House of Stuart blended Scotch

Review by: Raygun

This is normally the sort of thing that most of us–I think it’s fair to say–wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. This is about as low as the bottom shelf gets: aged just long enough to qualify legally as Scotch, and as cheap as Scotch can get. I certainly wouldn’t buy it, but when I could get a glass for free, why not? Sometimes it’s good to see what the very low end looks like.

Distillery: Blend  

Bottler: House of Stuart   

Region/style: Blended Scotch

ABV: 40%  

Age: A whole 36 months 

Cask type: Unknown

Color: 0.7 amber. Surely colored and chill-filtered.

Nose: Grain whisky. Some lemon, grass, and hints of paint thinner.         

Palate: A little caramel. Not much else. Then some paint thinner and scorched plastic. Tastes like a cheap blend, and guess what? It is. I would call it hard to recognize as scotch. Tastes chemical and slightly alcoholic, but otherwise few notes to describe.    

Finish: Artificial sweetener and paint thinner again. Mercifully, it doesn’t last. The unpleasantness does build over time. Young grain harshness. 

Conclusion: This goes for around $20 for a handle, and you get what you pay for. Tastes like it barely has any malt, and young grain whisky is not pleasant. Has very little flavor, and what there is is not good. Might be OK for mixing, but no one should drink this neat. And yet it’s still better than Muirhead’s Silver Seal. That’s how bad that is. 

Buy a bottle? Haha, no

Score: 40

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)

Published by Raygun

Unknown's avatar

I drank Scotch occasionally (mostly at family gatherings) for years, but started getting more interested after an introduction and tasting from a Scottish acquaintance. That led to buying my first bottle (Highland Park 12). Now 600+ spirits later, Scotch is still my first love, but I drink other whisky and dabble in brandy as well.

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