Country: Scotland
Brand: McClelland’s
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Region: Highland
Age: Not specified but most likely around 5 Years
Alcohol: 40%
Colour: Amber/Gold
Nose: Peat, Wet Earth, Heather, Light Smoke, Wood and Light Sherry are my first impressions. There is a bit of Alcohol, which makes sense given the youth of the spirit. Some Malt and Spices (Think of Pepper) as well. Floral tones and a hint of ripe Fruit.
After a while in the glass, the Peat, Malt and green Wood become more dominant and I get some Biscuit as well. After having finished the whisky you will get some blossom and orange if you nose the empty glass after an hour or so. The nose, as so often, is the better part of this Malt.
Taste: The delivery is thin, sweet (Sugar, Honey) and hot (Black Pepper). Toasted Grains as well.
I added a few drops of water but it doesn’t contribute anything to the nose and the Palate gets watered down. Don’t add water to this Malt.
Finish: Short, Dry and slightly Bittersweet. The Wet Earth and Leaves are returning together with some Wood and Peat. Hints of Lemon and Cinnamon.
Rating: 76
Nose: 20– Taste: 18– Finish: 19– Overall: 19
General Remarks: A McClelland’s Distillery does not exist. It’s a series of 5 Single Malt Whiskies from the main Scottish production areas. Four of them, the Highland, the Lowland, the Speyside and the Islay are NAS or Non-Age Specified. In 2008, a Speyside 12 Years was added. McClelland’s Parent company is Morrison Bowmore Distilleries (Suntory Group). They are the owners of Auchentoshan (Lowland), Bowmore (Islay) and Glen Garioch (Highland). So we only have to guess where the Speyside is produced I would say! We can safely assume that the Glen Garioch Distillery produced this Highland Malt. McClelland’s main markets are the USA, Canada, Japan and France.
Drinking Experience Neat: Okay
Conclusion: This Single Malt is sold at around US$ 20. - and that’s cheap. One of the reasons for the relative low price is the fact that it merely ages for 5 years instead of the usual 10 to 12 for Standard Single Malt expressions. I did consider this fact in the final note. But to be honest, I Can’t Get No Satisfaction from whiskies like this one. It’s lack luster and it leaves me with an urge to drink something more interesting. It is however better than McClelland’s Lowland Expression and less sharp than Red Label. You could also argue that it has some hints of the main characteristics of a Highland whisky, namely floral tones on the Nose, slightly sweet on the Palate and a dry Finish. Still it’s just not good enough to deserve a permanent place in my Whisky cabinet!
Jan van den Ende March 17, 2012
2 comments:
I found that this is a lower quality for a single malt, but still better than a typical low-end blend. For this price, it's a decent value but where I found that it shone was when mixed with Coke, but the only issue is that there are a lot of good mixing whisk(e)ys for considerably less. I like it a bit more than say Canadian Club or Crown Royal as a mixer with Coke but it's considerably pricier in my area (Ontario, Canada) and I can get Lot 40 for somewhat less as well. So overall it just won't find a place in my cabinet longterm because it's not good enough to be a sipper and too expensive as a mixer.
Hi there, thanks for commenting! Please leave your first name next time around! I basically agree with your comments.I must admit that I tasted this back in 2012 when I first started nosing and tasting whisky. Most probably I would be better prepared now to distinguish flavors and aromas. Still I feel that my final rating would not be very different. As you say, it is slightly better than the main bottom end blends. Cheers, Jan.
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