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“I Don’t Love It But I Think I Like It”
Whisky Review # 979
Country: Scotland 🏴
Region: Border Lowlands/Southern Highlands
Brand: Stratheden - Classic Selection - Styled on long closed distilleries
Bottled and Blended by: The Lost Distillery Company, Kilmarnock
Type: Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
Bottled and Blended by: The Lost Distillery Company, Kilmarnock
Type: Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: NAS
Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 43%
Maturation: Unknown. Probably mostly Ex-Bourbon casks & some Sherried Wood
Chill Filtration: No
Price Average: US$ 55 (February 2023)
Price/Quality Ratio: 👍
Buying Advice: 😐 It's okay. I think you should go for the more mature expressions
Colour: Golden Sunlight (Natural Colour)
Nose:
Light, Young, a little Edgy and mostly Sweet. Lots of Bakery Aromas with some Peat and Smoke in the background. I would like to try the more mature versions of this Malt being The Archivist Selection and The Vintage Selection. They should be quite nice. The Nose of this Classic Selection is not bad but a bit Young and Immature.
Maturation: Unknown. Probably mostly Ex-Bourbon casks & some Sherried Wood
Chill Filtration: No
Price Average: US$ 55 (February 2023)
Price/Quality Ratio: 👍
Buying Advice: 😐 It's okay. I think you should go for the more mature expressions
Colour: Golden Sunlight (Natural Colour)
Nose:
Light, Young, a little Edgy and mostly Sweet. Lots of Bakery Aromas with some Peat and Smoke in the background. I would like to try the more mature versions of this Malt being The Archivist Selection and The Vintage Selection. They should be quite nice. The Nose of this Classic Selection is not bad but a bit Young and Immature.
Main Aromas:
Sweet Barley, Salted Caramel, Puff Pastry with Warm Apple and Pear Filling, Soft Peat, Smoke from a Distant Fire, Grass and Hay, Orange-Flavored Chocolate, Dusty Wood, Cinnamon and Ginger.
Sweet Barley, Salted Caramel, Puff Pastry with Warm Apple and Pear Filling, Soft Peat, Smoke from a Distant Fire, Grass and Hay, Orange-Flavored Chocolate, Dusty Wood, Cinnamon and Ginger.
Supportive Aroma Accents:
Toffee, Buttered Toast, Vanilla, Floral & Green Notes, Tropical Fruitcake (Pineapple, Mango, Sultana), Lemon Peel, Toasted Nuts, Tobacco, Leather, Wet Newspaper and Pepper.
Toffee, Buttered Toast, Vanilla, Floral & Green Notes, Tropical Fruitcake (Pineapple, Mango, Sultana), Lemon Peel, Toasted Nuts, Tobacco, Leather, Wet Newspaper and Pepper.
Palate:
Light, Young and slightly Thin but Oily at the same time. The Alcohol is noticeable at this point. It's a little Rougher than the Nose would suggest. The Palate is a mix of Sweet, Sour and Salty notes. Only a slight Bitterness here.
Light, Young and slightly Thin but Oily at the same time. The Alcohol is noticeable at this point. It's a little Rougher than the Nose would suggest. The Palate is a mix of Sweet, Sour and Salty notes. Only a slight Bitterness here.
Main Flavours:
Malted Barley, Salted Caramel, Grass and Straw, Seville Orange, Lemon, Grapefruit, Green Apple, Orange-Flavored Chocolate, Dusty Wood, Soft Peat, Factory Smoke, Pepper, Ginger, Menthol/Mint and Tobacco.
Malted Barley, Salted Caramel, Grass and Straw, Seville Orange, Lemon, Grapefruit, Green Apple, Orange-Flavored Chocolate, Dusty Wood, Soft Peat, Factory Smoke, Pepper, Ginger, Menthol/Mint and Tobacco.
