Whyte and Mackay Special Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Whyte & Mackay Special

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: Unspecified but probably between 4 and 8 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Copper

Nose: Initial wafts of young Alcohol force you to have a little patience. After 20 minutes or so the first impressions start to develop. I find Grain and Malt, Oak and Citrus, mostly Orange. I don’t find the nose overly sweet though. There’s some fruit here but the alcohol makes it difficult to get there. Peach or Apricot I would think. With a bit of Honey sprinkled over it. The nose is not bad but the Alcohol spoils some of the fun.

Taste: Spicy delivery! Some Honey, Toffee and burnt Sugar. Slightly bitter but within reason.

Finish: Short. Bit of Malt. Sugar and Spice!

When you add a bit of water you get a bit of extra Malt on the nose but the palate gets too watery. Drink this blend straight or, if you like it, with an ice cube or two.

Rating: 75,5

Nose: 19,5 – Taste: 19 – Finish: 18 – Overall: 19

General Remarks: Allan & Poynter started as a warehouse in 1843 in Glasgow, gradually starting to store whiskies as well. It changed hands various times before it was sold to Whyte & Mackay. Soon afterwards these two partners started to blend whisky. Between 1900 and 1950 the company survived despite the World Wars and the recession. In the sixties things became better. After a large number of take-overs, United Breweries from India took control in 2007.

The blend is made following the Double Marriage process. First 35 Single Malts are married and stored in Sherry Casks for about six months. Then this vatted mixture is blended with 6 Grain Whiskies and stored for another couple of months in sherry casks.

Drinking Experience Neat: Average/Good. 

Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Average.

Conclusion: It’s slightly better than the blends I’ve been testing recently as you will notice by looking at the Complete Rankings of Reviewed Whiskies. But not by much. The nose is not bad but suffers from the wafts of alcohol. On the palate the Searchers sing Sugar and Spice but not in an unpleasant way. The finish is on the short side. This blend is known as the Whyte & Mackay Special. That, it’s not, but it’s not too bad either.

Jan van den Ende                                                          January, 25 2012