Saturday, November 27, 2010

Speyburn 10yr


Speyburn Single Malt 10yr, 43% alv, abc stock #006106 $25.95

Tasting Notes: Nose Fresh, clean and aromatic with a rich lemony fruitiness.

Colour Pale gold with amber highlights.

Taste Medium-bodied with a delicate, fruity character and a dry, warm, peaty finish.


Intro: for $26, I decided to take a chance. For some reason, I've become leary of Scotches sold in a tin package. This time around, we have 4 'testers', all with varying experience with Scotch. Let's see how Jen, Tyler, Tylers brother Chris, and myself find the Speyburn 10yr single malt.

Nose and straight up:

Nathan: On the nose, it smells rather sweet, reminding me of something between the Scapa and Glenfiddich. Slight spice, maybe some vanilla. As I take my 1st sip, I breath in some honey and I anticipate an antisepticy taste. It is sweet, but not as sweet as I expected. Definitely not as sweet as the Scapa, nor it is very antisepticy. It has a dry, yet warm finish. I may have to create a new classification for some Scotches, like a desert scotch. The Speyburn 10yr would easily fit into this category.

Jen: With the initial smell I pick up the sweetness of vanilla and a hint of smooth honey. When my lips hit the glass I can immediately feel the tingle of the spice, the sweet taste of vanilla and honey fill my mouth as it sits and going down a lingering warmness fills my body.

Tyler: Lingering warmness, indeed. I'm liking it, but I think I'm going to prefer this over ice, rather than neat. I smell a hayride through an orange grove, I think.

Chris: I like it. Does that help?

On the rocks:

Nathan: On the rocks, it is smoother. I get no antiseptic taste, but I also don't get the incoming aromas or warmness. On the rocks may be good for me during times of indigestion/reflux, but otherwise for the time being, I like this scotch straight up. On the rocks, this would be great to give to someone who isn't a scotch drinker. It calms the burn down, chills it, but still has flavors of vanilla and honey. Not as much as it does straight up, but that's ok.

Jen: The nose is a little less antiseptic iced down, still picking up the sweetness but the ice definitely cuts back on the intensity of the vanilla and honey aromas. When it hits my mouth I pick up a slight sweetness and going down it cuts back on the warmness and spice. In my opinion with this being a more mild Scotch icing it down mellows it out a bit too much for my taste...thus I prefer it straight up.

Tyler: Much better. Far easier to drink, but I'm still thinking I'm going to like it with a bigger ice/scotch ratio. Still smells like a hay ride, which is not a bad thing at all, and should not be taken as such. I would be happy to keep drinking this without club soda*. I suspect (given the price) that it would also be good with soda, but it's nice to know that this could be good either way.

*Screw you, I LIKE scotch and soda. I will not apologize for that.

Chris: I like it better straight

Diluted (1/1 ratio):

Nathan: Diluted may be too much. I can't smell anything worthwhile. Even color wise, it looks too pale. Drinking, it is way too light. A bit of a pinch, no real flavor, with a slight after taste of...heather?

If I were to try this diluted again, I'd either change the ratio, or not dilute it at all. I don't think this one needs any dilution.

Jen: Going into this I knew that diluted with a 1/1 ratio would be a bit too much for this Scotch...but for the love of Science and consistency with our blog the show must go on! This is a very mild Scotch and diluted with 1oz of water takes the aromas and tastes completely out of it. So straight up it is for me!

Tyler: I guess, as the resident “diluter”, I'm going to be the only one that likes it this way. Believe me, I can appreciate the strongest flavored scotch neat, in all it's glory. But I'm also plenty comfortable with the fact that just a hint of scotch flavor is also delicious. And this really isn't bad with water. I think all the flavors are there, they are just dulled severely. I was just hit with the idea of trying this in a Rob Roy... Hmm... I'ma go look for some sweet vermouth

Chris: Tastes like water!


Overall, I am impressed with this $25 single malt in a tin container. I think I'll keep this one stocked, as it is pretty good, especially for the price. It's not bad in a Rob Roy either.