Ladies and Gentlemen, I am the man called Justice and this week the Booze Reviews Crew is bringing you a particularly special treat. Its been a long time coming, but today we bring you Chivas Regal 18 year blended scotch whiskey. Before you ask, yes this is a liquor that deserves to have its full name used. Now I am a lover of high grade scotches, and though I can’t claim to have tried as many as the Buffalo, I have sampled a fairly robust number of scotches. That being said, there are few blended scotches which have tried which rival the flavor of this one. Off the top of my head only Johnny Walker Blue Label is a scotch I’ve tried better than this one (though that really isn’t a fair example).
We sat down in the Buffalo lounge on that fateful Tuesday night, we had high hopes for the beverage set before us. Our expectations were not only met, but surpassed. Among the Booze reviews crew we’d always seen blended scotches as somewhat lower quality than single malts. This was a scotch that seemed determined to prove that stigma wrong. This scotch could give some of my favorite single malts a serious run for their money.
So that’s what I have to say about this delicious drink, but now its time to have the bottle to speak for itself.
What they say: “Chivas Brothers’ Master Blender has hand selected whiskies for their exceptional richness to create this very special blend – Chivas Regal Gold Signature 18 Years old.”
Now this bottle speaks highly of itself, the wank isn’t too over the top when speaking of scotches, but its still up there. However, after trying this scotch I can say without a doubt that this is some of the most well merited wank I’ve seen on a bottle. I won’t go into too much detail, the metrics make our opinions on this fine spirit quite clear.
Scores: (This is against blended scotches)
Taste: 8.75 – This is one of the areas where this scotch shined, this whiskey hit the pallet with a pleasant full and robust flavor, enough said. “Taste is nice and smooth.” “A much fuller taste than younger Chivas’.”
Aftertaste: 7.375 – The aftertaste was something of a polarized issue. I personally found it to almost exceed the normal taste. Many of us felt the same, however the buffalo was not a fan, as he felt there was a fruitiness to the aftertaste which conflicted with the smokiness.
Burn/Smooth:9 – “Like there’s a delicious tickle followed by a nice warm feeling, but a burn? I think not.”
Aroma:8.33 –“This smells quite good, nice hint of sweetness and smoke.” “Very good for a blended scotch.”
Honesty: 8.75 – “I like my scotch like I like my women, 18 and legal.” “The seal, the bottle, the text and box are very classy.” “The bottle just looks great.” “The signature of the master blender really works on the bottle.” “We even enjoy the color scheme, and being a 18 year old scotch even blended means it doesn’t lose a step.”
Mixability: 8.25
Scotch on the Rocks: 9.125 – This improves the taste and even the Buffalo was satisfied with the aftertaste now.
Godfather:9.25 –This is where the scotch mixes best, this really improves both things and makes it just a fantastic drink. Possible on of the best mixed drinks we’ve ever had.
Rusty Nail:6.375 – Solid drink, nothing spectacular, but not bad.
Value: 6.875 – The value contends with what else you can get, and also the 12 year being $31. However in terms of taste it makes up for lost points.
Google Shop Average: $64
Website: http://www.chivas.com/
Reviewer Scores:
William Henri Neve the IV: 8.5
Justice: 8.5
BuffaloJern: 7.5
DJ_Lvl: 8
Swetta Vest: Is not here due to a bad case of antibiotics and cock-sucking.
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Metric Score: 57.33/70 |+| Metric Average: 8.19 |+| Reviewer Average:8.125
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Final Thoughts:
There really aren’t too many words to be said after that. Chivas Regal 18 year is a fine example of a higher end blended scotch whiskey. It goes down smooth by itself, on the rocks, or as a component in another of your favorite scotch centric beverages. At a price on a level with many single malt scotches it stands a head above its peers. I highly recommend this as a special occasion scotch, its reasonably priced and tastes absolutely amazing. Enough said.
William: “What a great birthday gift my parents gave me”.
Justice: “What a damn good blended scotch, I can’t say anything else it would cheapen it.”
Everyone: “18 Yo!”