Shackleton Blended Malt

Nose: A bright, yeasty, cereal nose with notes of green apple, lemon essence, melon, brown sugar, and very faint ginger. There's a micro whiff of smoke, but it's reserved and dainty (you notice it more on the dry glass). Palate: The arrival is lightly sweet and brisk with flavours of melon, white grapes, honey and green apple. A lot of gristy cereal flavours appear as it develops, followed by tastes of light baked goods (brioche, arrowroot biscuits, panettone) and mild ginger spice. The texture is pleasant and lifting, but a little watery, and rather like the texture of a blended scotch. Finish: Short. Light sweet fruit and weak black Darjeeling tea that turns slightly sour, but then back to sweet at the very end. This is a pleasant and easy to drink malt blend with some character but it lacks that certain spark that distinguishes a great whisky. The lightness of body is enjoyable, but very similar to that of a blended scotch. I think the producers sold themselves short and made too many compromises. This should have been composed with a little more personality and then blended with a really fine mature grain whisky, or even just simply bottled at 46 or 48%. Either approach would have resulted in something more interesting (there were two previous Mackinlay's Shackleton expressions which were released at 47.3% - they were considerably more expensive, but very good). I did notice that after being open for a couple of weeks, and with the level down to about 3/4, the whisky had oxidized very gracefully and gained some heft and complexity. I'd recommend opening this, decanting it to oxygenate, re-bottling it and waiting a fortnight before starting to taste. It definitely changes a good deal over time, and for the better. At the asking price it just represents value for money, being competitive against similarly priced blended malts. It has more going on than either Naked Grouse or Monkey Shoulder, but it is but 30% more expensive. Compass Box or the Douglas Laing blends are a better comparison. A few cents from every sale goes to the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust. "Above Average" : 82/100 (3.25 stars)

Apple, caramel, vanilla and a bit of smoke in the nose. Smooth dram all the way to the medium to long finish. Smoke and peat linger. I tried this blind. I am not a fan of peaty scotch so this is not one I would buy. However, it tasted like a single malt to me. I was very surprised to find out this was a blend. Much more complex than Monkey Shoulder and other blends in the <$40 price range that get so much praise. If not for the peat this could be an affordable go to for me. 2.75 stars

Smokey and strong tasting

Smoky, Vanilla, Mildly Peaty, full body finish...and great price

Apple cobbler with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. Subtle citrus notes on the smooth finish; not a hint of peat.