Unlike last year's club bottling, which was extremely marked by its versatility and playfulness, this year's path takes us back to rock-solid Islay style. Nevertheless, the excellent handwork in the final result is also evident here. The ingeniously selected raw material was refined again to the point with still older distillates of the distillery and in the quality (and age-specific) outstanding barrels to the point rounded off. The result is a wonderful Islay malt whose three pillars (spirit, barrel influence and smokiness) are reminiscent of past decades. No primary-flavored peat bomb, but an incredibly elegant, "old-school" island paint. But at no point does the vitality and power remain on the track. Wonderfully fruity-sweet overall impression, which is consistently unbelievably mouth-shaking interwoven with subtle coastal flavor and elegant smoke impressions. Really old-school but never boring. Another slowdrink statement and again great cinema. In terms of price / performance unbeatable! If the distillery itself publishes such a bottling, you would be priced at x-times! Chapeau ...

Auge: We have to talk about the label first. Some say that enjoyment is never apolitical. The "political touch" may not please everyone, but the whisky is in the tradition of the already discussed "Russian snap" and may be enjoyed with a pinch of sarcasm. The label is wonderfully trashy. The color reminds me of a mahogany paneled room. Quiet, yes dignified, the whisky rolls through my snifter. The legs take their time, do not hurry. Deceleration. Then they come slowly, but extremely fine and nuanced. Salivation begins.

Nose: A complex and extremely compact aroma front strikes me. There will be a lot to unpack. First impression is cocoa, Nesquik cocoa powder to be exact. Then smoked bacon. Light mineral in the background. Multivitamin sweet. Honey. Forest floor. A parfait of tonka bean. Roasted rind. Malagaeis. Although the whisky is not biting, I add a few drops of water. The result is breathtaking! The whisky is suddenly fruity. Notes from a basket full of stone fruit. Oats. Creme brulee. Then a very brilliant mandarin. Chestnuts. Musk. And certainly you could discover many more nuances. The complexity of this whisky is insane.

Mouth: Pleasant and very aromatic. The feel is to kneel down. Oily and fine. One does not like to swallow. The alcohol is just an echo, which tingles something on the tongue to say "hello" for a moment. Really elegantly integrated. The taste is initially dry. Leather. Cold smoke. Malt. Then the whisky gets sweeter. A dark sweetie. Very pleasant. Much sweeter with water. Suddenly a clear ash aroma stands out. Strong. Ripe and round on the palate. Pure elegance.

Heart: Spicy on the palate when swallowing. Direct malagasy in the nose. Ether. Iodine. Leaves a deep but subtle sweetness in the mouth, especially on the tongue. Absurd long reverberation. Cocoa, cold smoke and ashes form the final chord, because you want to take another sip.

Conclusion: Go straight into my top 3 single malts of all time. That's a league in itself. It does not matter which distillery it comes from. A whisky to sit down and lose in it. More than a drink. More than a stimulant. That's perfection.

Colour:
Dark tea / chestnut, slightly cloudy.

Nose:
The first nose drives me directly a smile in the face. A very set, elegant, spicy whisky streams out of the glass. The maritime-salty smoke holds back discreetly and is very well interwoven with the sherry aromas. The sweetish aromas immediately remind me of the Christmas dice, marzipan and plums, raisins in rum, violets (lilane sweets).
A whopping, but not unusual oak note is there throughout. The alcohol is perfectly integrated and hardly noticeable. From time to time, a slightly sour note comes out and disappears in the next second.
It's fun, you could smell it forever.

Taste:
Wonderfully spicy it explodes in the mouth. First comes a load of salt and lighter, greasy smoke. Immediately thereafter, musty, old oak broads in the interplay with sweet and sour dark fruits. The alcohol strength is perfect, it should not have more or less%. Overall, everything fits together perfectly, you want to keep the drop as long as possible in the mouth.

Finish:
Salty, conclusive, a little musty. Very dry. Somewhat later, something (pipe) tobacco and smoke come out again.

Comment:
A gorgeous, set and complex Malt! You have to take your time, there is a lot to discover. The light smoke, the sherry influences, the salt and the old oak play together perfectly. I do not want to commit myself to a distillery, I leave that to the professionals. But there is a tendency.
Great work, Pit!

