Tastes

I'm on a quest to find the best blended scotch for my "handle" shelf of liquor. The everyday pours. The cocktail bases. The bulk buys. The stuff that's affordable enough that you don't think about it when playing around with a new idea. It was inevitable that Costco would become involved. In one fell swoop I brought home this, it's bigger 17 Year old Speyside Single Malt brother, its Kirkland London Dry gin cousin and distant cousin (and repeat visitor) Kirkland French Vodka. For this review, I tasted from a bottle that's been open a couple weeks. This scotch was sampled neat from a NEAT tasting glass. On the nose this gives up apple juice, slight ethanol, very faint notes of plum and whiffs of barrel wood. This is not a very forward nose, but the aromas are pleasant and quite appropriate for a quality blended scotch. On the palate the entry is sweet, soft and silky. This is a very easy neat sipper with little trace of ethanol, a fruity sweetness that fades to something like wet cornflakes in milk, and a trace of lemony, pithy wood bitterness. The finish is lightning fast and fades cleanly. I'm sitting here trying to find something to complain about. The sins of this blended scotch are sins of omission. It doesn't "do" all the things amazing scotch can do flavor wise, but it really doesn't do anything wrong. What it does it gets right in a soft, submissive way. In a Rob Roy I found this scotch really loves the sweet vermouth, but it becomes a costar and really not a headliner. The vermouth is allowed to dictate the personality of the cocktail. I tried Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, Martini & Rossi sweet, and Cnia Mata Tinto Reservo Spanish vermouth. In each instance I could easily taste the vermouth and discern how the cocktail as a whole changed its face. There's nothing here to hate, or even dislike. This is a solid, inexpensive, pretty unexciting but completely solid blended scotch whisky. For the price this is one of the great VFM deals, getting an extra quarter star for affordability. I have no qualms about this in my glass. I rate on a scale of 1 to 5 where the vast majority of product is going to find itself on a bell curve. Any quality, competent product should score between 2 and 3, with the peak at 2.5. This is definitely at that peak. If you're in the market for a budget handle ($36 in my market) and you have a Costco membership, this is an easy decision.

My first time with this blended scotch. I've purchased this, along with Kirkland 12 Year Blended scotch, Dewar's 12, Cutty Sark Prohibition to look for a winner in the "handle of scotch" category. I love an occasional Rob Roy, Bobby Burns, scotch & soda, or pour on the rocks (particularly with a large coconut water cube). Which of the blends is the best choice? I'm looking at all these and comparing them to Johnnie Walker Black, Naked Malt, Monkey Shoulder and others, trying to keep my cocktail game fresh. Tasted neat from a grappa copita, this blend is nicely honeyed, with sweet breakfast cereal, apples, slight pears and a whisper of dry smoke. This isn't the smoke I associate with a Islay, but more along the lines of the ashy smoke I get from a lot of mezcals. It's slight, unusual and somewhat pleasant. You know what's not pleasant? That damned pour spout restrictor on the Buchanan's bottle. Very unnecessary, but I'll think of it as a nod to Luxardo Maraschino and move on... On the tongue this whiskey has a sweet entry, nice bit of malty body with a cigarette ash overlay and a fast, sweet finish with some traces of black pepper. It's nicely balanced, offers some dry fruitiness and is a bit more complex than the Kirkland 12 blend. It's not as "juicy" as the Dewars 12. In a Rob Roy this is excellent. I'm pouring them 2:1 and using Cnia Mata Spanish Tinto Reservo which is something like the love child of Punt e Mes and Antica. The Buchanan's is robust enough to stand up to this potent-but-detailed vermouth. with good mouthfeel, flavor development and really good standing power against the slight dilution of the ice. This is a very, very good blended scotch. Its price, in my Tampa region market, falls somewhere between Dewars 12 and Johnnie Walker Black. I like it enough to put it into rotation, but it will be hard for me to justify buying it in handles. I'll be revisiting this in the future. I see there's a pineapple version of this and I'm wondering if that might work in a wonky Rob Roy cousin. That might be worth the experiment. As it stands this is a solid blend. It's not a great vfm and not indispensable on my bar but worth the price of entry to find out.

