Review by: The Muskox

What do you do when you crave exceedingly old sherry whisky, but aren’t part of the privileged bourgeoisie? One possible answer is that you turn to the genre of whisky that includes today’s dram: old sherried blends. There’s lots of this early-eighties-ish Edrington-ish blend stock around that might be able to hit the same sorts of notes. This example was bottled by Cadenhead’s as part of their “Creations” range of blends.

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Distillery: A blend of whiskies from Macallan, Highland Park, Tamdhu, and Invergordon.

Bottler: Cadenhead’s.

Region:/Style Blended scotch whisky.

ABV: 44.5%.

Age: 36 years. Distilled in 1980. Bottled in 2016.

Cask type: Two sherry butts of blended whisky.

Price: N/A, sample.

Color: 0.9, Amontillado sherry. No colour added. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Old and burnished. Dried orange peels, plums, apricots, and currants. Decadent chocolate ganache, creamy vanilla, and toffee apples. Old leather-bound books and earthen bothy floors.

Palate: Medium texture. Light on the arrival, with the old-grain elements of sweet malt, meringue, and cereal milk dominating at first. The development brings the goods, though: first green apples and rich oak, then piles of old books, black pepper, pencils, and toasty caramel. Underneath is an upwelling of warm, spicy peat smoke. Allspice and ginger underneath. Mulberries.

Finish: Very long, sweet and rich. Butterscotch and toffee for ages, candied fruits, ginger, vanilla, milk chocolate, milky tea with biscuits, subtle black pepper, and wafts of smoke.

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Conclusion: Notes: An excellent whisky, and, though it doesn’t count towards my score, a complete bargain for €250 or so. You can tell that this is a blend with the distinct grain notes coming through on the palate, which, though they’re all rather pleasant, aren’t really my favourite. The rest of the palate experience is really fantastic. It’s a warm hug of a whisky. The softness isn’t much of a problem given the style, as is the lack of complexity on the nose: this is a real sippin’ whisky. I can’t say it holds up to, say, the impossible standard of Compass Box The General, but it’ll get you some of the way there.

Final Score: 85.

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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.