Teacher’s Highland Cream with Davey & Alex

It’s been a while since we did an actual scotch here at iScotch. Like, two months. We’ve really burned through a lot of what’s available nearby, going to have to start going further afield soon.

But, in the meantime, here’s a cheap twisty blend from the bottom shelf at the LCBO – Teacher’s Highland Cream. I had long thought the brand name was more related to who should purchase for stashing in their classroom desks, but apparently this whisky is another family endeavour.

Head’s up – every goddamn whisky is a family endeavour, even or especially the corporate ones. But I did dig a little deeper. Weirdly, their website is offered in both English and Russian – that would be suggestive of their markets. Their age verification didn’t bat an eye at my stated birth date of September 9 1000.

What is interesting is that Ardmore is apparently the backbone of this blend. What’s also interesting is that the website claims this is a 45% beverage, while the photo in this bog clearly says 40%. The photo on their website is inconclusive. I’m not sure if that’s out of date marketing material, or if there’s different blends for different geographies. I would say I’d be curious to try examples from other places if I hadn’t already tried this one. Here’s what we thought:

colour
Davey – light amber
Simon – dark pine
Alex – dark straw, amber

nose
Davey – smells like it’s meant to be drunk
Simon – corn, tequila, shine
Alex – sour candies, beard

neat
Davey – watery
Simon – much nicer than smell
Alex – smooth

finish
Davey – lemon cough medicine – maybe rocks would be better
Simon – light burn
Alex – smooth peat washes over

splash
Davey – makes it stronger?
Simon – not better, sweet but astringent
Alex – prefer without

Teacher’s Highland Cream Blended Scotch – 40% 750ml – $24.95 – Highlands

Try it? No. Buy it? No.