Review by: The Muskox

One of these days, I’ll finally finish getting through all these K&L picks. This one’s from the Hunter Laing and the Blair Athol distillery.

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Distillery: Blair Athol.

Bottler: Hunter Laing.

Region: Highlands.

ABV: 59%. Cask strength.

Age: 12 years. Distilled in March 2009. Bottled in March 2021.

Cask type: Cask #HL18070, a sherry butt.

Price: $60.

Color: Dark gold. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Musty fruit. Red apples, orange peel, dried mango, dried fruit leather. Toffee. Cocoa powder and instant coffee. A hint of earthiness and sulfur. Breakfast cereal with dried strawberries.

Palate: Medium texture. Arrives with some moderate sulfur, then orange juice and funky oak. Demerara sugar and funky oak. Creamy browned butter and white chocolate, slightly peppery. Red plums. Toasted almonds.

Finish: Medium-short. Some more sulfur. Orange marmalade. Clover honey. Buttery, sulfur. Mint. Bubblegum. Peach tea. Toffee.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Fully-loaded pirate ship”

Conclusion: Ehhh, more sulfured sherry! If you live near a sugar factory, this SMWS name will make sense. This one isn’t as bad as those Deanstons or that mystery Speyside, it’s still, uh, not good. Sometimes I worry about being overly sensitive to sulfur, but heavy sulfur seems to be the consensus on this cask. I wrote up the bulk of this review last year, and haven’t really been so keen to pour the whisky again, or even to finish writing the review.

Final Score: 69.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.