Tastes

Amazingly smooth and malty for a NAS blend at 50 abv. Nose is mostly honey, citrus, vanilla, spice and oak. Palette is somewhat sweet but also spicy. Some very subtle smoke and peat in there as well. A bit of nutmeg too. Finish is peppery, very warm but smooth, medium length. A splash of water brings out the sweetness a bit more, while the spice and oak also linger. This whiskey seems to be dominated by Highland malt. I'm very impressed by this blend overall! This is now a favourite.

Very decent budget Highland malt. Nose is young and simple at first, but opens up after a few minutes with distinct notes of honey and nutmeg. Palette is smooth and pleasantly sweet. Finish is short but satisfying. Definitely a better malt than McClelland's Highland.

Very average and bland Speyside single malt. Not much going on here besides caramel, oak and a bit of fruits. Nose is weak and uninviting. Palette is slightly better, but poorly balanced. Tastes better with a splash of water. Finish is short and leaves much to be desired. This is definitely worse than McClelland's Speyside.

This is a surprisingly fantastic value blend! They say there's malts from every region of Scotland in this whisky and it really shows. A bit smokey and herbal at first, with a very smooth transition to fruity and floral, plus a light hint of sherry at the end. Finish is a bit short but smooth. Would have been a more interesting dram at higher abv. The grain is so well aged here that this actually tastes more like a blended malt. Apparently this used to have a 15 year statement before the rebottling in 2015. Buchanan's official site now says this is 12 years old. In any case, I'm really glad I discovered this scotch and it's now one of my top picks. Scotland in a bottle!

Very well rounded Speyside malt. The nose and palette convey its youth, but somehow this whiskey still manages a smooth entry. Light notes of fruit, toffee, vanilla and caramel, with a surprisingly long finish for such a young whisky. Great value scotch malt and a solid introduction to Speyside on a budget.

My bottling is from 2019. Nose was very inviting. It's a lot like their Copper Pot, but has more depth and a nice hint of the cognac barrel. Palette is a mixed bag. Doesn't feel well balanced. It's moderately smooth, but feels like too much caramel and then some of the spicy notes really edge out the whiskey flavours. Too much oak as well. Finish was somewhat odd with both a sour and a bitter taste to it. That's probably from old cognac barrels. Adding water really helped this open up and made it feel more balanced. The whiskey notes moved to the forefront and gradually transitioned into the cognac barrel hints towards the end. Finish also got better, but remained too short for its 46 abv. I was not very impressed with this release overall. Their Copper Pot is a better whiskey for its price. Double Oak seems overrated.

This is 40 abv in my neck of the woods. Cost me less than 15 bucks in local equivalent. This is a decent budget blend. Feels very well sherried. Fairly thick bodied. Heavily grainy, but the sherry helps compensate for it. Nose is a bit high ethanol at first, but smoothens out a bit later. Main notes are sherry, fruit, vanilla, oak, with a distant hint of smoke, probably from charred barrels. Long finish for a cheap blend. Light burn. A splash of water or even some ice is recommended.

Seems I got a bad batch or something, but I simply couldn't drink this whiskey. Smelled ok, light sherry, but the palate was very harsh and bitter. Thankfully I was able to refund the bottle after trying it. Obviously won't be buying again.

Great sherry bomb and pretty much unbeatable value whiskey. A seductively smooth and tasty blend that gives some NAS malts a run for their money. Surprisingly sweet to the point that it tastes like good brandy. No wonder this is widely considered one of the best blends in the world. I hear it's even considered a better all-rounder than the Bushmills 10 single malt and that says a lot! My only issue is the unexplained sweetness that leaves my mouth dry, even though officially this contains no sugar. Leaves me wondering what exactly they add to this whiskey...

Aged 4 years in sherry casks, plus 4 months in peat-charred casks. Neither coloured nor chill filtered. Nose is light smoke, leather and rich sherry. Palate starts with light smoke, leather, then quickly turns fruity, some berries, closes with rich sherry. Finish is long and sweet, mostly sherry. This whiskey gets much tastier over time, both in the glass and in the bottle. Just finished my third one. First 2 bottles from 07.2020 were fantastic. Third bottle from 04.2020 felt very different and bland at first, but really opened up after a couple months on the shelf. Great whiskey overall but very mixed feelings about different batches.