Review by: dustbunna
Distillery: Various (blended malt).
Bottler: Diageo.
Region: Scotland (blended malt).
ABV: 57.1%.
Age: NAS. Bottled in 2018.
Cask type: Matured in a mix of first-fill ex-bourbon casks, refill American oak hogsheads, refill European oak butts, and (according to Master of Malt), ex-bodega European oak butts.
Price: €102 EUR for 700mL.
Color added. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 4 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, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
Nose: very coastal up front ~ sea spray, ozone, minerals, hints of yellow plums and roasted nuts, white grapes.
Palate: thick body ~ more minerals and sea spray, seaweed, water pushes it fruitier and brings out some light smoke, orange zest, copper, more white grapes.
Finish: long ~ on pipe smoke, more seaweed and roasted nuts, rock pools, more copper.
Conclusion: Wow, when they actually care, Diageo really knows how to make a blend. This vats together their six coastal malt distilleries (Cladach is Scots Gaelic for ‘shoreline’): Inchgower, Clynelish, Talisker, Oban, Lagavulin, and Caol Ila. It’s delicious, extremely drinkable even at full strength, and all of the constituent malts are well-represented in the overall profile. Oban and Caol Ila seem especially forward in my mind with the pipe smoke, minerals, and fruit, and Inchgower makes a solid appearance too in the form of roasted nuttiness. The whole thing just screams coastal to me, and coheres nicely around that theme with plenty of engaging flavor. They won’t listen, but I wish Diageo—who pride themselves on being a blending company first and foremost—would put out more quality, higher strength blends and blended malts like this one for enthusiasts.
Final Score: 88.
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 