So I’ve been spending the time I used to allocate to reviews to my new and expanding YouTube channel, Dapper Drams, so I haven’t been able to taste much outside of what I plan to use for videos. Tonight I made time for a sample. I didn’t want anything too strong, so I picked the first sample I could find that was 40% and went with it. Copper Dog is a blended malt scotch comprised of single malts from 8 different Speyside distilleries. Bottled at 40% ABV like I said, and it appears to have colorant added making it a honey gold and is certainly chill filtered. The nose is a fairly rich, albeit light, honeyed profile typical of many Speyside distilleries. I’m getting both sherry and bourbon oak with more than a fair amount of cereal malt and barley sugar. A good deal of nuttiness like hazelnut or Brazil, some nice pipe tobacco, as well as a hint of smoke. Baked apples and pears, pie crust, a bit confectionary but not too sweet. Rather elegant vanilla, peaches and cream and mixed berries. Some low quality toffee and caramel in there as well. A rather nice nose, much more than I was expecting. The palate is a bit peppery on the arrival, more so than I would have thought given it’s only 40%. Honey and cereal malt with a hint of clove. Bittersweet apples and pears, very much a step down from the nose. Toffee and caramel, oak and tannins, slightly astringent. Some vanilla and a hint of coconut, not much else. A rather bitter and disappointing palate. A light to medium light bodied mouthfeel, watery and fairly dry. The finish is medium length with honey, toffee, vanilla and bitter oak tannins. The nose was surprisingly good and the highlight of this blend. The palate though...another story altogether. It’s quite off putting and ruins everything the nose had going for it. I would rate the nose near a 4, but the palate only a 2.5. So I’ll split the difference and give this blend a 3.25. Thanks to @LeeEvolved for the sample and make sure you check out his new segment on Dapper Drams called Fresh Takes. Cheers