Naked Malt

Full of raisin and plum-soaked-in-sherry notes, then some spicy oak burns it off, but the lingering effect is still sweetness. Not crazy complex, no smoke or peat, tastes 'young' I guess, but amazing taste for the price.

This is one of the more surprising purchases I've made. Yesterday I stopped at Total Wine to refill the gin shelf and, while I was there.... So I grabbed this $37 bottle of Naked Malt thinking I was buying Naked Grouse, which I've never had. Got home and decided it would be the evening pour. Great decision! My immediate reaction was that this is Johnnie Walker Green Label in disguise. It's a cheery copper pour with a sweet nose of sherry, malt, apples, and slight pears with a blush of baker's chocolate. Really quite nice and devoid of ethanol and coarse grain whisky notes. On the palate this is all of that and a bowl of orchard fruits with sweet raisins, dark chocolate, sherry notes that brim with fruitcake, some baking spices and a touch of bitter wood. Really impressive presence for a neat pour of a blended scotch whisky. It reminds me a bit of Compass Box Spice Tree, but with the spice toned down and the fruit/sherry amped up a bit. Very tasty. I don't know a thing about this bottle. I haven't read a word and I don't know where its from or how it came to be. But for half the price of the JWG, this is definitely a sleeper and a great find. Really liking this one! This is a well-above average pour that, in my humble opinion, is punching way above its weight class in the value-for-money arena. I think this might be a good candidate for a scotch cocktail but at this very moment this could be my daily sipper. If push came to shove I could live with WT101 bourbon as my sole bourbon. The same goes for WT101 rye. Both are good enough that I wouldn't feel like I was missing anything. This bottle could supplant Johnnie Walker Black as my daily pour for scotch, and I like the JWB quite a bit for what it is. Nake Malt has no peat influence, where the JWB does, but they are fighting for shelf space at the same price point. I honestly think this Naked is the more accomplished of the two. I'll read up on this later. Right now I'm enjoying it and suggest you do so as well. This is solid.

Medium honey golden color. Not incredibly leggy, but leaves a little trail down one side of the glass. Has a thick, syrupy complexion. The nose is very grainy: barley & heather. Honey, toffee, marzipan. I get salted butter and butterscotch candies/Werther's Original. Just a hint of orange zest spice. The flavor is a lot: almonds, nuts, and brown leaves. Toffee, marzipan, creme brulee, caramel bulk food candy with the white in the middle. Some softer flavors: vanilla creme, marshmallow and salted butter. The finish is a touch of vanilla tobacco leaf and coffee grounds. Milky and sweet caramel latte coffee. Sugary creme brulee stuff. Such a rich, silky blended Scotch. It's soft and friendly: vanilla, creme brulee, caramel and just a hint of tobacco smoke to balance it. A balance between sweet and spicy. A huge value.