There's something quietly rebellious about what East London Liquor Co. are doing. An English distillery, working in a city better known for gin, producing a single malt finished in Islay casks — it's the sort of move that either falls flat or lands with real conviction. Having spent time with this bottle, I'm pleased to report it's the latter.
The East London Liquor Co. Islay Cask English Single Malt arrives at a formidable 61.1% ABV, bottled at cask strength with no age statement. That's a deliberate choice, and one I respect. Rather than chasing a number on the label, the distillery has let the liquid speak for itself. The Islay cask influence is the headline here — borrowing the maritime, peated character of Scotland's most famous whisky island and grafting it onto an English malt backbone. It's a cross-border conversation in a glass.
At this strength, you're getting the whisky exactly as it sat in the cask. There's no dilution, no smoothing of edges. What you pour is what the distillers tasted when they made the call to bottle. For those of us who prefer our whisky unvarnished, that's a genuine mark of confidence from a relatively young operation.
Style & Character
This is not a whisky that tries to be Scottish. It wears its English origins openly, but the Islay cask maturation adds a layer of complexity that pushes it into genuinely interesting territory. At 61.1%, expect intensity — this is a whisky that demands your attention and rewards patience. The cask strength bottling means you can explore it at whatever dilution suits you, and I'd encourage experimentation. A few drops of water will open this up considerably, but there's plenty to appreciate at full strength for those who enjoy the burn and concentration that comes with it.
The choice of Islay casks is a smart one. It signals ambition — a willingness to engage with the traditions of Scotch whisky without simply imitating them. English whisky is still finding its identity, and releases like this help define what that identity might become: technically accomplished, unafraid of bold flavour profiles, and happy to borrow from the best.
The Verdict
At £74.95, this sits in competitive territory. You could spend similar money on a well-regarded Islay single malt, and many drinkers will. But that rather misses the point. This bottle represents something different — a snapshot of English whisky's growing ambition and capability. The cask strength bottling offers exceptional value in terms of pure liquid per pound, and the Islay cask influence gives it a hook that makes it more than a curiosity.
I'm giving this a 7.9 out of 10. It's a genuinely accomplished whisky from a distillery that's earning its place in the conversation. It loses half a mark for being NAS without a fully established house style to contextualise that choice, but gains it back through sheer boldness and quality of execution. This is a bottle worth owning, and a distillery worth watching.
Best Served
At this ABV, I'd recommend starting neat in a Glencairn to appreciate the full cask strength intensity, then adding water gradually — a few drops at a time — until you find your sweet spot. Somewhere around 50% ABV tends to be where cask strength whiskies open up most generously. A single large ice cube also works well here if you prefer a longer, cooler drink, though I'd avoid drowning it in a Highball at this price point. This is a whisky that rewards attention.
