Fellowship Malt 10 Years Review


“The End Justifies the Means”

Country: Scotland
Region: Speyside
Brand: The Fellowship Malt
Bottled By: Gordon & MacPhail, Elgin. 
Bottled For: The Rotary Club of Elgin c/o The Mansion House Hotel, Elgin.
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 10 Years
ABV: 40% 
Chill-Filtration: Yes 
Whisky Review # 585
Buying Advice: 😔  It's a good cause and the Price/Quality ratio is okay. Don't expect miracles though!

Colour: Light Golden Hay (Artificially Coloured)

Nose: Light and Malty. I'm pretty sure the Spirit matured in Refill Ex-Bourbon casks. The Alcohol is not fully integrated. I find Malt Biscuits, Buttered Toast, Toffee, light Vanilla, light Heather-Honey, Grass and Straw, light Refill Wood, Nut Shells, light Dirty Earth, light Orange Peel and hints of Coconut and Milk Chocolate. Some light Floral - and Fruity notes (Apple/Apricot) as well. On the Nose, the Fellowship Malt is not really bad but quite light and slightly boring.

Palate: Light, slightly Watery delivery. Quite Spicy as well which comes as a bit of a surprise after the soft Nose. I find Sugared Cereals, Malted Barley, Toffee, light Vanilla, Caramel, light Heather-Honey, Apple, Pear, light Refill Wood, Alcohol, Lemon, Pepper, Cinnamon, light Nutmeg, Ginger, Aniseed and Licorice.

Finish: Short, mostly Sweet and Medium Dry with a slight Alcohol/Pepper bite at the end. I find Malted Cereals, Sugared Nuts, Caramel, Toast, light Heather-Honey, Dirty Earth, Citrus Peel, Pepper, Aniseed, light Ginger, light Cinnamon, Licorice, light Menthol, light Refill Wood and some Cocoa Powder. 

I added a little Water and on the Nose you get a bit more Fruit (Pear, Pineapple) and some Ginger cookies. Palate and Finish become too Thin. Better sip this Malt neat.

Rating: 81

Nose: 20.5 - Taste: 20 - Finish: 20 - Overall: 20.5


General Remarks: Since 2009, the Rotary Club of Elgin, Scotland has been promoting the sale of a 10 Years old Speyside Single Malt. The actual bottling, sales and distribution were outsourced to local Independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail. All commissions went directly to the Rotary Foundation to support an ongoing campaign against polio. In the meantime these commissions have covered the costs of well over 500.000 inoculations against this disease. The official sales prices is around 35 US Dollars although you might find it cheaper sometimes in British supermarkets. (January 2017). To be honest I have no idea where this Mystery Malt was distilled. When tasting, distilleries like Glenlivet, Glen Moray, BenRiach and Cardhu came to my mind. If you have additional info on this, please leave a comment!

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay.
Conclusion: One can only applaud the initiative of the Rotary Club of Elgin. The fight against polio is indeed important. I also understand the need to offer a Malt at a reasonable price to stimulate sales. In today's expensive Whisky world you can't expect a superb Malt at 35 US Dollars. As a result, the Fellowship Malt is a light Speysider that matured in indifferent refill casks. It's not bad and the Price/Quality ratio is okay. But don't expect much depth and substance. But like I said in the heading of this post " The End Justifies the Means". Finally I would like to wish all the readers of Best Shot Whisky Reviews and their families a good and healthy 2017. Let's make the world a better place! Cheers!

Jan van den Ende                                                                   January 4, 2017

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