A Small Bag of Recent Scottish Blends


August 20, 2024

A Small Bag of Recent Scottish Blends

There are some blends around us that aren't really blends, but rather single malts sold as blends to prevent the use of distillery names. It seems, however, that some of these bottles, often quite remarkable, have brought renewed attention to this category, which has long been overlooked by whisky enthusiasts. I hope I'm making sense.

Claudio Bernasconi (Waldhaus). We are enjoying today
a Royal Salute created for his 70th anniversary (Bar News)

In any case, today we'll be tasting 'true' blends that are blends by design, not by circumstance. Just two or three will do, starting with this so-called aperitif...

Loch Ryan (40%, Inver House, France, blended Scotch, +/-2010)

I acquired this rather modest bottle back in the days when I was fond of conducting ‘el cheapos’ sessions, primarily to demonstrate that we are genuinely making use of the full 100-point scale, not just its upper reaches. And so, this ‘supermarket’ bottle ended up languishing at the back of a shelf, unopened... Nowadays, Inver House Distillers belongs to ThaiBev and operates some truly charming distilleries (Pulteney, Balblair, Speyburn…). Colour: pale gold. Nose: in the style of J&B, light, with a few hints of pear eau-de-vie, a touch of medicinal alcohol, a bit of vanilla, some biscuits, and a note of English tea… All this is fairly inoffensive and, as such, not unpleasant. But let’s be clear, this is neither Balblair nor Pulteney. Mouth: slightly sweet, gently malty, with small notes of banana, followed by vanilla, scones, and tea. I nearly forgot the drops of pear liqueur and a slightly burning alcohol in the background. Finish: short but civilised, lightly malty again. Comments: not horrible and even fairly balanced, but very light. I reckon if you pour this over some large ice cubes, you’ve got yourself a highball without even needing to add water. All in all, it’s a respectable Scotch.
SGP:441 - 70 points.

Let’s move straight to the other side of the category if you don’t mind…

Royal Salute 25 yo (40%, OB, Chivas Brothers, blended Scotch, for Claudio’s 70th Anniversary, 2024)

A rare private bottling crafted to celebrate the 70th birthday of Waldhaus' and World of Whisky's clan chief, Claudio Bernasconi, this year. An extraordinary place with wonderful people; do make a brief detour on your way to your next business rendezvous in Davos. Colour: amber with hints of walnut. Nose: indeed, a profusion of walnut wine, prunes, toffee, butterscotch, with a dash of mint sauce, Cuban cigars, a touch of compost, dried beef (Grisons meat, ha!), and a drop of soy sauce. We’re in the realm of an old malt matured in genuine sherry (solera butt), and I’d wager there’s not much grain whisky in here. Sublime nose. Mouth: it’s gentler on the palate, with dried figs and marzipan-stuffed dates, followed by our perennial chestnut honey and a whisper of very old Jerez brandy. Clearly an old-school style, somewhat reminiscent of the days when malts and brandies were neck and neck. Light touches of glutamate and Maggi, splendid. Finish: remarkably long for 40%, now more chocolatey, with some coffee lingering in the aftertaste. Comments: there’s a sense that Chivas has packed a fair amount of very old Glenlivet and Longmorn into this ‘small’ blend, the kind that holds the minimum proof perfectly. Gorgeous sherry and absolutely no ‘grainy sensation’; had you told me this was a 1950s Glenlivet, I’d have said, ‘of course’.
SGP:561 - 92 points.

