Queen of Scotland Red Label Blended Scotch Whisky Review

Country: Scotland 

Brand: Queen of Scotland Red Label

Type: Blended Scotch Whisky

Age: NAS (At Least 3 Years)

ABV: Unknown (My guess: 43%)

Date: 19/04/2013

Colour: Light Golden

Nose: Light but Sharp Nose with some initial Fruit. Think of Lemon and Melon. But this fades away really quickly and usual suspects such as  Slightly Harsh Grain Alcohol and Green Oak appear on stage accompanied by some Buttered Toast and Margarine, Nuts, Malt and Minerals. Nothing of interest going on here. Being slightly bored with this Blend I farted just once for scientific reasons and indeed the Nose improved. Will add a point for that.

Palate: Yummy! Varnish with Wood-Spice flavour! Well, maybe a bit of Oak, Menthol, Sugar, Shoe-Polish and Licorice as well. If all whisky was named after Kings and Queens I would seriously consider finding some other hobby! 

Finish: Short and Bitter-Sweet with Licorice, Sugar, Pepper and Grain. Alcohol Bite right at the end.

I successfully resisted the urge to throw in a full glass of Water to end my misery but dutifully I added a couple of drops only. It actually softens up the Nose a bit but Green Wood and Grain take over completely. Palate and Finish however become a polluted sea, full of Squids stuffed with Licorice. 

Rating: 66

Nose: 17 - Taste: 16 - Finish: 16.5  - Overall: 16.5

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 Queen of Scotland is still for sale at around 80 US Dollars. 

Drinking Experience Neat: Unpleasant

Conclusion: I'm thoroughly disappointed by the Queen of Scotland! Lots of people say that Blends were much better in the old days. That may be the case but I didn't find them in this Royal Box (so far at least). Long Live The Republic!

Jan van den Ende                                                                           April 2013

Me During Tasting!

Caol Ila 1990 Archives Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Islay

Brand: Caol Ila 1990 (Archives)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age:  22 Years

ABV:  56.3 %

Date: 17/04/2013

Colour: Pale Straw/Chardonnay

Nose: Powerful with Nice Juicy Peat, a Wood Fire along the Sea Shore, Oak and Vanilla, Leather, Malt, Shellfish seasoned with Black Pepper and Lemon, Honey, Grass or Seaweed, light Iodine, Fruit (Apple) and Mineral tones. The Alcohol is there so you have to carefully move your Nose around it.  A bit of Sherry would have enhanced the sweetness of the Barley. Still, this is very good stuff!

Palate: Peat, (Cigarette/Light Cigar) Smoke, Smoked Salmon, Berries, Malt, Oak/Caramel, Wax, Honey, Aniseed, Lemon, Tobacco and light Metallic and Salty notes. 

Finish: Long and Tasty with Peat, light Cigar Smoke, Orange Liqueur, Oak/Vanilla, Black Pepper, Ashes, Caramel, Iodine and Mineral tones.

I added a bit of Water and the Alcohol influence on the Nose decreases of course. The Peat retreats somewhat and the Coastal - and Mineral  Aromas get stronger. More Malt as well. On the Palate and in the Finish, Wood and Spices come to the foreground and I get some Aniseed as well. You should certainly experiment with a bit of Water. Personally however, I prefer to sip this Caol Ila neat.

Rating: 89  

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

General Remarks: This Caol Ila 1990 is a special Anniversary Release by Archives. Archives is the relatively young own label of Independent Whisky Bottler Whiskybase.com. This whisky was distilled in November 1990 and bottled at Cask Strength in November 2012. It matured in an Ex-Bourbon Hogshead with the Cask Number 13121 out of which 130 bottles were obtained. This whisky was not coloured artificially and is un-chillfiltered. It is priced at around 125 US Dollars. 

Caol Ila is Gaelic for Sound of Islay (Islay Strait). From the Still House of the distillery you have a wonderful view on this Strait and the Isle of Jura. Caol Ila was founded in 1846, was rebuilt in 1974 and nowadays forms part of the Diageo Group. 

Drinking Experience Neat: Very Good

Conclusion: An excellent Islay Single Malt. Very Juicy Peat on the Powerful Nose accompanied by an array of Coastal aromas. The Palate and Finish follow the Nose while adding extra flavours. The Oak influence is very subdued and in balance with the other flavours despite the 22 years of Wood contact. I do believe this Caol Ila would have become even better with a Sherry Cask finishing. If you like peated Islays however, I can safely recommend this Caol Ila. What a pity I only had a small 25 ml. sample!

During the Tasting Session of the Caol Ila 1990 I decided to do a direct comparison with the Ardbeg 10, my favourite Single Malt so far. And I must admit that I liked the Caol Ila slightly better even though I'd scored it a bit lower. I therefore concluded that I scored the Ardbeg 10 too high. I've adjusted the score in the meantime and you can find the result here: Ardbeg 10. The main difference is in the Peat. In the Ardbeg, it smells young and rough. After the 12 extra years in the cask, the Caol Ila presents us with something I call Juicy Peat. It's the best way I can describe it. Lovely stuff. As a result of all this, the Ardbeg 10 lost its #1 position in my Complete Rankings of Reviewed Whiskies. It's still in the Top 6 though. Check out the complete list here:  Complete Rankings of Reviewed Whiskies. 

Jan van den Ende                                                                       April 2013

King Edgar Blended Scoth Whisky Review

Country: Scotland 

Brand: King Edgar

Type: Blended Scotch Whisky

Age: NAS (At Least 3 Years)

ABV: Unknown (My guess: 40%)

Date: 15/04/2013

Colour: Pale Straw/Light White Wine

Nose: Despite the fact that this whisky was probably bottled somewhere in the Seventies, it's still clear that it's a very young spirit. Harsh Grain Alcohol, Toasted Grain and Green Oak are the first impressions followed by light Floral tones (Grass), Wax and Lemon-Pepper. It's a very light Nose. I'm desperately searching for some additional aromas but...! Maybe a very distant hint of Green Apples or Unripe Pears. One of the weakest Noses I've encountered so far.

Palate: Unpleasant. Weak and Watery with some Sugary Sweet Artificially Lemon-Flavoured Candies, Menthol, Licorice, Grain Alcohol and Wood Spices.

Finish: Short and Candy Sweet in the beginning and Bitter towards the end with Licorice and Wood (Spices).

With some Water the Nose is reduced to harsh Alcohol while the Palate and Finish remind me of a low quality Cough Syrup. This isn't whisky anymore!

Rating: 62

Nose: 16.5 - Taste: 15 - Finish: 15  - Overall: 15.5 

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 King Edgar is still for sale at around 75 US Dollars. The Blend was elaborated and bottled by H. Stenham Ltd with offices in London and Glasgow. This company was founded in 1953 and apparently is still active as a family business, since 1996 under the name "the Premier Scotch Whisky Company Ltd".  Scottish Dance, Grand Scot, Highland Star, Glen Rankin and Old Arthur were other Brand Names for their Blends. Judging by the colour, I don't believe colourants were added to the King Edgar. I'm sure it is non chill-filtered.

Drinking Experience Neat: Unpleasant.

Conclusion: I must base my opinion on a small 25 ml. sample. So there's always the slight possibility that something went wrong along the way. But as it is, this was a very unpleasant tasting session. The King Edgar Blended Scotch is nearly undrinkable when you sip it neat and does not even qualify as a mixing Alcohol in my opinion. A waste of money!

Jan van den Ende                                                                           April 2013