If you’re new here, welcome to Two Drams A Day! Each article is a personal journey where I pair two whiskies, often Scotch single malts among others, to discover the subtle differences that make each one unique and special. My approach is hands-on and intimate: I taste these whiskies side-by-side and share my real-time observations, from unexpected delights to the occasional letdowns. In the end, I choose a favourite, and along the way, I hope to learn something new and share that knowledge with you. If you’re curious about the nuanced and fascinating world of whisky and enjoy a personal touch in your reading, you’re in the right place. Stick around, subscribe, and join me on this flavorful adventure, two drams at a time!

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Today, I jump on board my long-lived journey through whiskies delivered by the amazing Cask Explorers, and yes, I’m only on the 15th dram from their 2022 Advent Calendar (Ruby Edition), but I am not complaining, even as I’m nearly one and a half late to finishing this on time. In the process I’ve discovered a varied selection of whiskies, and although not all were great, the experience is priceless. Today’s pairing is courtesy of Murray McDavid, an independent bottling company run by Mark Reynier, Simon Coughlin and Springbank Distillery’s Gordon Wright, who purchased the Bruichladdich distillery in 2000 (before selling it to Rémy Cointreau only 12 years later). These days, they just bottle amazing whisky. I found an equally impressive bottle in my own collection, which remained unopened for some time, and I’m excited to try both of these pretty old vattings out. So, let’s get to it! But first, we need music! Now Playing: Dustin O’Halloran – 1 0 0 1.

Let’s first look at the Cult of Islay, a 32-year-old limited-release “crafted blend” from 1988. This is a blended Scotch whisky composed of Bowmore and Laphroaig single malts with a single grain [wheat!] whisky from the North British distillery, added in equal proportion to the malt, bottled at a punchy 50% ABV. It is immediately lighter on the eye, and it has that grain alcohol tint on the nose, but I’ve grown to love the older single grains (and therefore blended Scotch whiskies), so let’s see what we can find here from the taste. Wow, the arrival is surprisingly very silky and smooth, but soon, the grain shows up and hits me with its still sharp ethanol, leaving a bit of a bitter, slightly dry finish. I’ll add a nice dollop of water to this one because the blended malt, which I will taste in a moment, is much lighter in ABV. And before I move on to The Vatting, I want to give it one more try. The nose has changed. It’s now fruitier and almost citrusy. I don’t sense any smoke but rather candied oranges and maybe cotton candy. With water, this blended whisky changed a lot, and now it’s less aggressive with delivery, softening up the rougher edges of the finish and very slowly fading into the husk.

Let’s go in for The Vatting, subtitled Àlainn 1989, which is a 31-year-old blend of, you guessed it, Bowmore and Laphroaig again! This one is a single cask bottling, and at 42.3% ABV, it’s clearly starting to show off its age. There’s almost a waxy taste to this [as if I literally had a bit of that vanilla lip balm in the winter]. Am I finally tasting paxarette? This probably requires breathing a little more (I just popped open the cork and let it sit for only 20 minutes). I am afraid to add more water, but I must let the alcohol let go of all the flavours it locked in. There’s something very special in the profile here, like some very ripened cherries have been left to dry out on a wooden plank. The smoke is very faint, just like I find it with the old Laphroaigs, where all the peat blends well with all the flavours it got from the cask. In this case, it’s a sherry butt and 1st fill Murça Tawny Port finish. Let’s go back one more time for Cult of Islay blended Scotch. The latter was aged in bourbon hogshead and then finished in 1st-fill sherry and bourbon barrels. I may have added too much water because now I almost miss that grainy bite, but then it’s still there in the background, slightly overpowering the malts, where they become a bit more undistinguished. The Vatting tastes a lot like malt, but there is that waxy something again in the profile that I can’t shake off. I poured myself another dram and added much less water than before. I’ll let this stand for 30 min and then come back for my conclusion.

Name	Cult of Islay 1988	Àlainn 1989
Distillery / Region	Bowmore + Laphroaig + North British	Bowmore + Laphroaig / Islay
Bottler / Series	Murray McDavid / Crafted Blend	Murray McDavid / The Vatting
Stated Age / Vintage	32 years old / 1988	31 years old / 1989
Cask type	1st Fill Oloroso Sherry & Bourbon	Sherry + 1st Fill Murça Tawny Port
ABV / Cask Strength	50% / No	42.3% / Yes
Non-chill filtered/ Uncoloured	Yes / Yes 🌟	Yes / Yes 🌟
Did it win? / Did I like it?	No / Yes – I’d try it again	Yes / Yes – curious about paxarette
Would I buy it? / Recommend it?	No / Yes – why not	Yes / Yes – but don’t expect it to be smoky

Well, there you have it, folks, another fantastic pairing. These are some pretty old whiskies here, showing off the character of distillation and the maturation process from the late 80s. Both are uncoloured and non-chill filtered, and both are integrity bottlings by Murray McDavid, which I must seek out again. There were only 600 bottles made of Cult of Islay and only 324 of The Vatting series, with the current offering being a 6-year-old Peatside, which I want to find and try. Meanwhile, I still feel that when it comes to pure [or blended] malts, they just stand out a little better against the blended whiskies with the grain, and so with that, I’ll pause here and proclaim the 31-year-old Àlainn from 1989 blended malt as the winner of this round.