Continuing our coverage of Old St. Andrews (we promise there’s something in the works so we can keep reviewing as many whiskies as we do, while not supplanting everything else) we move from the 10 Year to the Clubhouse. Another blend, but without a year, meaning there are some young bucks in this one.
Not to spoil the following week, but of the three from Old St. Andrews’, this was certainly the favourite. Whiskies can often be powerful, or smoky, or hot, but it’s lovely to find a nice warm scotch. What kills us is that the near odourless smell just ruins the experience of sipping this near a fire with friends as they so clearly want you to do.
What they Say: “An exceptional blend of rich fruit flavours balanced with an undertone of sweet spiciness that leaves a fresh mouthwatering finish. The perfect accompaniment to an evening with friends. The rich and fruity one.”
Taste: 7.5 – Warm is the right way to describe this, almost like a cinnamon and spice. Like if it had been mulled nicely. It’s certainly enjoyable.
Aftertaste: 7.0 – That sort of continues here, but there’s an intake of more spice to be had, and it sort of stays there on your lips.
Burn/Smooth: 5.0 – There is a twinge of burn at the end, but overall it’s calming so that helps.
Aroma: 2.0 – Nothing. It smells like almost nothing, which when taken into account the alcohol and colour is – jarring. You can get merely a wisp of something but (confirming via smelling some other whiskey) it’s near odourless which is not what you want in a whiskey.
Honesty: 7.0 – It’s again odd compared to last week’s twilight, but the text here is less verbose, and true. The imagery of this warm dram being shared on an evening with friends rings true instead of hollow.
Mixability: 5.0
W/ Rocks: 5.0 – Interesting. It loses the burn and that initial taste carrying it only to the aftertaste. It’s shorter and oddly the spice and other factors make it more Anejo tequila-like. It’s not preferable though and overall is worse on ice.
Value: 6.0 – While less expensive than the 10-year Twilight this is only an above okay value. It tastes good neat which is the important part here, but there are better things at this price point, and the way ice ruins it instead of merely changing it is sad.
Google Shop Average: $32
Website: http://osawhisky.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 6.0
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Metric Score: 39.5/70 |+| Metric Average: 5.64 |+| Reviewer Average: 6.0
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Final Thoughts: It’s better than the 10 years, cheaper than the other 2 of the 3, and is a good tasting neat scotch. It has it’s faulting sure, and there are certainly some better-blended scotches since this isn’t even worthy of year, but it’s worth having.
