Living in Scotland, even for a short time, left me with a passionate love of one of their major exports – whisky! I was recently given the opportunity to sample a new service – ordering whisky by the dram, whereby you are able to sample their range of whiskys without purchasing a full bottle! Handy!
Many of us are unsure of the make or age of whisky we would prefer – and I find the ability to order by dram, effectively a sample of several whiskys, very intriguing. The three whiskys I was given to try arrived well packaged by recorded mail in beautiful wax sealed sampler bottles!
They were:-
1. Master of Malt 12 Year Old Lowland
2. JW Dant Special Reserve 3cl Sample Bourbon Whisky
3. Smokehead 3cl Sample Single Malt Whisky
Master of Malt 12 Year Old Lowland
I have always been particularly fond of a good 12 year old malt. My mother, on the other hand, prefers a 16 year old (although her favourite of all was an accidental whisky by the name of Serendipity by Glen Moray).
Out of the three sent, I have to admit, this was my favourite. The description reads “Great honeyed nose. A classic combination of heady malt and brown sugar. An excellent introduction into the world of malt whisky.” Now I´m not a knowledgeable whisky connoisseur but I do know what I like and this is most definitely designed for my palette in mind – delightful honey undertones with a kind kick on the way down.
JW Dant Special Reserve 3cl Sample Bourbon Whisky
Generally speaking the only way I take my American Whisky is in a Coca Cola because, for me, Scottish Whisky is the best in the world – bar none.
Described as a “A sour mash bourbon from Heaven Hill, JW Dant Special Reserve has a strong rye influence” I found the taste pleasing and definitely caught the “strong rye influence”. I enjoyed it a great deal more than I thought I would but remain, staunchly, a fan of Scottish whiskys!
Smokehead 3cl Sample Single Malt Whisky
The Smokehead was my mothers personal favourite and she is a fan of good well aged whiskys. The site described this one as being “a superb, cult single malt from Ian MacLeod. Just a massive, thick peat smoke rich dram. Plenty of great south Islay character.”
Smokehead, for me, was a good whisky with plenty of character; being blessed with a herbie finish which was absolutely wonderful on the palette.
Review
The superb whiskys aside the key note to this review has got to be the ability to purchase drams of whiskys in order to try out several before, if you chose, purchasing a full bottle. This is the only company I know of which offers this unique service and it is one I am highly likely to utilise in the future. They have a wide selection for you to work your way through.
Highly recommended! Check out Master of Malt today!