Back to more modern stuff…

The Antiquary 15 yo (40%, OB, Blended Scotch, claret casks finish, 2024)

The Antiquary brand, which is Tomatin's blend, has been revived this year. I do somewhat regret the heavy-handed use of red wine here. I would have preferred to try the 21-year-old, but that one is now finished in tawny port casks, so red for red, Bordeaux it is. There's no escaping it now, in malt whisky, in vino veritas. Colour: gold. Not rosé. Nose: there's a slight old barrel note, along with bell pepper and blackcurrant buds, then blood oranges. It's actually quite pleasant, despite that premixed feel that makes us long for... a good old Tomatin ex-refill or bourbon. Mouth: the wine influence is very evident. A hint of rubber, then leaves and buds, raspberries, apples, oranges. Finish: medium length, with the weakness of the 40% ABV showing a bit. Comments: not bad, but do we really need all this wine? I used to really like the old natural The Antiquary blends (WF 87 for the 21 yo in 2014).
SGP:451 - 74 points.

		Spirit, fortified or table wine casks
		I would like to emphasise that there is a major difference between casks used for cognac, rum, sherry, Madeira, etc., and those used for ‘table wine’, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Barolo, Shiraz, etc. In the former case, the previous liquids have matured in the casks (except in the case of simple seasoning), and the aromas are therefore ‘muted’ and ‘matured’ to varying degrees. In contrast, casks used for table wine have only held young wines, which do not mature—at least not fully—in the casks, far from it. The aromas are therefore inevitably more vegetal, rustic, and ‘unfinished’. For instance, a very good Bordeaux wine may have spent 2 years in cask and then 15 years in the bottle to reach maturity, depending on the vintages. If you use an ex-Bordeaux cask, you’re therefore flavouring your whisky with an immature wine, hence the strong notes of pepper, just as an example. Does what I’m saying make sense to you?

We go on…

Nectarosity (46%, Compass Box, blended scotch, 2024)

Funny name, much better than morosity, don’t you think? It seems to be all about patisserie, and quite rightly so. Inside, you’ll find Linkwood, Clynelish, Balmenach, and more or less one-third grain (Cameronbridge and Girvan), so it's a rather ‘good’ blend. I recall that in the olden days, a blend boasting 50% malt was already considered quite top shelf. Colour: lemon gold (and why not indeed?). Nose: very fresh, very much on freshly baked croissants and beeswax, with yellow peaches and ripe apples. Plus, an entire bag of mirabelles. Mouth: very good, the concept works well, and it’s not just a one-malt-show from Clynelish (not that we would’ve complained, of course), but you can definitely sense it, alongside some citrus and fresher orchard fruits. Finish: a touch of green wood and a very slight bitterness, which adds dimension. Medium length, very pleasant, with a peach skin aftertaste. Comments: this reminds me of an old personal recipe I once kind of came up with kind of with CB just for fun: 10% Laphroaig, 30% Clynelish, and for the remaining 60%, just whatever came to hand – that didn’t really matter. But different times, different manners, and nothing to do with this little Nectarosity, of course.
SGP: 551 – 85 points.

Last one, please an older one again…

St. Bridget’s Kirk 35 yo 1988/2024 (43.9%, Hannah Whisky Merchants, blended scotch, refill butt, 450 bottles)

This is a blend put together long ago, when the whiskies were young, and then aged in this refill butt for decades. It feels very Edrington, but please, don’t quote me on that. The price is quite typo-ish (€125-140). What could possibly go wrong? Colour: pure gold. Nose: the first word that comes to mind is ‘elegance’, the second is ‘yellow peaches’, and the third is ‘patisseries and herbal teas’. It’s not the heavily honeyed profile you might find elsewhere, more like shortbread, oatcakes, and macarons, with just a hint of coconut milk, likely from the grains. Mouth: it’s the oranges, cinnamon, and café latte leading the dance here. There’s a slightly improbable side to it, as if this composition wasn’t entirely intentional, but that only adds to the charm, along with… a touch of old Cuban rum from the same era. Vanilla and latte. Finish: not very long, but increasingly focused on that famous old Cuban rum. Coffee with milk, coconut, vanilla, orange liqueur… Comments: this old blend has really aged gracefully with lots of charm, nicely converging with time.
SGP: 541 – 87 points.

Check the index of all blends we've tasted so far