ctbeck11
Shieldaig The Classic Blended Scotch Whisky
Blended — Scotland
Reviewed
January 15, 2021 (edited January 20, 2021)
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.
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@Ctrexman @ContemplativeFox @ctbeck11 Ian Macleod, for me, is a bit of a mixed bag distiller. It may very well be the case of them ‘offloading’ in the US some of their less palatable bottlings through TW special coupons and offers.
@ContemplativeFox That’s good insight. I remember the sales guy telling me they sampled all the Islay Gold offerings, which is why he could ‘identify’ one as Lagavulin. Makes more sense now.
I mean, it could be CI @Ctrexman, but if so I'm sure TW essentially bought up the barrels that weren't good enough for CI to bottle itself.
I have a friend who used to work at TW @PBMichiganWolverine and it's pressure, no commissions. They also strategically train their employees so that they've tried many of the high margin wines and spirits, so they can actually say something about them, but when you ask about one of the lower margin ones they usually have to give a shoulder shrug.
@ctbeck11 TW employees blindly do recommend these. Not sure if it’s commissions or pressure...but one of the few reasons I don’t listen to TW employee recommendations.
@Ctrexman I’ll be trying the Shieldaig 12 year next. I’m guessing that’ll be a bit better. I had a similar experience. The TW sales guy told me one of the Islay Gold offerings was Lagavulin. Who knows. Maybe it is. But I didn’t bite.
spoiled meat and moldy bread..... that'd make some samich. The total wine guy was telling me the shieldaig peated was Caol Ila. I have considered it but been burnt many times by TW brands. Then I saw a guy rush down the isle and grab two bottles of the stuff like it was Mac or something so who knows