300 casks per year are filled into emptied Sandeman’s Ruby port pipes – made of Spanish oak – to finish for 6-18 months. The result is like a chocolate cherry cordial, both sweet and nutty. Very interesting. You don’t see a port finish every day, and this one is certainly one to ponder.
Mild and inoffensive. No smoke, no fruit, just a soft cereal character and light accents of florals and nuts. Somewhat meaty, although the flavor profile is mostly balanced around the nuts. Certainly worth the money, and a contender for the “midrange Speyside” spot in your cabinet.
Before you can taste it, though, you’ve got to know how to pick a whisky to try! This post will focus on single-malt scotch, which I think is the best possible place to get your bearings in the wider world of whisky.
Right now, like it or not, we are experiencing a boom. Distilleries are opening or ramping up production, prices are ratcheting higher, and limited-edition bottles are making headlines with record prices at auction. Many distilleries are riding the boom by releasing special bottlings and limited-editions at inflated prices because they know there’s consumer demand for them. So what’s to be done?
If you’re looking for a good solid Speysider without heavy-handed wine finishes or sherry aging, this one fits the bill, and isn’t overpriced. Also, if you’d like a gentle introduction to cask-strength whiskies, this one is a lot easier to handle for a first-timer than something like Aberlour abunad’h or a cask-strength from Islay.
For all the other newbies (noobs!) who come across my site, here’s some scotch 101. What scotch is, and how to smell and taste it.
Recently, a shop-exclusive bottling of a cask-strength Bruichladdich chenin blanc finish, imported by a certain *cough* local store, dismayed its retailers and purchasers alike by turning sour… in the bottle. I got a sample of the recalled spirit.
At $116 for 750ml, I can’t say I recommend that everyone run out and buy this. However, if you’re looking for a splurge and love complex, meaty sherried Speysiders, this one is hard to beat.
Nicely complex. This whisky does not tow the line of Speyside style, instead branching out in eclectic ways. Raw cane? Anise and lime juice? I would not have pegged this as a sherried Speysider.
Not a great introduction to Macduff. It’s hard to say if the few unpleasant notes were a result of cask choice or simply reflect the distillery style. If I had spent $66 on a bottle of this, I might be disappointed. At least it’s cask strength and craft presentation.