Slaintheva 12 Years Review

“The Unknown Soldier In No Man's (B)land”

Country: Scotland 

Brand: Slaintheva

Produced by: Alexander Dunn & Co (Whisky Blenders) Ltd, Edinburgh

Type: Blended Scotch Whisky 

Age: 12 Years

ABV: 40 %

Colour: Yellow Gold

Nose: Quite Light. I find a bit of Highland Honey, Refill Oak, Soft Grains, Toast, 

Pastry, Orange Zest, Floral tones, Butter and light Vanilla. Underneath it all is a shy flagrance of Fresh Peach. It smells of New Shoes as well from time to time. But it's not Leather. It's more like Rubber or Plastic Boots for little Children. It does not show the Sharp Grain Alcohol you find so often in Blends. In fact, the Nose is not bad but a bit Dusty and on the Thin side. An ABV of at least 43% would have helped considerably.

Palate: Thin Delivery. I find Dusty Earth, Citrus, Refill Oak, light Vanilla, light Caramel, Sugar, light Rubber/Plastic and a distant hint of Smoke.

Finish: Middle-Long but on the Thin side. I find Earthy tones, light Sugar, light Refill Oak, light Caramel, light Pepper, light Licorice, very light Smoke, Nut Shells and a pinch of Salt.

I added a bit of Water and you get a bit of extra Orange on the Nose. But Palate and Finish are too weak to accept additional Water. Better sip it neat!

Rating: 76

Nose: 19.5 - Taste: 19 - Finish: 18.5 - Overall: 19 

Gordon & MacPhail Shop in Elgin!

General Remarks: The only thing I know for sure about this Blend is that the name is a Gaelic expression meaning "The Very Best of Health To You". But it seems that this Blend was quite famous some 50 years ago. However, all the old expressions bore specific names like Ken Millward, Johnson Fellows & Co, Colin Mallory, Richard Morris or Jonathan Dixon. So you could conclude that this Blend was made (or could be made) to the specifications of Private Persons or Companies. The Brand Name is owned by Alexander Dunn & Co (Whisky Blenders) Ltd of Edinburgh, Scotland. The expression I'm tasting today is the apparent Standard 12 Years Old. I bought a miniature of this Blend in Elgin at the Gordon & MacPhail Shop. I guess it would be sold at around 125 US Dollars for a full bottle.

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay if you don't consider the Price!

Conclusion: I have tasted a lot of Blends that are certainly not as good as this Slaintheva 12 Years. But they were also a lot cheaper. I saw this Blend for sale at around 100 Euros. That's way too much! If you find it for 30 US Dollars you should buy it at once however! The Slaintheva 12 Years has a shy but quite acceptable Nose. Not at all Aggressive like so many Blends. But on the Palate and in the Finish it's admittedly drinkable but too Thin. It also lacks sufficient Flavours to make it attractive as a sipping Whisky. And it's not robust enough for Blending or enjoying it on the Rocks. It's somewhere in No Man's Land and that's not where I want to be!

Jan van den Ende                                                            August 18, 2014

A Miniature identical to the one I bought at

Gordon & MacPhail, Elgin

Bowmore 100 Degrees Proof Review

"The  Sailors of Old Would Approve"

Country: Scotland

Region: Islay

Brand: Bowmore 100 Degrees Proof 

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: NAS

ABV: 57,1 %

Sample Provided By Marlie from The Netherlands. Thanks a Lot!

Colour: Yellow Gold/Amber

Nose: Sweet Malt, light Sherry, light Sulphur, Dried Fruits, Nuts, Wet-Salted Leather, Cigarette Smoke, Old Cigar Box, Dusty Earth, light Rubber, Shell Fish, Charred Oak, Toast, Orange, Roasted Coffee, Vanilla, Toffee, Dried Herbs, Menthol, Straw, Lemon Peel, Sugared Ginger and Peanut Butter. The Alcohol is not fully integrated. 

Palate: The Alcohol is a bit Strong and the Spirit Young and Fiery. I find Sweet Malt, Cigarette Smoke, Ashes, Dried Herbs, Shell Fish, Orange or Mandarin, Lemon, Charred Oak, Licorice, Pepper, Salt, Nutmeg, Ginger, light Sherry, light Sulphur, light Rubber or Plastic and a hint of Brandy.

The Samples provided by Marlie!

Finish: Long, Spicy and Smoky with Sweet Malt, Cigarette Smoke, Ashes, Salt, Lemon, Mandarin or Grapefruit, Straw, Pepper, Ginger, Toffee, Licorice, Oak and hints of Rubber and Brandy. 

With a couple of drops of water the 100 Degrees Proof settles down a bit. Just add a couple of drops at the time until you're fine!

Rating: 86.5

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

General Remarks: The Bowmore Distillery was founded in 1779 by John Simpson. It's the oldest Islay distillery, located in Bowmore. Since 1994 it is completely owned by Morrison Bowmore Distilleries, part of the Japanese Suntory Group. The 100 Degrees Proof was launched in 2012 and originally produced for the Travel Retail Market. It's Non Chill-Filtered and bottled at Cask Strength but is surely artificially coloured. It sells at an average 60 US Dollars. The packaging tells us where this Bowmore got its name:

"Around the Time Bowmore was first distilled, the term "Proof Spirit" was born. Sailors of old would check that their Rum rations hadn't been watered down by mixing them with Gun Powder. If the Gun Powder still lit, this "proved" that it was a strong Alcohol or 100 Proof. If it didn't, then the Rum contained too much Water or less than 57% Alcohol. The Sailors used a hydrometer in this process. 100 Proof of Old equals an ABV of 57,1%"

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: A Young, Nervous but Interesting Bowmore. It's Rough, Fiery and Strong, just like the Sailors would have wanted their Rum to be. So it does do justice to its name in my opinion. But at the same time it lacks a bit of Balance. I would have liked to find a bit more Fruit, especially on the Palate and in the Finish. Still, at this price, it's good Value For Money and sufficiently interesting  as a Single Malt. I wouldn't consider this Bowmore as my Daily Dram but it's good enough to try it out if you get the chance!

Jan van den Ende                                                            August 16, 2014