Rum Riot Islay Single Malt 43% (my wife's favorite whisky) from the "skull" brand, which I had the opportunity to taste, this time in full force. 58% alcohol is perfectly camouflaged. The whisky is amazing with its freshness and aftertaste. focal smoke with a very nice breath of the sea.After adding water, it becomes thicker, oily, sweeter and citrusy.In the overall note I should add 1 point for the release of all flavors after adding water (87 + 1 = 88 points) ????. I do not know what is with these women, but my ladies wanted to add her to their shopping list.

Great, strong and strongly smoky Islay Whisky, no elegance, there is a lot to discover, it doesn't necessarily need water, the aromas are tickled drop by drop, a pleasure for lovers of smoke and cask strength

Without water an ashtray. With water then quite good. 75 points.

Nice peated whisky with enough room for sweet and fruity notes. Very enjoyable and a very good stuff for its reasonable price.

2021-04-02

Unexpectedly, SMOKEHEAD impressed with its rich taste. Deeply rich is a comprehensive feature. A little rough, perhaps due to lack of years of aging, but quite, quite good and worth getting into the home collection.

There are some pretty rough casks in this one. I normally enjoy cask strength Islays, but this one has been a bit of a chore to get through. Dilution with water makes for a slight improvement. Better options out there for same money or less, such as Port Askaig 100.

Amber color. Light oiliness.

Blindtasting.

Very nice smoke, Caol Ila Style, the alcohol is not to dominant, long and warm finish

Smokehead High Voltage 58%. Consumed Oct 2020. Dark orange. Aroma is spiced, quite caramel-addition, bitter toffee, caramel and bitter chocolate. Very bitter and muddled notes, chemically and unnatural almost. Some bourbon and sherry notes are shut out by caramel. I just don't like the aroma. Taste is also bitter but not in a truly peaty way ... I mean don't get me wrong that's there too in spadefulls, but this is also bitter. There's salty oily peat and smoke but you can't see past that annoying bitterness. Yikes that's not great in my opinion. If I had to put my neck out in terms of a cause, I'd say they put buckets of e150a in it, but it could just be bad casks. 3.0/72

Very good price/quality relation. It's not complex but very pleasant and smooth.

Wow, I’m really impressed. This whisky is extremely well-balanced. There are some great fruit and spice notes, plenty of peat, and it doesn’t come across as young. It’s very salty and meaty, giving it this really nice savoury kick. It’s easy to sip, but has great depth and complexity. If I see any of the remaining bottles in the province on sale, I think I’ll be making the trip to buy one. I’d recommend you do the same. I still can’t really tell which distillery this is from. A side-by-side sniff with some Ardbeg 10 has me thinking that this is a Lagavulin, but I could be wrong. Nose: Sweet, coastal peat smoke. Woody smoke, iodine, marinated grilled meat, pepper flakes, sea salt, and rice vinegar. Some delicate seafood notes, brown sugar, almonds, oatcakes, milk chocolate, toffee, and flower petals. Asian pear, coconut, underripe coconut, and lime. A hint of chlorine. Palate: Medium texture. Apple and tart lime up front, with some brown sugar and baking spices. Big peat smoke on the development, with ash and loads of salt. Grilled meat and piles of red and black pepper. Peach tea and grilled shrimp. It gets sweet on the back end, with passionfruit, cherries, milk chocolate, and nutmeg. Finish:Medium-long, and smoky-sweet. Salt and pepper. Charcoal grill. Apple, cherries, tart lemon, and melon. Some light malted barley and brown sugar. Honey and vanilla. Raspberry leaf tea and ginger.

Coming back after 4 years, I have to say I don't think he's quite as good as I used to. Still a delicious whisky.

Pleasantly loaded with all the smoke the label, title, and imagery might lead one to expect. The aroma and flavor profile hit the meaty-smokey high note well, with hints of fruits, nuts, and maritime salt interspersed throughout. The mouthfeel was a tad lighter than I wanted, and the finish was on the shorter side, if not a bit shy. The bottle was quite attractive for $50-60, and one can do much worse. There were no clues as to the origin of the mystery malt at hand, but considering the distilleries on Islay, there is a good chance this was Caol Ila or heavily peated Bunnahabhain with slightly less chance, but not outside the realm of possibility, it was Ardbeg or Laphroaig. The other distilleries on Islay either do not quite fit this profile or rarely appear on Ian Macleod’s release list. Guessing the origin is fun but certainly should not play a role in deciding whether to pick up a bottle.

While I found the aroma of this "Smokehead" quite pleasant, it was also somewhat generic, but the palate revealed a surprisingly rich array of flavors. A clearly young, smoky whisky, which, thanks to the successful cask interaction, scores points not only with its high alcohol content. I like it!

Tested as part of a sample collection. A worthwhile purchase for the price. Review to follow...

Real good quality for the price. You can not complain. Since one could consider also times ne bottle to buy.

Very good. Smoke dominates in the nose, but when you drink it, it releases the whole bouquet of flavors. Well balanced, finish is medium long.

The Smokehead High Voltage Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky is an intense, smoky Islay whisky with a high alcohol content. It focuses less on complex maturation aromas and more on power, peat, and maritime freshness, clearly targeting fans of robust, heavily peated drams. Of course, peat isn't everything. Many an unpeated whisky would be grateful for at least a hint of smoke. I'm guessing Caol Ila.

Robust and aromatic, with plenty of smoke, sweetness and maritime notes.

I can see the Ardbeggian resemblance. , although the finish reminds me of some Caol Ila as well. Somehow quite in the middle although it's a single malt and not a blended malt. Not very complex, but it is an okay peated malt. The nose is the highlight for me. However the metallic tang towards the finish is stopping me from enjoying it more. Pretty sure it has caramel colouring in it, by the way.

Since 2018, the high-proof bottling has been added to the standard range of Ian MacLeod's well-known Islay brand. With the High Voltage, the name says it all, since the single malt with 58.0% vol. comes along and was therefore bottled close to the cask strength.