Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Malt Mission 2008 #306


Grand Macnish
Blended Scotch Whisky
40% abv

£15
$22.75 (CAD)


Right, let's get back to the Malt Mission. In no particular order, here come some tasty treats starting with Grand Macnish today, a blend I bought in Ontario some time ago. Will try to get a few MMs done before I am off to Scotland for ten days. Am certain I will try some treats while there, as well.

If you know Dr. Whisky at all then you will know how he loves the obscure no-age-statement blended whiskies to be found in various markets across the globe. Though, Grand Macnish isn't exactly obscure. Created by Robert Macnish in 1863, this blend is no longer easily found in all markets, although it has been consitstently produced for 145 years. Hemingway even wrote about it in 1954 and was an avid fan of its nectar. Or maybe the dimples in the bottle just served well as a pillow for passing out on the beach.

Tasted with IM.

TASTING NOTES:

Old leather coats, bananas, has a congnac-y edge. Some citrus fruits, red grapes and caramel. Still some musty vintage clothes shop and a bit like Inder's memory of a doctor's office when growing up, "Dr. Ham, if you must know."

Toffeed and generally sweet with a corn flour element. Salt and vanilla, a mix of spices. Quite a long finish of sweet and dry woody impressions with gentle smoke.

SUMMARY:

Some off-notes on the nose, for sure, but a pretty decent drop with a big and confident, if simple, finish. Great value and ridiculously retro bottle: you will either dig the dimples or not. And on that point, are there any practical point to them or are they simply for design?

Malt Mission #305
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Malt Mission #308
Malt Mission #309
Malt Mission #310

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2 comments:

Matthew said...

This bottle has been in the roster of my parent's liquor cabinet for many years. And I love the bottle! Don't ever change it, Grand Daddies!

Unknown said...

Dr. Ham would approve of this whisky, without a shadow of doubt. Of course, I'm not sure he'd approve of how much we "sampled" to produce these tasting notes...

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