EYE / NOSE
From the original announcement of the Regensburger I have a passage especially remembered, because she was somehow pulled in front of the bracket:
'The dark peat whisky speaks for itself and is clearly recognizable in its character for the connoisseur (...) you smell it, you know it!'
Okay, so visually dark I do not feel it visually compared to some 'Dark Sherry', although it is of course anything but a pale malt. I spontaneously make notes of 'black tea'. And the nose? In the Glencairn, the malt shows, which I first allowed to breathe for a long time for the tasting, in order to give the older portions the opportunity to unfold, at first still quite closed, which surprises me. Parallel to the Glencairn I filled the Volxwhisy into the bigger Schott Zwiesel Bar Special, where the nose looks much fuller and more expressive. I continue tasting primarily with Zwiesel and would also recommend using a similar sized or ideally even larger glass here. The Volxwhisky thanks it with fuller flavors. From the glass now at the beginning like sweet smoky notes. Spicy. molasses-malty sweetness, salty spray, as one sometimes perceives on the beach after storms. Spanned! Very multi-layered profile, sure exactly the desired effect of multi-barrel use for ripening.

PALATE
The Malt looks quite strong in view of the remaining 51.9% ABV, without, however, suspected of slipping into the Sprittige. I note a slight tickling on the edges of the tongue. The structure on the palate appears very rich, even oily. Quite a lot of sweetness, even restrained acid as a counterpoint, the TBA influences are also recognizable here, and I confused without the knowledge that TBA was in the game, 'Speyside ??' would have noted. Smoke and again a lot of spicy notes, without the individual herbs would stand out for my taste buds, a herbal tea comes to mind. In general, there are various tea aromas. I perceive fruit notes subliminally at best, perhaps some currant and pickled clementines. An old bourbon fruit salad is the Volxwhisky by nature certainly not. A little water helps the fruits.
Tasty, no question. And yet, on the palate, I actually have the feeling that aromatically could do more with a little time and rest here. I am very curious, what brings the further tasting in 3-4 weeks to light.

FINISH / CONCLUSION
Pleasantly long finish, for me so far the showpiece of the Malts. The now omnipresent but by no means dominant smoke paves the way and pleases the oral cavity. Herbale spice - probably the long basic maturity, TBA sweetness, and vain sherry influences wrestle for last word. Last but not least, it leaves a warm, slightly dry feeling, as if one had just enjoyed a little pipe with spicy Latakia tobacco. Strong finish!
The alcohol is incorporated perfectly clean, but this does not change the fact that a few drops of water get the Volxwhisky excellent. In parallel tasting, I personally prefer him with a splash of water, which I do not often have - simply because the profile gains in fruitiness and thus seems even more complex. It may be interesting to see if this perception may change as well.
Finally, on the Gretchen question, this time of every religion. Is the distillery really clearly recognizable? Intended for one of the Malt Maniacs! Some others, however, are likely to brood, I in any case. I have recently - blindly - been tasting whisky friends with an exquisite (smoky) 1975 BenRiach 40yo, Cask # 7028, which I would have thought quite accurate for an old Bowmore due to its deep fruity notes. Blind tastings are fun, but also provide ample room for error. In particular, when different types of barrel and especially, as here, sweet wine is at the start, it will be difficult.
Talisker, Caol Ila, Laphi, Laga, Ardbeg ... I think there is hardly a traditional distillery that has traditionally operated on peat and was not mentioned in the speculations. Let's make it short, if I put Islay as a region due to the intense smokiness after a long maturity times, I would most likely tap on a Sherry Ardbeg or Sherry Laga as a base. Despite the possible Phenolgate hint, which could be interpreted as a nod to Laphi, I miss the medical, the Hansaplast component so to speak. For Caol Ila missing the usual impressions completely. The deep sweet chimney smoke, the pleasant mineral undertone and the remaining power, that's classic South Coast for me. Ardbeg or Laga. I commit myself in November. To a direct comparison with older bottlings of the two distilleries, I do not get around so easily.