Review by: Raygun

Creative Whisky Company bottled most of their stuff under the Exclusive Malts line, but they also did this series of regional malts as Exclusive Regions. Looks like they did Islay, Highlands, Lowlands, and Speyside. The Islay is probably Caol Ila, though that’s just a guess. The Highlands is Ruadh Maor (peated Glenturret), the Lowlands is Glenkinchie, and then there’s Glentauchers for Speyside. Mostly single casks, all proofed down to 50%. Rested for 10 minutes.  

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Distillery: Glentauchers

Bottler: Creative Whisky Company

Region/style: Speyside single malt Scotch

ABV: 50%

Age: 8 years

Cask type: Sherry cask #002, probably first fill. 

Color: 1.4 tawny. Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.

Price: $57 before tax I think

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Nose: Very sherried. Lots of milk chocolate. Blueberries, prunes, and mushrooms. Some dried cherries and cola. This is a deeply earthy kind of sherry. 

Palate: Sweet, with plenty of oloroso funk. Leads with milk chocolate. Chinese sour plum juice, date syrup, tamarind paste, cola. Some mushroom earthiness. You do taste the youth some, but it’s not too obtrusive. There’s a pleasant spice character, which could be due to European oak. Not too heavy.   

Finish: Chocolatey once again. Date syrup, baklava, plum juice, cherry juice. Nothing too different from the palate, though more tannic. Less mushroom here, but still pretty earthy. A little more fruitiness. Nice spicy tingle. 

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Conclusion: This is one of those that’s better than it has any right to be. Appears to be a first-fill sherry cask, and probably European oak. Even at 8 years old, under $60 is a surprising deal. And it’s definitely worth it. Yes, the cask influence is very strong, but you just don’t see this kind of sherry bomb in this price range. Compares well with Tamdhu Batch Strength. Haven’t had any recent A’bunadh, but wouldn’t surprise me if this won. I tried it along with Glenturret 12 at one point, and I’d rather have this and it’s $25 less. It’s a shame they’ve closed up shop. 

Buy again? If I saw one, I’d grab it. 

Score: 81

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky. (Convalmore 36)
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1)
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Ledaig 13 Amontillado)
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Tomatin 18)
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Glen Scotia 15)
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Aultmore 12)
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Glenmorangie 10)
• 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Pulteney 12)
• 0-49: Blech. (Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16)