Shieldaig The Classic Blended Scotch Whisky

I'm having some fun with a handful of 50ml samplers I purchased at Total Wine. This sample is tasted near from a glencairn. Ample time was allowed for the whisky to rest after the pour before tasting. The nose on this is ethanol and what I perceive as "cheap whisky smell". Its kind of a musty, grainy, stale smell that's not very appealing. After a series of vigorous swirls, If I really dig into it, I get green apple, slight sultanas and a wisp of non-distinct floral notes. On the palate this is only slightly better than the nose. The entry is sweet (surprisingly so) and somewhat thin. It quickly fades right as you're beginning to think "well, this isn't so bad - in fact its kinda surprising - oh, wait..." From that point on it starts falling apart. The mid palate turns quickly bitter, then sour. There's maybe a blush of something like smoke over the top of this sweet chewing gum note and right after the bitter-thing-that-could-be-wood hits the taste buds. The finish is watery with slight black pepper and a sour tale that reminds me slightly of Buffalo Trace (there's a lemon sourness to the finish in BT that makes it work really well in a whiskey sour but makes it quite unpalatable for me as a neat sipper, though admittedly not this bad). Anyway, at no point does this really get any better than the first sip. I rate on a simple scale where a 1 = drain pour and 5 = a perfect example of the expression. Most competently produced whisky (or whiskey) should land right about 2.5 with a majority favoring the bell curve between 2.0 and 3.0. This blended scotch belongs at the bottom of that range. This doesn't hold a candle to JW Black, Monkey Shoulder, or even Dewar's White Label, which I drink quite often when I'm travelling or otherwise in a situation where a better dram isn't an option. I might put this on the same plane as a Famous Grouse, or maybe even a step lower. I'm not a fan and I don't recommend this whisky, although it certainly could be worse. If I'm lucky I won't have to taste any that are less appealing, but I know that's an inevitable outcome for a cocktail warrior hell-bent on trying just about everything. Cheers and good luck!

Nose: medium sweetness, honey, apple, pear, slight ethanol note, strange herbal note, almost has an underlying sour quality but not quite. Taste: very flat, hardly anything to it, slight fruit note, a little barrel spice and char, thin and watery, a little burn at the end, short finish, unexciting. About as boring as you can get. Maybe worth using for scotch and soda.

Quite toasty. A little bready. Mild spiciness. Some acetone.

Nose - pear, apple, honey, old wood, spoiled meat, unidentifiable nut, cereal grain, bitter floral and herbal notes, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - pear, honey, vanilla, cereal grain, hay, bitter herbal notes, cream, apple, yeasty moldy bread, subtle sulphur, moderate alcohol bite, finishing fast and young with grain, dry herbal, and plastic flavors. Another stinker from Total Wine. Can’t say I’m surprised. This reminds me a lot of the Glen Ness I reviewed a few days ago. There’s really not much to like about it. The nose is really bright and grainy. The palate arrival is probably the best part, as there is a hint of some nice pear and honey notes, but it quickly takes a turn for the worse through the development and finish. As a sidebar, I’ve actually heard a Total Wine employee recommend this one to some poor, naive customer. As I don’t believe the sales person was purposely malicious, I imagine TW puts pressure on the employees to hawk their own brands, likely because the margins are higher. If you want more honest recommendations, you’re better off going to your local small business liquor store or finding some reviewers you trust on sites like Distiller.