Old school blended Scotch whisky brand Cutty Sark turns 100 this year and owner La Martiniquaise-Bardinet is celebrating with the release of a new limited edition design. The Cutty Sark Anniversary Limited Edition keeps the maritime theme while emphasizing the 100 years since the blended Scotch brand was founded in 1923. Cutty Sark will also […]
Old school blended Scotch whisky brand Cutty Sark turns 100 this year and owner La Martiniquaise-Bardinet is celebrating with the release of a new limited edition design.
The Cutty Sark Anniversary Limited Edition keeps the maritime theme while emphasizing the 100 years since the blended Scotch brand was founded in 1923.
Cutty Sark will also release a new promotional campaign – entitled, Never Ending Adventure – and launch an additional Commemorative Edition to support the Cutty Sark brand and anniversary celebration.
The GlenAllachie Distillery has released the second batch of their Lum Reek 10-year-old cask strength blended malt whisky – which derives its unique name from the old Scottish toast to a long and healthy life, ‘lang may yer lum reek’, translating to ‘long may your chimney smoke’ – and is offered via MacNair’s boutique. The […]
The GlenAllachie Distillery has released the second batch of their Lum Reek 10-year-old cask strength blended malt whisky – which derives its unique name from the old Scottish toast to a long and healthy life, ‘lang may yer lum reek’, translating to ‘long may your chimney smoke’ – and is offered via MacNair’s boutique.
The GlenAllachie Lum Reek 10 Year Old combines single malt whiskies from Islay and Speyside then, once blended, is matured in a trio of sherry, red wine and virgin oak casks before it is bottled at 55.8% alcohol by volume [111.6 proof] and is said to offer notes of smoke and spice.
The GlenAllachie Lum Reek 10 Year Old Cask Strength Batch 2 is being made available for $75 per bottle.
Diageo-owned House of Buchanan has released a new blended, flavored whisky — Buchanan’s Pineapple. House of Buchanan’s Pineapple boasts notes of caramel, vanilla and, of course, pineapple. House of Buchanan’s whisky is popular in the Hispanic American community and the new Buchanan’s Pineapple blended flavored whisky is recommended to be used in cocktails such as […]
Diageo-owned House of Buchanan has released a new blended, flavored whisky — Buchanan’s Pineapple.
House of Buchanan’s Pineapple boasts notes of caramel, vanilla and, of course, pineapple.
House of Buchanan’s whisky is popular in the Hispanic American community and the new Buchanan’s Pineapple blended flavored whisky is recommended to be used in cocktails such as the Piña Fizz and Bucha Colada.
Chivas has released a blended Scotch whisky containing five single malts each aged for at least 20 years called Ultis XX. Chivas Ultis XX is an upgrade of Chivas’ original Ultis blend, released in 2016 as the distillery’s first blended malt whisky, and contains five of Chivas’ single malts – Strathisla, Allt A’bhainne, Braeval, Longmorn […]
Chivas has released a blended Scotch whisky containing five single malts each aged for at least 20 years called Ultis XX.
Chivas Ultis XX is an upgrade of Chivas’ original Ultis blend, released in 2016 as the distillery’s first blended malt whisky, and contains five of Chivas’ single malts – Strathisla, Allt A’bhainne, Braeval, Longmorn and Tormore – and is said to offer notes of red apples, honey, milk chocolate, raspberry jam, toffee and vanilla.
Chivas Regal has added a limited edition blended Scotch whisky finished in Margaux wine casks – Chivas 18 Wine Cask Series – to their Wine Cask Series. Chivas Regal 18 Years Old Margaux Cask Finish Edition was bottled at 48% alcohol by volume [96 proof], finished in Grand Cru Margaux wine casks and is said […]
Chivas Regal has added a limited edition blended Scotch whisky finished in Margaux wine casks – Chivas 18 Wine Cask Series – to their Wine Cask Series.
Chivas Regal 18 Years Old Margaux Cask Finish Edition was bottled at 48% alcohol by volume [96 proof], finished in Grand Cru Margaux wine casks and is said to offer notes of red fruits.
Chivas Regal 18 Years Old Margaux Cask Finish Edition is being made available for $135 per bottle at travel retail venues worldwide.
Johnnie Walker has collaborated with Shanghai-based designer Angel Chen to create a limited edition Johnnie Walker Blue Label bottle commemorating Chinese New Year – the Year of the Rabbit – which commences on January 22, 2023. In traditional Asian culture, the rabbit symbolizes beauty, elegance, longevity and mercy. Chen’s label for the blended Scotch brand […]
Johnnie Walker has collaborated with Shanghai-based designer Angel Chen to create a limited edition Johnnie Walker Blue Label bottle commemorating Chinese New Year – the Year of the Rabbit – which commences on January 22, 2023.
In traditional Asian culture, the rabbit symbolizes beauty, elegance, longevity and mercy.
Chen’s label for the blended Scotch brand employs rabbits bounding among mountainous peaks.
