The malt that puts the Regal in Chivas
6. Strathisla (12 yo, 40%)
So, Starthisla Distillery in sunny Keith. The oldest distillery in the Highlands of Scotland (1786) and according to some the oldest continually operating distillery in Scotland. The distillery is owned by Pernod Ricard / Chivas Brothers and was bought at auction for just £71,000 in 1950. This 12yo Speyside specimen is beautifully packaged but the box and bottle are remarkable for the lack of marketing spiel written on them. I've come to expect long, flowery, prosaic and sometimes even partially true tales of legend and history and authenticity and a thousand reasons why the liquid inside is so special, but Strathisla isn't playing that game. It's a nicely shaped bottle, mind you.
The whisky has been at the heart of the famous deluxe Chivas Regal blend for many a long year but as single malts have grown ever more popular, so the malts most famous for being part of blends find themselves a new lease of life. Apparently well known for its ability to withstand fearsomely long stints in sherry casks, Strathisla is a bit of an under-exploited gem in the Chivas portfolio, which strikes me as odd.
Tasting notes, after a fashion:
Picked this up at the Tesco in Horley for a rather astonishing £25. Twelve years of patience and skill on top of the love and devotion that went into making it in the first place, all for the same price as a bottle of expensively marketed vodka 12ft along on the same shelf that was made in a fortnight and comes fiendishly close to tasting of nothing at all.
A deep reddish gold in the glass, (which doesn't mean a hell of a lot, given the widespread use of caramel to maintain consistency of colour), it looks inviting enough.
On the nose undiluted it's rich and spicy and sweet - like butterscotch with plenty of wood and a wee hint of rose petals.
In the mouth, it's very rich, very sherry and very sweet, though in a slightly but very pleasantly marmaladey bitter way. Thick and oily, it's a real mouth-coater with a layer of creaminess before the oak reveals itself and becomes more prominent in the billowing finish with more marmalade notes. A right corker of a dram.
With a splash of water the over-powering sweetness on the nose settles down a touch leaving a first-elegant-then-sharp almost citrussy wake.
Much rounder and smoother in the mouth, it's very prettily balanced, though maybe a little too refined and self-satisfied for what I'm after.
A few moments in the mouth, however, and it almost transforms into a bourbon, sweet and sweetcorn-laden. Actually, I've changed my mind: the bourbon transformation is delightful. No two ways about it. Homely and comforting and warming - like a big cuddle.
You can see where Chivas Regal gets its distinctive character from. Top drawer.
5/5
So, Starthisla Distillery in sunny Keith. The oldest distillery in the Highlands of Scotland (1786) and according to some the oldest continually operating distillery in Scotland. The distillery is owned by Pernod Ricard / Chivas Brothers and was bought at auction for just £71,000 in 1950. This 12yo Speyside specimen is beautifully packaged but the box and bottle are remarkable for the lack of marketing spiel written on them. I've come to expect long, flowery, prosaic and sometimes even partially true tales of legend and history and authenticity and a thousand reasons why the liquid inside is so special, but Strathisla isn't playing that game. It's a nicely shaped bottle, mind you.The whisky has been at the heart of the famous deluxe Chivas Regal blend for many a long year but as single malts have grown ever more popular, so the malts most famous for being part of blends find themselves a new lease of life. Apparently well known for its ability to withstand fearsomely long stints in sherry casks, Strathisla is a bit of an under-exploited gem in the Chivas portfolio, which strikes me as odd.
Tasting notes, after a fashion:
Picked this up at the Tesco in Horley for a rather astonishing £25. Twelve years of patience and skill on top of the love and devotion that went into making it in the first place, all for the same price as a bottle of expensively marketed vodka 12ft along on the same shelf that was made in a fortnight and comes fiendishly close to tasting of nothing at all.A deep reddish gold in the glass, (which doesn't mean a hell of a lot, given the widespread use of caramel to maintain consistency of colour), it looks inviting enough.
On the nose undiluted it's rich and spicy and sweet - like butterscotch with plenty of wood and a wee hint of rose petals.
In the mouth, it's very rich, very sherry and very sweet, though in a slightly but very pleasantly marmaladey bitter way. Thick and oily, it's a real mouth-coater with a layer of creaminess before the oak reveals itself and becomes more prominent in the billowing finish with more marmalade notes. A right corker of a dram.
With a splash of water the over-powering sweetness on the nose settles down a touch leaving a first-elegant-then-sharp almost citrussy wake.
Much rounder and smoother in the mouth, it's very prettily balanced, though maybe a little too refined and self-satisfied for what I'm after.
A few moments in the mouth, however, and it almost transforms into a bourbon, sweet and sweetcorn-laden. Actually, I've changed my mind: the bourbon transformation is delightful. No two ways about it. Homely and comforting and warming - like a big cuddle.
You can see where Chivas Regal gets its distinctive character from. Top drawer.
5/5
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