GeologyJack
Grangestone Islay Blended Malt
Blended Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
October 23, 2016 (edited December 3, 2016)
So I learned three lessons with this whisky. First, don't put much stock in what a sales clerk recommends. Apparently, the staff at a major discount liquor store has been instructed to push particular brands, and that takes precedence over anything that they might know otherwise. I should have known better (I do now for sure). I can't even claim that it was a pretty face that temporarily clouded my judgement. Second - don't get taken in by the packaging and appearance (duh!). The cardboard container and the bottle label look very classy with embossed copper-colored lettering, the bottle is solid, no-nonsense, and the whisky is dark and rich-looking. Compared to a Lagavulin label, this one would look so much better on your shelf. So, the nose is just what you would expect given the blend's Islay origin. Peat, pure and simple. And that is exactly what you get in tasting it. But that is ALL that you get. I really could not pick up anything else, barrel notes, brine, nothing that could balance out the peat. This is a one dimensional whisky. Thankfully the finish was short because peat by itself is not very pleasant. And the third lesson - mixing in good whiskey with a poor whiskey doesn't necessarily improve it; it will likely just drag down the god whisky. I really don't know what I'm going to do with the rest of this bottle.
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That's disappointing. They're selling it for $20 today, so I was tempted before reading this.
Geology: her accent and pretty face distracted me just enough to buy a del maguey arroqueno, del maguey minero, and an Ilegal Resposado. The latter two were 5 star worthy, haven't tried the arroqueno though. VFM....Ilegal is better, del maguey are more "artisanal " and pretty expensive. Lesson learned: I stay away the days she's working there
I certainly get better descriptions from the people I follow on this app than the people at the stores. And Pranay's assessments of relative values are fantastically useful. So I'll check to see what you guys have to say when deciding what to get. So Pranay, what mescal did she recommend?
Coolermaverick: you're so right. Here, out of the official reviewers, I found myself more aligned to Amanda and Stephanie, and to some extent Mikael. If they give a 90+, it'll spur my curiousity. Unofficially, I found more aligned to Davie here, Scott, Geologyjack and this guy from Alaska (forgot his handle here)
I would even say don't go by what you see in reviews/official scores for a particular whisky on Distiller.com. We all have different taste buds but I have come to the conclusion that any review with a score of > 85 is something I am willing to try. Sometimes I am rewarded handsomely! You never know!!!
I found this same experience at Total Wine---they'll push their branded whiskeys. Grangestone is their own brand. My local store here though is much better, since they don't have internal brands to push...except I get taken in my that pretty Mezcal pushing clerk though...
I've learned this same lesson and have repeated it many times... DON'T TRUST THE SALES CLERK. Sorry you had to learn this the hard way!