Mary Stuart Blended Scotch Whisky Review

*This is a picture of a bottle of Craigmhor Blended Whisky. The only available picture of the Craigmhor Mary Stuart Blend is the Group Picture you will find below. The Mary Stuart is the second bottle from the left.

Country: Scotland 

Brand: Mary Stuart 

Blended (Probably) by Craigmhor Whisky Ltd, Glasgow

Type: Blended Scotch Whisky

Age: NAS 

ABV: 43 %

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Clear Bourbon notes with Vanilla, Glue and American White Oak. But also Buttered Toast, Grain, Honey, Floral Tones, Malt, Citrus Peel, Chopped Walnuts, Straw, Pear, Banana and Melon. Not bad at all for a Blended Whisky. A bit in the style of The Glenlivet 12 French Oak.

Palate: Light and Pretty Standard with Oak, Vanilla, White Pepper, Aniseed, Honey, Licorice and some Fruity and Floral Notes. Hint of Plastic. I expected a lot more after the pleasant Nose.

Finish: Not too long and slightly boring with Malt, Buttered Toast, Oak, Aniseed, Honey, Licorice, some Sweet Fruit and White Pepper.

With a bit of water the Nose gets dominated by Buttered Toast, Oak and Vanilla. Palate and Finish are watered down while Licorice and Plastic are picking up. Better sip it neat.

Rating: 79 

Nose: 21 - Taste: 19 - Finish: 19 - Overall: 20

General Remarks: The whisky I'm tasting today is part of a box containing six Blended Scotch Whisky samples produced somewhere between 1955 and 1965. They are all named after English and Scottish royalties. This box-set is sold by the Dutch based Rare Whisky Site www.rarewhiskysite.com. Other than that I could not find one bit of information on the Mary Stuart Blended Whisky. I have no idea if full bottles are still available and, if so, at what price!

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good

Conclusion: It is said that Blended Whisky used to be a lot better in the old days. This Mary Stuart certainly has a pleasant Nose when compared to the portrait below and many of today's Standard Blends. But on the Palate this is just as forgettable. I have tried Queen Elizabeth and Mary Stuart and honestly speaking We Are Not Amused! However, we still have King Edward I, King Edgar, Queen of Scotland and Queen Anne. So maybe we will find the hidden royal blended treasure of the Sixties yet. Stay tuned!

Jan van den Ende                                                                     March 7, 2013

Lagavulin 16 Years Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Islay

Brand: Lagavulin

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 16 Years

ABV:  43 %
Buying Advice: 😋  Totally positive. One of my favourite 2-Go-2 Malts.

Colour: Golden Amber (E-150 is added)

Nose: First impressions are lovely mellow Peat and a Meaty tone that reminds me of drizzling Bacon Fat when you are Char-grilling Pork. The Sea is not far away as well with Salt and Brine coming through along with some Oak. There are some Medicinal Notes as well and even a hint of Rubber but all in a good way. Sweet Barley, Cigar Ash, Soot, Tea, Brown Sugar, Honey, Herbs, Leather, Tobacco, Buttered Toast with Orange Marmalade and Vanilla complete the picture. It is not as wild and exciting as young Islay whiskies like Ardbeg 10 or Laphroaig 10, but it's smooth and inviting. You can certainly tell the extra years. Very nice!

Palate: The delivery is by far not as powerful as I had expected. I hesitate to say it but I found it a bit on the thin side. I believe this dram should have been bottled at 46%. The Lagavulin 16 is actually on the Bitter-Sweet side and a little bit Dusty. I get Peat, Leather, Smoked Fish, Oak, Tobacco, Tea, Malt, Hazelnuts, Caramel/Toffee, Vanilla, Iodine, Cigar Ashes, Smoke, White Pepper, Licorice, Cloves, light Menthol and hints of Dark Chocolate and Espresso. 

Finish: Middle-Long and slightly Bitter with Sweet Barley, Toast, Smoke, Dusty Peat, Tar, Pepper, Cloves, Leather, Tobacco, Caramel, Ashes, Iodine, Menthol and hints of Dark Chocolate and Strong Espresso.

The Lagavulin 16 Years does not improve with added Water although it accepts a few drops.

Rating: 88

Nose: 22.5 - Taste: 22 - Finish: 21.5 - Overall: 22

General Remarks: Lagavulin (Gaelic for "The Hollow Where The Mill Is") is one of the oldest distillery sites in Scotland. Around 1816 a local farmer and distiller by the name of John Johnston founded the first legal distillery. Lagavulin is located on the rocky Southern Shore of the Isle of Islay, close to the ruins of Dunyvaig Castle and Port Ellen. Lagavulin receives the slowest distillation of all Islay malts and matures in old Oak Casks. It costs around 75 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: The Lagavulin 16 Years is a very pleasant Single Malt. On the Nose it is really mellow and laid back. The peat smoke is there but it's not dominant. It's more like a cloud that gently embraces the other flavour components. Very well done. The Palate is smooth and well-balanced,but also ever so slightly thin and dusty. It should have been bottled at 46% in my opinion. The Finish is rather short for an Islay Single Malt. But all in all it's a good Whisky of course and a smooth way of entering the Peaty World of Islay. It's certainly one of my 2-Go-2 Islay Malts and I would love to have a bottle around all the time.

PS: I first reviewed this Whisky in March 2013. Last year I bought another full bottle at the Duty Free Shop at Frankfurt Airport and decided to review it again today. I have adjusted the text as I'm better positioned now to describe the Aromas and Flavours. I slightly changed the rating components but the overall score remained the same.

Jan van den Ende                                        March 5, 2013 and March 20, 2017

Glenfarclas 15 Years Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland/Speyside

Brand: Glenfarclas

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 15 Years

ABV:  46 %

Date: 02/03/2013

Colour: Golden Amber

Nose: Give this dram some time to open up! The Sherry is very present which makes sense as this whisky matured for 15 long years in Sherry Wood. I also get Mineral and Floral tones (Heather, Straw) as well as Caramel, Toffee, Butterscotch, Oak, Malt, Cocoa, Fruitcake with Raisins and Nuts and, unfortunately, some Sulphur. Very light Spices (Cinnamon, Ginger) and hints of Cherries and Honey. It's okay but I had expected more from this Glenfarclas. Sherry and Toffee dominate. It's a bit more complex but slightly less balanced than the Glenfarclas 12.

Palate: Good delivery with Sherry, Creamy Fruitcake with Raisins, Nuts and Citrus Peel, Spice, Cereals, Caramel/Toffee, Rum, Oak, Nuts, Brown Sugar and light Licorice.

Finish: Middle-Long with Nuts, Sherry, Oak, Red Fruit, Mustard, White Pepper and Nutmeg.

I added a bit of water and Blossom, Butter, Honey, Cooked Apples and extra Butterscotch and Caramel make themselves known on the Nose. Palate and Finish do not change too much but become a bit more mellow. This dram certainly accepts some water.

Rating: 84 

Nose: 21  - Taste: 21.5 - Finish: 20.5  - Overall: 21

General Remarks: The Glenfarclas 15 Years matured in Sherry Wood. It is believed that a lot of the whisky in the 15 is actually older. It costs around 55 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: Sometimes you take a sip and you immediately fall in love with a whisky. That's not the case here for me. Of course it depends a lot whether you like Sherried whiskies. Personally, I love it when the Sweet Sherry enhances the other flavours. But in this case the Sherry dominates the rest and that's not quite to my liking. It's certainly not a bad Sherried Speysider but I would rather recommend Aberlour A' Bunadh Batch 37 CS if you're in to this type of whisky!

Jan van den Ende                                                              March 2013