Tastes

The best of the cheaper brands in terms of smoothness, quality of alcohol and lack of bitterness. Although there is a slight peaty quality, which gives this blend some class, it tends, understandably so, to be a bit on the bland side. This is not true for all bottles, but lately, it has been my experience. As for all the cheap blended scotch, I don’t notice anything particularly aromatic about it, other than hints of a bit of everything. It does have the advantage of not being overly sweet or cereal-like, although that may be a result of the slight smoky flavour. Great if you want to drink for cheap without worrying about hangovers or a bad taste in the mouth the next day.

The best cheap Scotch I have found. Although cheaper than Glen Grant,Red Label, Famous Grouse etc. it doesn’t have that aggressive solvent quality which is tough on the stomach and the nose, by comparison. Next in line for me would be Black Label, which has a better alcohol quality and none of the bitterness, of which High Commissioner does suffer if you let it linger too long in your mouth, like any other cheap blend. I actually get bored of Black Label because it can, depending on the bottle, be quite bland, although smooth for the price, so I sometimes prefer this to it, believe it or not. It makes me chuckle when I read about tasting notes for any whisky in this price range because most of the taste is overshadowed by chemical and solvent fumes, this is especially true for the more available supermarket blends. One good thing about this Scotch is that, it doesn’t have that overwhelming sweetly cereal quality, like Glen Grant does, it tastes like a bland single malt, with a hint of grain alcohol bitterness , which overall, considering the price is quite ok, in my opinion