Transferred from Barreled (12/2017): It’s time for a review of another Scottish grain distillery. This is North British Distillery’s 18 year old offering. This grain is heavily used in blends and most, if not all, of their single grain bottles are only available by independent bottlers. This one is provided by Berry Bros. It’s a cask strength that comes in at a hefty 57% ABV. It’s non-chill filtered and doesn’t have any color added. It was distilled in 1996 and bottled in 2015. It’s a typical yellow gold in color and has a heavy cereal note on the nose. If you can get past the ABV burn you may be able to detect vanilla and lighter orchard fruits like pears and apricots. They are hard to pick up and require way too much work, actually. The palate is obviously hot, but a bit of water does allow some honey sweetness and red berries to shine- even if it only lasts a few seconds. The harshness of the grain along with some oak pepper leads to a bitter bite around mid sip and make for a difficult finish. Speaking of finish, it’s heavy on the oak and heat and leaves a lingering bitterness that really turns it into a mess. I provided this sample as we are trying to get samples from every active distillery in Scotland. I’m starting to wish that we had crossed off grain distilleries from the goal because they just aren’t very good on their own. They need a master blender to make them work any magic they have or they should just be used in conjunction with single malts. It cost me around $90 to get this bottle and I could’ve spent that money in so many better ways. I don’t recommend this- or any single grain bottles- at all. Stick with the single malts or blends, my friends. 2 stars. Cheers.