Boris Blank's glass eye
Ring the bell, Roll down the street
Tomatin Legacy, also known as Tomatin Dualchas in the USA.
Bottled at 43% ABV, aged in used bourbon and virgin oak barrels, probably uncoloured, and I have no idea if it's chill-filtered. It's a pretty cheap single malt, I can buy it for less than JW Black (which I like quite a lot) or Chivas Regal (which puts bland in blended whisky), it's a good bargain in my opinion.
Both the cardboard box and the bottle label carry tasting notes which I found to be accurate. I smell faint vanilla, a bit overpowered by apple, lemon, and pineapple. Similarly, while there's a definite sweetness to its taste, I feel the sourness of apples, lemons, and pineapples is stronger, and it has the bitter aftertaste of pine. Taste mostly what you smell.
It's not very complicated, but there are layers to the taste, and the slightly higher than average alcohol content helps, too.
I think this will make a great whisky for hot summer days, with or without an ice cube. Probably without, since I like the undiluted taste very much.
Lastly, bottle and box design. I found their old line a bit too cold and "professional". These shorter, plumper bottles and pastel-coloured boxes feel friendlier, more attractive to me, even if I don't exactly agree with their motto "The Softer Side of the Highlands".
Try it if you want something to "just drink". It's certainly cheap without being actually cheap shit.
I'm going to try their older expressions, the bourbon/port matured 14yro and the limited, 12 yro amontilado finished 2006 sound particularly exciting.
Bottled at 43% ABV, aged in used bourbon and virgin oak barrels, probably uncoloured, and I have no idea if it's chill-filtered. It's a pretty cheap single malt, I can buy it for less than JW Black (which I like quite a lot) or Chivas Regal (which puts bland in blended whisky), it's a good bargain in my opinion.
Both the cardboard box and the bottle label carry tasting notes which I found to be accurate. I smell faint vanilla, a bit overpowered by apple, lemon, and pineapple. Similarly, while there's a definite sweetness to its taste, I feel the sourness of apples, lemons, and pineapples is stronger, and it has the bitter aftertaste of pine. Taste mostly what you smell.
It's not very complicated, but there are layers to the taste, and the slightly higher than average alcohol content helps, too.
I think this will make a great whisky for hot summer days, with or without an ice cube. Probably without, since I like the undiluted taste very much.
Lastly, bottle and box design. I found their old line a bit too cold and "professional". These shorter, plumper bottles and pastel-coloured boxes feel friendlier, more attractive to me, even if I don't exactly agree with their motto "The Softer Side of the Highlands".
Try it if you want something to "just drink". It's certainly cheap without being actually cheap shit.
I'm going to try their older expressions, the bourbon/port matured 14yro and the limited, 12 yro amontilado finished 2006 sound particularly exciting.