ContemplativeFox
Pipers Clan Blended Scotch Whisky
Blended — Scotland
Reviewed
August 8, 2020 (edited August 10, 2020)
Rating: 3/23
Based on the label alone, I expected little from this scotch. And boy did I get it.
N: Wow, I'd love to believe that that's peat I'm getting on the nose, but it's really just sulfur and alcohol. Pretty gross. I'd like to fins something else in here, but there really isn't much else to the nose. Maybe a hint of oil. Some hay if I'm generous. Perhaps a faint hint of some apple skins. It's light and unappealing.
P: So much sulfur! There's some harshness with pepper and a sweet minerality as well that almost reveals some fruit, but it just has a vaguely floral character. And then tons of alcohol and a big artificial caramel flavor. It's awful. I really do not ever want to drink this again. There is something a bit earthy and maybe there's something that I can imagine is vaguely supposed to resemble stone fruit, but I don't care. This is awful.
F: The finish highlights the alcohol and the sulfur and the harshness. Yaaayyyyy...
This is disgusting. It tasts like it want to be Grant's but it is nowhere near as good. Put it right down there with Glen Logie and Clan MacGregor. Do not drink this under any circumstances, since the sulfur will be nearly impossible to hide. At least Glen Logie can be reasonably masked. In comparison, Grant's Triple Wood tastes rich and complex, with nice fruity apple notes and definitely less sulfur. This kind of just tastes like somebody dumped a bunch of sulfur into some bad vodka. It's substantially less harsh than Glen Logie, but I'm not sure that it's better given the awful amount of sulfur here, I'd say that there is really just a bit less to redeem this than there is to redeem Glen Logie since I can't even imagine how to make this pass as a mixer. It would be less miserable to drink a large quantity neat since it's less harsh, but it would still be miserable. The highest I can imagine for this is a 4, but really I think it's more of a 3. I'll go with a 3 for now. It's absolutely absurd that this costs $12. I wouldn't pay 2 bucks for another bottle of this.
12.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@ContemplativeFox We should all take one for the team now and then – it’s good for the soul 😀. I try to review affordable blends frequently and I’ll pick up an untried bottle whenever I see one. I have a fondness for blended scotch with a splash of soda water, Coke or ginger ale (particularly in summer). You don’t see so many reviews of the lower-priced stuff from experienced palates, but there are some very good options available, often for only a dollar or two more than the swill, and it’s good to identify them.
@cascode Haha, yeah it's really bad! Sometimes I feel compelled to try these just so I know for sure that they're awful. At least now nobody else has to ever buy a bottle.
Not as good as Grant's - wow, that's ... pretty bad. I've never heard of this or the other two blends you mention so they must be US domestic bottlings of sourced blended scotch. We have similar "supermarket" blends over here, which are just as bad.