Country: Scotland
Brand: Queen Anne
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
Age: NAS (At Least 3 Years)
ABV: 43%
Colour: Deep Gold/Copper
Nose: Despite the fact that this Queen Anne was bottled at least 30 years ago, it's unmistakably a young spirit. Lots of Grain, a bit of Malt, Dried Apricots, Nut-Casks, Brown Sugar, Buttered Toast, Citrus Peel and Oak. Some Fruit like Pear and Peach and hints of Honey, Straw and light Peat. Nothing to write home about but not bad either.
Palate: Bitter-Sweet with Grain (Alcohol), Brown Sugar, Honey, Pepper, Licorice, Aniseed, Green Wood, Vanilla and light Peat.
Finish: Middle-Long and Bitter-Sweet with Brown Sugar, Honey, Oak, Licorice and Pepper.
I added a couple of drops of Water and the Fruity tones are slightly enhanced on the Nose. You also eliminate a bit of the Grain Alcohol. On the Palate and in the Finish, Grain becomes rather dominant. You can experiment with a few drops if you like!
Rating: 72.5
Nose: 19.5 - Taste: 17.5 - Finish: 17.5 - Overall: 18
Various Queen Anne Miniatures
General Remarks: The whisky I'm tasting today is part of a box containing six Blended Scotch Whisky samples produced somewhere between 1955 and 1980. They are all named after English and Scottish royalties. This box-set is sold by the Dutch based Rare Whisky Site (www.rarewhiskysite.com.) The Original Queen Anne is still for sale. There are versions from the Sixties, the Seventies and the Eighties but they are becoming quite rare and expensive at around 140, 170 and 380 US Dollars respectively. A new Queen Anne is also produced today, now by Seagram Distillers PLC. It costs around 45 US Dollars. The Blend Name was introduced to the market in 1884 by the House of Hill Thomson Edinburgh, a company founded in 1793 by William Hill. Nowadays, Hill Thomson elaborates a.o. the Blend Something Special. At the heart of both blends we find a.o. the Longmorn and Glen Moray Single Malts.
Drinking Experience Neat: Average/Good
Conclusion: Unfortunately I have no idea if the sample I tasted today was bottled in the 50's, 60's, 70's or 80's. I found some indications that the 43% ABV might have been bottled in the Seventies. This was the last Blend from the Kings and Queens Box-Set. Queen Anne is certainly not the worst of the lot. The Nose was okay for a Blend. Palate and Finish did not follow up as happens so often. Too much Grain and Green Wood. It was certainly interesting to try out a couple of these old Blends. However, none of them really convinced me and some of them were quite unpleasant to sip neat. Be sure to buy a sample first before paying almost certainly too much for a full bottle.
You're the Man for Queen Anne was one of the publicity slogans for the Queen Anne whisky in the 50's and 60's. Well Your Highness, I kinda liked your Nose but it was not enough to become your man!
Jan van den Ende April 24, 2013
