House of McCallum The Art of Whisky Blended Scotch Whisky First Edition – 2018 43.5% ABV
The colour of it alone is pretty unique, a nice tint of pink from the port casks. A soft nose of red berries, vanilla and a bit of that port/red wine scent coming through. On the palate more of the red berries with a nice amount of spice, pepper and maybe a bit of cinnamon. The finish is medium-long with more spice and a bit of oak that lingers. The box/label artwork is the icing on the cake for this bottle. Looks great on the shelf!
Craigellachie 13 year old (Distillery release, core range) – 48%ABV VS Single Cask Nation Craigellachie 13 year old – 58.1%ABV
During my review and comparison tasting, an immediate observation is how much lighter the colour of the SCN bottling is. This comes from the single cask 2nd fill bourbon cask. Compared to the core range which, from what I understand, is both bourbon and sherry casks which gives it the darker colour. The next obvious is the difference in ABV% – 48% vs a potent 58.1% 😎 Cask Strength always checks off a box for me! ☑️ Now, when it comes to the tasting notes: The nose of the SCN bottling is a lot more earthy, where the core range has a more sweet nose. On the palate, the SCN is much more rich and robust than the core range. It also has a much more pronounced Speyside/Cragellachie funk, that you either love or hate…luckily for me, I love it! The SCN has more oak and much more earth notes, where the core range has more subtle earthy elements, and is rounded with more sweetness and caramel. The core range has a more silky mouthfeel that the SCN which is a bit more harsh, most likely again from the lack of sherry influence, but also from the higher ABV I would presume. Finally, the finish of the SCN is much more pronounced and lingers much longer than the core range. It has a nice bit of spice to it as well, not over powering by any means, just a hint that I find compliments the funky flavour nicely. All-in-all, I love both drams. The SCN might take the cake in the head-to-head mostly because of the ABV. I’m a sucker for cask strength! The single cask also stands out, when tasted back-to-back, because it showcases how unique a single cask bottling can be compared to a core range bottling from a distillery. The core range is still going to always be on my shelf!
Single Cask Nation Blair Athol 10 years old 2nd fill PX Sherry Cask 55.3% ABV
Well balanced might be used a lot when describing a whisky, but that’s exactly what comes to mind as I sip this one. It’s easy on the nose considering it’s high ABV, subtle sweetness with scents of cinnamon and other spices. I get a bit of biscuit/cookie on the nose as well. On the palate the high ABV hits you at first but it fades quickly and reveals a bit of sherry (less than I expected to be honest, in a good way) and lots of spice. Every time I sip it I pick out something a bit different. I pick up a lot of pepper, cinnamon and other spices. I pick up the biscuit notes on the palate as well, especially into the finish where the spice slowly fades and the sweeter notes sneak back in and linger for a good while. If you haven’t had a chance to taste anything from Single Cask Nation I suggest you make it a point to track down a bottle and dive in. Every one is unique, and so far I haven’t had one that isn’t delicious.
