Most Recent Review
Haig Club
I found it quite interesting that the whisky world largely ignored the introduction of a David Beckham endorsed whisky. Maybe it is because it is a "celebrity" whisky? Maybe it is too cheap or too ubiquitous to garner any real online buzz because no-one feels special drinking or reviewing a whisky that costs under $50 and is available on large scale? After reading many times over in the whisky media that "grain whisky is the next big thing" and considering the fact this is a single grain scotch whisky (Note: it is made made from a 90% wheat and 10% malted barley mash and the "single" refers to the distillery not grain) it would suggest that we should consider the possiblity that the "next big thing" just arrived? However it seems everyone with a whisky fetish and a broadband connection remained unwaiveringly focussed on the proper, hard to find, bloody expensive whisky. However I am also pretty certain that is fine with Messers Beckham and Diageo who give not one flying-you-know-what about whatever the "blogosphere" has to say about this one. (Sorry if that comes as a shock to any of my whisky blogger brethren). Bottled at 40% ABV (as you might expect for an entry level scotch) the nose on Haig Club is quite light and sweet, perhaps even floral. The taste, at first, is a rather brash clash of pepper and spices and sweet caramel and toffee. With time some biscuit and grain notes come through as well and it sort of balances out into something quite drinkable, however it clearly blended for the addition of ice (as depicted in all the asscoiated media). The finish is spice led with cayenne and some more floral, even perfumed notes. Like Mr Beckham himself, smooth and more complex than you might expect but if this is the next big thing then I am going to just wait for the next "next big thing".
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Some diligent readers may have noticed that I have posted less material online in recent months than Julian Assange. There are a number of reasons for this (fortunately being holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy is not one) but I don’t think it is a coincidence that my lack of output followed soon after completing my goal to find, taste and post my notes for all of the whiskies in Ian Buxton’s book “101 World Whiskies to Try Before You Die”.
When I look back at 2011, when I started this website and blog I wrote about using the Ian Buxton’s first book “101 Whiskies to Try before You Die” as a guide. As I wrote then “I felt I needed some structure to my journey, a goal or destination, or I would risk wandering aimlessly”
I have to say I do feel now like a goal has been met and a destination reached. Perhaps by setting a clear goal in some ways I doomed my website and blog as it had a defined “end point” from day one. It had a purpose and that purpose has been achieved. My work has also intervened and this blog will always come third after my family and my career. I also look back and reflect that the blog started at a time I was very unhappy with my career and it is clear my interest in whisky grew as my interest in my job at that time declined.
However this cannot be the end. Whisky has permeated my life in no small way and will be harder to remove than the last in-law at Christmas. I have invested (rather more than I intended) in a craft distillery in London that looks like it might return my investment about the same time that my nine year old daughter graduates college and I have made some real friendships that will go beyond a shared love of distilled grains aged in oak barrels.
So to paraphrase Winston Churchill perhaps this is not the beginning of the end but the end of the beginning. Therefore I intend to continue post tasting notes as I find whiskies of interest (increasingly hard to do by the way) and will restructure website to be more focused on those tasting notes and less as blog, but from time to time you can still expect me to post an ill-informed opinion.
And what would be a good new goal for this revamped website? As I write today I have reviewed 566 whiskies, so 1000 seems like a nice round number to aim for…. perhaps as a nod to Ian Buxton I should say 1001 Whiskies (yes I know that is another book by another whisky writer but you get my point) and then see what happens.
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101 World Whiskies to Try Before You Die
by Ian Buxton
Total to Date: 101
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Random Review
Tomatin 18 year old
This expression is described as “finished in Oloroso sherry casks” and bottled at 46% ABV. The nose has malt biscuits, oranges and some delicious fruity and sweet sherry notes. The taste is rounded and sweet, baked fruits, milk chocolate, more malt and cinnamon. With water there is also a brown sugar or even molasses sweetness. The finish is long and fruity with a hint of mint in there behind the spice. Even Tomatin’s best friend would not describe it as the most exciting distillery or single malt brand but this is an excellent 18 year old and they are definitely punching above their weight with this one.
