I like a variety of different whiskey offerings. But even if I don’t care for the taste of a particular bottle I can at least sip it with an educational curiosity as to why it may have a large following or why it has been around for many years.
-An example of this is a heavily peated scotch. I like a mild influence of peat, especially on a chilly night. At one of our tastings a while back we sampled The Peat Monster, a vatted malt recently bottled by Compass Box. I knew I would not care for this one but my curiosity made me question how it got its name and the processes employed to “up” the peatiness. I also wanted to find if the peat blocked any additional flavors.
-With this in mind I decided to try a bottle of McClelland’s Single Malt Scotch Whisky. This company offers a series of expressions that “offers a chance to explore Scotland and four of the key whisky distilling regions”. They offer an Islay, a Highland, a Lowland and a Speyside. Each one is distilled to represent that regions “type” of scotch. This sounded like a great concept.
-I purchased the Highland for about $20 (USD) out of curiosity. This price for a single malt seemed low so I did not expect to be “wowed” but I was still looking forward to the dram.
-Last night I decided to break it out. The nose had little to offer and did not give any prelude to the taste. But for $20 it’s pretty much what I expected. Then came the first sip. Again, disappointing. The only way for me to describe the first sip is to say it tasted like bland fruit. As I pushed further through the dram I found a hint of vanilla. This scotch is very light and may be good for the inexperienced scotch drinker. And they are welcome to stop by my house for a taste as this bottle will never be emptied by me.
-Here is the best part. My preference in scotches leans towards the Speyside region. And, still being very curious and willing to give any scotch a shot, I intend to by McClelland’s Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky.
Doug