I've been working on this bottle of Aberlour 16 for a while now, enjoying a sip every now and then. This has become a nightcap favorite, a scotch I'll pour to sit and watch TV or read. A recent purchase of a bottle of Kirkland 17 Year Speyside prompted me to add this re-review as part of my side-by-side comparison. This whisky was enjoyed neat from a NEAT tasting glass On the nose the Aberlour is a bit mustier with an earthier note of clay, ripe orchard fruit, figs and vanilla bean than the soft and even more delicate Kirkland. Both are nearly devoid of ethanol and represent the complex and approachable personality of a good Speyside single malt well. On the palate the Kirkland is drier than the nose suggests, but far from dry. Nice integration of sherry fruits, brandied cherry, ripe apples rides on a wave of breakfast cereal. The Aberlour is drier still, richer and earthier with notes of dark chocolate. If I may apply a metaphor, the Kirkland is between the stacks of the public library and the Aberlour is in the leather seating of a private library. Very much similar, yet meaningfully different experiences. The Aberlour 16 is suave, sophisticated, subdued and multidimensional. It delivers a melange of fruitcake, baker's chocolate and wet cereal grains in a very cohesive and enjoyable package. Aberlour 16 is an excellent scotch whisky, even if its near $100 price point doesn't make it a bargain. It's worth its price.

I keep seeing this one discussed on various chat boards and forums. For $60 its reputed to hit far above its price point. I walked into my local Costco on the right day, they had a skid of cases just opened. The worker there said he expected them all to be gone in 24 hours, it's a hot ticket. I grabbed one immediately (had to hold back from getting 2, I'm impulsive that way) to put in my basket along with Kirkland 12 Year Blended scotch, which is part of my dig into affordable blends for cocktails. Reviews forthcoming. This expression was tasted neat, on a single large cube, and in a Rob Roy. For comparison I did a side-by-side with Aberlour 16. On the nose the Kirkland is sweet, fruity and a bit tropical with notes of coconut, apples, and pears. Ethanol is, thankfully, absent or nearly so. This smells to me like a soft, sweet Macallan with the intensity turned down. The Aberlour is similar in its gentle demeanor. It is a bit mustier with an earthier note of clay, ripe orchard fruit, figs and vanilla bean. On the palate the Kirkland is drier than the nose suggests, but far from dry. Nice integration of sherry fruits, brandied cherry, ripe apples rides on a wave of breakfast cereal. The Aberlour is drier still, richer and earthier with notes of dark chocolate. If I may apply a metaphor, the Kirkland is between the stacks of the public library and the Aberlour is in the leather seating of a private library. Very much similar, yet meaningfully different experiences. There's no need to go into too much detail about the Rob Roy. Sufficient to say this single malt loves the play with a quality sweet vermouth. I used Cnia Mata Spanish Tinto Riservo, an excellent vermouth that has much of the strengths of both Punt e Mes and Antica, but with great balance and finesse. The Kirkland is really quite a nice cocktail whisky! As expected, ice dulls the nose, sweetens the flavors and dilutes much of what makes this so special. That said, the Kirkland 17 remains a sweet sipper that agrees with a drop of water or a cube of ice. Dealer's choice. At the end of the day, this is simply an excellent scotch whisky. It's satisfying in every way. One could wish for a bit more assertive character, perhaps clearer indications of its time in the barrel. But for the price, this is an easy recommendation. The Aberlour is about $100 local to me and loses decisively in the value equation. Costco, this is an impressive achievement. Yes, I should have bought two!

First time I've had this. Great buy at Costco and I couldn't resist for under $30. Warning, I'm a Dewar's fanboy, so no surprises on my reaction to this easy sipper. Tasted neat from a glencairn. The nose is sweet malt, fresh cosmic apples, and the slightest of floral notes that dance above a delicate barrel note. On the palate this is easy to sip. Dewar's 12 Double Aged is my house pour for cocktails like the Rob Roy, Bobby Burns, Penicillin and almost anything that uses scotch whisky, including the occasional Old Fashioned. I also love a wee dram over a coconut water ice cube when I'm just kicking back. I think this is a far more fulfilling drink in many ways. This is not a sherried scotch, but there's ample orchard fruit to be found in its spectrum. Apples, pears, apricots and muskmelon all make an appearance. Slight black pepper, soft vanilla, and sweet woody notes fill in the blanks. The finish is fast, clean and sweet. No peat smoke to be found... For the price, this is well above average. It's certainly not the best scotch I've had, but it'll do on any day that ends in a "y".

Tasted neat from a grappa copita. This is silky, suave and fruity. The nose gives up apples and pears and berries. The palate follows suit. Lacking in ABV intensity this opens with the sherry influence and fresh figs and quickly transitions to layers of wood tannins and leather. The finish is delicate, lasting and nuanced I strongly prefer a'bunadh, but i can see how that might be intense for some drinkers. If this were just a bit more assertive it would easily make 4 stars.