Antiquary 12 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: The Antiquary

Type: Blended Scotch Whisky

Age: 12 Years

ABV: 40%

Colour: Light Golden

Nose: Light, Dry and Crisp Nose with Malt, Light Peat, Flowery Perfume, Lemon, Oak, Spices and a hint of Honey.

Taste: Light and not at all complex. Slightly Dry at first but Sweeter later on. Grains, Malt, Butter, Citrus Peels, Oak and a distinctive hint of Rhubarb.

Finish: Short with light Peat, Oak, Caramel, Toffee and Pepper.

I added a couple of drops of Water but the result is a watered version of the original. This Blend is too light to accept additional Water.

Rating: 78.5

Nose: 20 - Taste: 20 - Finish: 19 - Overall: 19.5

Cragganmore Distillery

General Remarks: John and William Hardie of Edinburgh first blended the Antiquary in 1888. The name derives from a novel by Sir Walter Scott. Hardie was bought in 1995 by the Tomatin Distillery Co.Ltd. The Blend is very popular in Spain, Portugal and the UK. Packaging and the Diamond-Shaped Bottle are very nice. The Blend contains 55% Malt whisky and that's a high percentage. All in all 30 whiskies are used for the Antiquary. The heart of the Blend is Speyside, represented by a.o. Glenrothes, Mortlach, Linkwood, Benrinnes and Cragganmore. Other Malts are Tomatin, Clynelish, Royal Lochnagar (Highland), Glenkinchie (Lowland) and Bowmore (Islay). The Grain whiskies are from Port Dundas and Camaronbridge . All whiskies are matured for at least 12 years in American White Oak. It's not cheap at around 45 US Dollars per bottle.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: A very light Blend. Uncomplicated and drinkable but not at all challenging. The Nose is clean with basically Lemon and a touch of Peat. The only interesting detail on the Palate is the unusual Rhubarb taste. Never experienced that before. The rest is quite forgettable I'm afraid. 

Jan van den Ende                                                        December 12, 2012