Johnnie Walker Blue Label is created in small batches and comprises whisky sourced from across Scotland, including some dormant ‘ghost’ distilleries.
Made from 100% Rye, the Alberta Premium Blended Rye Whisky calls itself a blend because it’s a mix of new charred oak and used cooperage. To what extent that amount is they’re not saying and I wish they would because that word blend can make things a bit confusing. Especially on this side of the […]
Made from 100% Rye, the Alberta Premium Blended Rye Whisky calls itself a blend because it’s a mix of new charred oak and used cooperage. To what extent that amount is they’re not saying and I wish they would because that word blend can make things a bit confusing. Especially on this side of the border.
Up in Canada they just call it rye, because legally they can, but down here in the USA we have different laws governing the labels of whiskey, especially when it comes to bourbon and rye. So even though it’s a 100% rye mash, the use of both new and used cooperage requires the word blend be added to it. And that can be confusing because it could also have GNS in it and be called a blend. That word is such a wide catch-all down here that without extra info you’re often left wondering what exactly you’re drinking. Anywho…
Let’s get to drinkin’!
Alberta Premium Blended Rye Whisky – Details and Tasting Notes
Whiskey Details
Style: Rye (Canadian) Region: Canada Distiller: Alberta Distillers
Mash Bill: 100% Rye Cask: New Charred Oak, ex-Bourbon Age: 5 years ABV: 40%
“An explosive taste that is bold with its own unique earthy character, made with 100% Canadian Prairie Rye and aged for a minimum of 5 years, Alberta Premium is the original 100% rye.” – Alberta Distillers
Alberta Premium Blended Rye Whisky Tasting Notes
EYE
Lightly golden amber
NOSE
Caramel, butterscotch, baking spice, copper, dried fruit and acetone.
The Cask Strength version has a more intense, deeper, aroma, but this isn’t bad, or at least wouldn’t be if that industrial/acetone note wasn’t there.
PALATE
Caramel, watery butterscotch, copper, orange peel, touch anise and herbal spice with a hint of something industrial/solventy.
Again, not bad, but that sharp note at the end keeps throwing me off a bit.
FINISH
Medium-Short -> Darkly sweet and spiced with a light touch of that acetone.
BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Not fully balanced, light body and a soft watery feel.
Alberta Premium Blended Rye Whisky – Overall Thoughts and Score
If it wasn’t for that industrial/solventy/acetone-like note this would be quite a nice whisky. As it sits right now it’s just an ok whisky because that off-note is light and unobtrusive. And while, this doesn’t hold a candle to its amazing cask strength sibling, it is better than a lot of the other Canadian whiskies we get down here.
I would take the Alberta Premium Blended Rye Whisky over Black Velvet, Seagram’s VO Gold, Canadian Mist or the standard Crown Royal any day. This has some character and a bit of depth to it the rest just don’t. It also makes a pretty decent Canadian Old Fashioned where that industrial note completely fades away.
SCORE: 2.5/5 (average, drinkable, possible minor flaws ~ C+ | 77-79)
*Disclosure: The bottle for this Canadian Whisky review was graciously sent to me by the company without obligation. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.
Bottled around 1976, there is very little online about the St. Dennis Very Special Blended Scotch. And by very little I mean just one other post which is a listing for a bottle of this. A listing that’s selling it for $50. Which, after having tried several bottles of it, is about $100 too much […]
Bottled around 1976, there is very little online about the St. Dennis Very Special Blended Scotch. And by very little I mean just one other post which is a listing for a bottle of this. A listing that’s selling it for $50. Which, after having tried several bottles of it, is about $100 too much (I would need to get paid to even sip this again).
“So Josh, why did you try several bottles if it’s that bad?” Because curious reader, I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t just the bottle I opened that was this terrible. In the name of dusty whisky discovery, I opened and tasted 4 pint-sized bottles I picked up while dusty hunting many years go. Two had slightly different labels, but they were all as bad as the horror I’m about to describe. Happy late Halloween.
Now, let’s get to drinkin’!
St. Dennis Very Special Blended Scotch – Details and Tasting Notes
“This fine Scotch whisky is a composite of the best malts and grains the Highlands and Midlands of Scotland produce. Its delicate mildness meets the palate in a way that assures quality and flavour supreme.” – St. Dennis Very Special Blended Scotch
St. Dennis Very Special Blended Scotch Tasting Notes
EYE
Pale straw
NOSE
Raw alcohol, stale caramel, copper, wet wood and yesterday’s cigar with a bi of damp fur.
It’s so light that it mostly smells of raw alcohol and regret.
PALATE
Raw alcohol, lemon cleaner, tin can, chewed toothpicks and the taste of last night’s cigar still lingering with the vague thought that you might have kissed a dog.
The eau de regret is much higher now and becomes a tangible thing on the tongue. However, raw alcohol still dominates.
FINISH
Short -> Imagine licking grain alcohol off of a metal sign in a dive bar in the early 90s. If you can do that, you can imagine the grisly nature of this finish.
BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Balance? None to be found Body? Thinner than my patience these days. Feel? Would make water feel watery.
St. Dennis Very Special Blended Scotch – Overall Thoughts and Score
This ranks among the worst whisky I have ever tried. It’s somehow, simultaneously, so light it puts my senses to sleep and so foul it leaves a nightmare. There is nothing, and I do stress nothing, redeemable about this complete and utter abomination of whisky creation.
In my 15+ years of drinking whisky I have stumbled upon many dead brands and distilleries that left us far too soon. I’ve also crossed paths with some that deserve extinction. This falls into the latter category, 100%.
Harsh, metallic, and filled with little more than raw alcohol and disdainful regret, St. Dennis Very Special Blended Scotch gets a hail and hearty good riddance. People definitely woke up feeling like the worst version of themself after drinking this back in the 70s, it’s death no sad thing to mourn.
SCORE: 0/5 (so bad it doesn’t deserve a rating ~ “F” | 0-59)
What’s so glorious about early 1970s White Horse Blended Scotch? For starters, there’s likely some Scotch from the Malt Mill distillery which was an offshoot of Lagavulin. Though for most of you, and me, the draw here is the old Lagavulin. This particular White Horse comes from the early 70s which means the Lagavulin in […]
What’s so glorious about early 1970s White Horse Blended Scotch? For starters, there’s likely some Scotch from the Malt Mill distillery which was an offshoot of Lagavulin. Though for most of you, and me, the draw here is the old Lagavulin. This particular White Horse comes from the early 70s which means the Lagavulin in here was distilled in the 60s… or earlier.
Blends today and blends of the past are slightly different animals. A lot of that has to do with the single malt trade and the scale of whisky today. Back when the scale of production was smaller and single malts weren’t much of a thing the best and oldest malts went into blends. This is one of the contributing factors to many old blends being quite nice.
Of course, that doesn’t mean all of them are. I’ve tried Johnny Red from every decade over the last 100 years and it ranges from inoffensive but unremarkable to outright dreck. Johnnie Black on the other hand definitely gets better as you drop back in the decades. And the same for White Horse. The stuff from the 80s is delightful, but as you go back in time you move from a great mixer to a pleasant sipper.
Now, let’s get to drinkin’!
1970s White Horse Blended Scotch – Details and Tasting Notes
Whiskey Details
Style: Blended (Scotch) Region: Scotland Blender: White Horse Distillers LTD.
Blend: Grain Whisky + Single Malts (Lagavulin, Malt Mill, etc.) Cask: ex-Bourbon Age: NAS (3+ Years) ABV: 43%
1970s White Horse Blended ScotchPrice: NA – Auction, Specialty Store or Private Seller
“The company can trace its history to 1880 when James Logan Mackie founded whisky merchant James Logan Mackie & Co.” – Scotch Whisky
1970s White Horse Blended Scotch Tasting Notes
EYE
Straw
NOSE
Smoke, caramel, honey, orchard fruit, 7UP, graham, vanilla taffy, tarry/petrolly back note and touch OBE.
Remarkably fresh for a whisky that’s been in the bottle for nearly 50 years. It has a brightness that’s really shocking.
PALATE
Caramel, smoke, toasted malt, orange peel, copper, gum drops, vanilla, dried orchard fruit and some OBE and tar-like notes.
Heavier and dark than it looks, this holds a bit of that BBQ Meat note from Lagavulin and it works so well here.
FINISH
Long -> Smoke, fruit and caramel-vanilla.
BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Well-balanced, medium-bodied, velvety feel.
1970s White Horse Blended Scotch – Overall Thoughts and Score
There is something about these old White Horse bottlings that draw me in. The old Lagavulin definitely has something to do with it, but it can’t claim all the credit. There is just something about the way this was blended. The balance of the malt and the grain used and how it comes together effortlessly is so nice.
There’s a depth and heft to this along with a sweet bright fruitiness that brings more to the table than you’d expect. Bottles like this 1970s White Horse Blended Scotch show why this was such a huge seller back in the day. Though if it could be fully recaptured, it’s something that would likely do very well today.
SCORE: 3.5/5 (tasty, worth checking out ~ B | 83-86)
Ad Gefrin, England’s northernmost distillery located in Northumberland, has released their initial blended whisky – a blend of Irish and Scotch whiskies – which they have named Tácnbora, . Ad Gefrin Tácnbora is a blend of Irish and Scotch whiskies [both grain and malt], aged in virgin American oak and Oloroso sherry casks and is […]
Ad Gefrin, England’s northernmost distillery located in Northumberland, has released their initial blended whisky – a blend of Irish and Scotch whiskies – which they have named Tácnbora, .
Ad Gefrin Tácnbora is a blend of Irish and Scotch whiskies [both grain and malt], aged in virgin American oak and Oloroso sherry casks and is said to contain notes of citrus, honey, nutmeg and vanilla.
Tácnbora is being made available online for $50 per 700ml bottle.