Supportive Flavour Accents:
Vanilla, Honey, Toffee, Toasted Nuts, Floral and Green Notes, Mandarin, Tropical Fruitcake (Banana, Pineapple, Sultana, Mango), Wet Rocks and Sand, Cinnamon & Iron.
Finish:
Drinking Advice:
This Stratheden does not improve with added Water.
Drinking Experience Neat: Good
Conclusion:
The Stratheden Distillery was founded in 1829 by Alexander Bonthroe & was located in the little village of Auchtermuchty near Cupar in Fife. The distillery worked with Beer Barley and Sherry casks and imported Peat from Orkney. The main reason for closing the distillery was the Prohibition in the USA that cancelled the main export market. It ceased production in 1924 and closed for good in 1926.
Short-Middle Long and slightly Hot. Sweet at first but showing Sour and Salty notes towards the Medium-Dry to Dry end. I find Sweet Barley, Salted Caramel, Vanilla, Honey, Seville Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon, Honey, Hard Candy (Berry Flavor), Wet Peat, Factory Smoke, Ashes, Wet Rocks & Sand, Red Apple, Tobacco, Pepper, Mint and Cinnamon. Traces of Chocolate and Iron.
This Stratheden does not improve with added Water.
Rating: 7.5 (*******1/2)
Nose: 7.8 - Taste: 7.5 - Finish: 7.3
*** Important Note with respect to Rating.
A few of my loyal readers have pointed out that every once in a while my final Rating note did not seem to be totally in line with the written text. I recognize that. When I started this Whisky Blog back in 2011, I was not at all experienced in tasting and scoring Single Malts & Blends. Looking back I realize that during the early years I probably scored the good Whiskies too low and the not so good Whiskies too high. Ever since the beginning I try to remain consequent in my rating, always comparing the outcome to the rating of comparable whiskies in terms of quality and taste and adjusting the final rating if necessary. This might lead to the discrepancy I mentioned before. As a result I have decided to use a new rating system this year. I will still give a rating for Nose, Taste and Finish but now on the scale from 1-10 whereby 1 represents the worst and 10 the best. The sum of these numbers will be divided by 3 to get the final score. I hope this new scoring makes it easier for you to understand what I thought about the whisky I'm reviewing.
If the Final score is above 8 you can safely buy the whisky in question if and when it fits your Aroma/Flavor profile. If the score is between 6 and 8 you might want to try it out in the form of a sample or if offered at a good price. Anything below 6 should be left alone when you are looking for a nice sipping whisky. You might still like it of course & I realize pricing is an important item for many whisky fans especially when you are used to enjoy whisky in a cocktail or a mixed drink. Please let me know what you think of the new rating system and leave your comments and/or suggestions.
The Stratheden Distillery was founded in 1829 by Alexander Bonthroe & was located in the little village of Auchtermuchty near Cupar in Fife. The distillery worked with Beer Barley and Sherry casks and imported Peat from Orkney. The main reason for closing the distillery was the Prohibition in the USA that cancelled the main export market. It ceased production in 1924 and closed for good in 1926.
First of all I like the purpose of this Series created by Scott Watson and Brian Woods of The Lost Distillery Company. Both worked at Diageo before that. It's nice to try and recreate Single Malts from long closed distilleries based on the information still available on the Water Supply, Barley, Yeast and the distilling process. It's not easy to do that I suppose. The Stratheden is the fourth in a series of six that I bought as a Sample Gift package. All with Natural Color indeed and without Chill-Filtration as it was done in the days.
The Lost Distillery Company usually uses between 5 and 10 Single Malts to try and recreate the lost distilleries. I don't know the contents of this Blended Malt but I suspect it contains some peated Malt from Glen Scotia.
There's of course no way we can tell if this Blended Malt really resembles the old Stratheden Whisky. It's a little Young & Rough at places and I think I probably would like the more mature versions better. But this Classic Selection is not bad and reasonably priced. Try a sample or miniature like I did before buying a full bottle.
Cheers!
The Still Existing Bonded Warehouse
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