Strathisla 12y Single Malt Scotch with Dan

Here’s one we’d been missing for a while, one that had escaped the LCBO before we had a chance to try it. Good old Cloud 9 in Alberta comes through again with Strathisla 12y single malt Scotch.

The oldest continuously operating distillery in Scotland, this Speyside scotch is the backbone and principle whisky of the Chivas blend, as is splashed all over the website. In fact, the 12y seems to be the only age expression, or any expression at all, of the Strathisla single malt that isn’t part of a much more advertised Chivas blend. The Chivas site has Javier Bardem pushing a blended whiskey (which tbf we liked) at you while barely mentioning this decent single malt. There’s other ages available through Master of Malt but they all appear to be released through independent bottlers. It’s a shame there’s not more push for or variety from this product line, it has demonstrated potential. I bet the 18y is great. Here’s what we thought:

nose
Dan – tobacco, cinnamon, apples (apple pie apples), salt
Simon – apple crisp, pine, sherry, sharp

neat
Dan – buttery, very soft, espresso ice cream with spicy burned wood
Simon – properly assembled scotch, amber ale, mint, honey

finish
Dan – long, numbing
Simon – long, tongue burn, chest warmth

splash
Dan – gets slightly dryer and loses some sweetness
Simon – very smooth, almost disappears

overall
Dan – 7.5/10
Simon – 7.6/10

Strathisla 12y Single Malt Scotch – 40% 700ml – $56.50 – Speyside/Highlands

Try it? Yes! Buy it? On sale.

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