Slaintheva 12 Years Review



“The Unknown Soldier In No Man's (B)land”

Country: Scotland 
Brand: Slaintheva
Produced by: Alexander Dunn & Co (Whisky Blenders) Ltd, Edinburgh
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky 
Age: 12 Years
ABV: 40 %

Colour: Yellow Gold

Nose: Quite Light. I find a bit of Highland Honey, Refill Oak, Soft Grains, Toast, 
Pastry, Orange Zest, Floral tones, Butter and light Vanilla. Underneath it all is a shy flagrance of Fresh Peach. It smells of New Shoes as well from time to time. But it's not Leather. It's more like Rubber or Plastic Boots for little Children. It does not show the Sharp Grain Alcohol you find so often in Blends. In fact, the Nose is not bad but a bit Dusty and on the Thin side. An ABV of at least 43% would have helped considerably.

Palate: Thin Delivery. I find Dusty Earth, Citrus, Refill Oak, light Vanilla, light Caramel, Sugar, light Rubber/Plastic and a distant hint of Smoke.

Finish: Middle-Long but on the Thin side. I find Earthy tones, light Sugar, light Refill Oak, light Caramel, light Pepper, light Licorice, very light Smoke, Nut Shells and a pinch of Salt.

I added a bit of Water and you get a bit of extra Orange on the Nose. But Palate and Finish are too weak to accept additional Water. Better sip it neat!

Rating: 76

Nose: 19.5 - Taste: 19 - Finish: 18.5 - Overall: 19 

Gordon & MacPhail Shop in Elgin!

General Remarks: The only thing I know for sure about this Blend is that the name is a Gaelic expression meaning "The Very Best of Health To You". But it seems that this Blend was quite famous some 50 years ago. However, all the old expressions bore specific names like Ken Millward, Johnson Fellows & Co, Colin Mallory, Richard Morris or Jonathan Dixon. So you could conclude that this Blend was made (or could be made) to the specifications of Private Persons or Companies. The Brand Name is owned by Alexander Dunn & Co (Whisky Blenders) Ltd of Edinburgh, Scotland. The expression I'm tasting today is the apparent Standard 12 Years Old. I bought a miniature of this Blend in Elgin at the Gordon & MacPhail Shop. I guess it would be sold at around 125 US Dollars for a full bottle.

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay if you don't consider the Price!

Conclusion: I have tasted a lot of Blends that are certainly not as good as this Slaintheva 12 Years. But they were also a lot cheaper. I saw this Blend for sale at around 100 Euros. That's way too much! If you find it for 30 US Dollars you should buy it at once however! The Slaintheva 12 Years has a shy but quite acceptable Nose. Not at all Aggressive like so many Blends. But on the Palate and in the Finish it's admittedly drinkable but too Thin. It also lacks sufficient Flavours to make it attractive as a sipping Whisky. And it's not robust enough for Blending or enjoying it on the Rocks. It's somewhere in No Man's Land and that's not where I want to be!

Jan van den Ende                                                            August 18, 2014

A Miniature identical to the one I bought at
Gordon & MacPhail, Elgin

2 comments:

Mark said...

Just to add a bit of information on the names written on the bottles - These were not to my knowledge blended specifically for individuals, rather they were given as corporate (or private) gifts with either the company's or the customer/clients name on them. My father-in-law was given one in the 70s by an import/export company.

Jan van den Ende said...

Hi Mark, thanks a lot for commenting and adding this relevant information!
Cheers!
Jan