Shieldaig 12 Year Speyside Single Malt

Second taste edit: even over ice, it’s undrinkably sweet. If it’s designed to display classic Speyside, they did a pretty good job. It’s light, bright, and sweet. Copper shows up on the nose and palate, along with vanilla and butterscotch. It honestly reminds me more of an Irish malt with how sweet it is. It also has some tropical esters in the mid-palate that I do not appreciate. Approachable, simple, but not overly smooth. Slight grain mustiness on the finish, which sticks around moderately long. I prefer the Shieldaig blend to this because it’s less sugary sweet.

The nose is pretty flat but a heck of a lot better than "The Classic" Shieldaig. It smells kind of generically like feet. The palate is watery and flat, but it has a nice slightly bitter richness with a somewhat balanced sweetness. The flavor is pretty generically scotch without much variation or complexity, but it's not too bad. The palate is so much better than "The Classic" Shieldaig. Compared with Bushmill's Black Bush, the flavor is just a little richer, but it is less complex by a long shot and also a bit mellower. The difference between this and Bushmill's Black Bush is similar to the difference between this and "The Classic" Shieldaig, though a bit less severe. It's a couple things below Glenfiddich 14 for sure, but it's definitely drinkable. For the price difference, it's hard to justify ever getting this instead of the glenfiddich though. The nose is ho-hum, but it doesn't smell bad and has a little sweetness. The palate is decently viscous and inoffensive. It tastes young, but there are some mild elements of various scotch characters to it, with a bit of malt and the coastline coming through alongside some hints of orange. It's not very good, but it's drinkable and could be a good place to start in blending Scotch at home. It's less interesting than Glenfarclas 12, but also less bad, so it gets to claim a slight victory. Slight though - the Glenfarclas Sherry richness is definitely better.

Nose: Oranges and limes. Caramel. Cut grass. Sugary smell, like the inside of a sweet candy wrapper. Palate: Slightly peaty. Less sweet than the nose, actually somewhat bitter with some waves of sugar here and there. Some spice. Finish: Medium. Warm. Fruity and dry. Less citrusy and more rich berries. Overall Thoughts: Nothing special but nothing I’d refuse. It’s kinda complex and leaves the taster searching. Easily a middle-of-the-road whisky. I would say try this if you’re feeling up for a Speyside, other than that, it’s nothing I’d go out of my way to recommend.

Little spicy upfront, but sweet finish

Heavy ripe fruit forward tasting notes with a smooth finish. If the price was right this is a great drinking whiskey.

I’m liking this more and more