Review by: dustbunna
Cutty Sark as a blend has been around for decades, and is now owned by La Martiniquaise (who also own Glen Moray and release Label 5, another blended Scotch.) Since tasting it early on in my journey, I’ve avoided yellow-label standard Cutty like the plague, but I got more than a bit curious about this Prohibition variation after having learned it was bottled at 50% and was not chill-filtered. When I found it at a store on sale for the same price as regular Cutty, I decided to go for it. FYI the label mentions American oak casks, though their website also mentions sherry-seasoning on said casks.
Distillery: Various.
Bottler: Cutty Sark.
Region: Scotland (blend).
ABV: 50%.
Age: NAS. Bottled in 2022, I think.
Cask type: American oak casks (possibly sherry-seasoned?)
Price: $25 USD.
Artificial color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 3 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point.
Nose: pretty light ~ cream soda, something a bit industrial, vanilla cake.
Palate: medium body ~ black pepper, salted caramel, cooked cereal grains, ethanol pokes through a bit more.
Finish: medium-short ~ black pepper and cream soda follow through, flattens and gets a bit harsher here.
Conclusion: If I had not read about the sherry seasoning directly on Cutty Sark’s site, I’d have thought somebody was putting me on. There’s nothing that suggests to me a sherry cask ever touched the spirit here. This whisky has three positive things going for it if you like cream soda, if you like black pepper, and if you don’t want to pay too much. It’s exceptionally simple, it’s a little too sweet for me, and I wish there was a bit more here to bite into— but it’s really not bad to sip on, and it’s flexible enough in flavor and price to also work as a cocktail enhancer or in a tumbler. Better when it was first opened, though.
Final Score: 73.
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.
Malt Runners 