Tastes

Nose: Sweet, icing sugar, stewed apples, custard, children’s sweets. There’s a bizarre reminder of Apple Sourz on the nose. Palate: Very sweet (as the name suggests). Apple, chocolate, candied orange, creamy rice pudding. Finish: Medium long finish. Sherried, spicy but mostly sweet. Chocolate chillies, white pepper. There’s an odd artificial sweetness that is quite off putting, and a little unfortunate. This is a new retail range from the good folk at the Scottish Malt Whisky Society. The JG Thomson brand is available through retailers rather than the usual SMWS outlets, and is named for the building they occupy in Leith. My main takeaway from this is that it has a great level of complexity, with some very interesting layers. It’s an accomplished blend and I would expect the a higher level of sweetness from the name, but unfortunately it’s just too artificial and saccharine tasting. After having it neat, I tried it in a riff on a Rob Roy cocktail to see if it worked as a mixer whisky. It was definitely better than neat, but the artificial note came through and I ended up leaving/ pouring most of it. Obviously, not one for me.

Nose: Creamy, vanilla, floral Palate: Sherry, vanilla, orchard fruit, currants/raisins, cream, baking spices (nutmeg & cinnamon) Finish: Medium long finish. More orchard fruit, vanilla and a little salt/saline. Creamy and floral, with some woody notes on the aftertaste This is a great creamy, mouth-coating and sherried dram. So many layers of flavours which change throughout. One to ponder over, but not for too long - it'll never last in the bottle! I had a couple of samples of this, but I've just ordered myself a full bottle!

Nose: Vegetal peat, dried fruit, raisins, chocolate, coffee, TCP, sherry and BBQ smoke Palate: Dried fruit, nutty, BBQ smoke, cardamom, dry wood shavings, spices, hints of salt/saline Finish: Medium finish. Chilli, white pepper, BBQ smoke, leather, sweet sherry, peat and a load of dried fruit (raisins and dates). This has some similarity to the Laphroaig PX (although the cask strength makes it a much punchier dram. Sweet, chocolate raisins, BBQ, leather - all those Islay flavours you'd expect in a peaty/sherried dram, but ramped up with the cask strength. Unctuous and very tasty. I'd suggest one, possibly two, is enough for me, but damn it's good!

Nose: Fruit, cereal, sweet. Hints of orange and a little floral Palate: Smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Citrus, orange peel, marzipan. Young, fresh and floral. Finish: Medium finish. Slightly peppery and souring on the aftertaste, with an orange note. This is a cracker. Reminds me of a young Ben Nevis or a less sweet Nikka from the Barrel. Creamy and fresh, fruity and peppery. A great, young and spicy dram!

Nose: Sweet, gristy, barley, icing sugar Palate: Smooth, with a little heat. Black pepper, ginger, plum jam, lots of orchard fruit. Hints of char/ash. Finish: Medium finish. Ashy and sweet, citrus, orange peel, black pepper and ginger. This is an easy-drinking, uncomplicated dram. Less rough than the standard whiskey, although still maintaining a similar character. Still sweet, but smoother and creamier. The char/ash is not as pronounced as you might expect from the marketing - it's hinted rather than in your face. Overall, a pretty decent pub sipper.

Nose: Chocolate, nutty, malt loaf Palate: Coffee, dark chocolate, raisins, orchard fruit, dark berry compote. There is a slightly musty/dirty note that I really like Finish: Medium short finish. Berry jam, leather and liquorice. There is a lovely unctuous mouthfeel. This is a cracker of a dram - delicious, and a bit of a bargain!

Nose: Orchard fruit, oak, hints of dried fruit. Palate: Honey, black pepper, ginger, dried fruit, milk chocolate. Finish: Medium finish. Honey, spices (more ginger and black pepper). Lightly floral. This is a fairly nice spicy and fruity dram. An easy drinking, old-fashioned style of whisky. £64.95 for a 50cl bottle 1 of 1,049 bottles My last taste of this was possibly a little harsh. I gave it 2.5/5 and I think I would raise my score to 3/5. My tasting notes were pretty limited before, simply stating "Pepper and ginger. Slightly harsh up front but quickly mellows. The pepper and ginger kick lasts for ages". I'd agree with the profile, but there is a little more to it than I'd previously given it credit for. Overall, it's a little better than straight down the middle - not much better, and definitely not worth the c£65 for a 50cl bottle.

Nose: Honey, malt loaf, baking spices. Very light Palate: Oak, dusty, dry brandy, apples, pears, floral, caramel Finish: Medium long finish. Oak and caramel, sweet (but strangely drying). Citrus and candied fruit on the aftertaste. A nice, if unremarkable, easy drinking dram. Slightly unusual, in that it has a drier note than many blends, although it is still a fairly sweet whisky.

Nose: Buttered popcorn, caramel Palate: Caramel, milk chocolate, vanilla, raisins/currants, light dried fruit Finish: Medium finish. Sweet and caramel. More hints of dried fruit. Nice, if a bit one dimensional. There's not a lot to this whisky, very sweet and all about the caramel. It's an OK dram.

Nose: Smoke, kids sweets, sugar, furniture polish, spice, floral Palate: Caramel, butterscotch, ginger, peat smoke, oak Finish: Medium finish. Oak, tannic, very sweet finish. Cinnamon, ginger and golden syrup. Overall, this is very sweet, ginger and oak dram. Not a lot to say about it other than that, it's easy to drink and generally OK. For my money, I'd prefer to drink the standard NAS Black Bottle but this is a decent session whisky.