For Day 4 we are back to solid ground and a whisky from Scotland. While the sector might be well known this distillery certainly is not. These are the kind of distilleries you can explore with a scour through the shelves of independent bottlings. There is a wider array of producers out there than the ones which have expensive single malt brands and companies like Boutique-y Whisky or Claxtons  can give you new experiences normally with decent value thrown in as well.

The Distillery

The Teaninich distillery dates back to 1817 when it was built my a Mr Hugh Munro on his own estate. The estate and distillery are in the town of Alness in the North East of Scotland near the Dalmore and Invergordan distilleries

The original distillery was mothballed in the 1980’s with the current distillery being built in the 1970’s. It is a huge volume producer for Diageo and produces almost entirely for the blend portfolio. As a result it is not a well known distillery and has no visitor centre or brand ambassador to push sales.

The Dram

Another high strength bottle at 47.8% ABV and a natural translucent colour as well. There was a refill cask used for the 11 years of maturation and I would suggest that cask was pretty well done by this point given the colour. I can’t find it on the Master of Malt website anymore so it looks like all the bottles are gone. I would imagine it sold for around the 35 pounds mark which would be decent value for something 11 years old.

Tasting Notes

Colour – just off water

Nose – a very delicate nose with a touch of chemical acetone and pear drops. The syrup out of tinned fruit and faint acidic spirit notes are there but not offensive or harsh

Palate – even with water this is sharp. lots of whisky white spirit notes of grass, apples lemons, grapefruit. I tried Kingsbarns new make at the distillery when i visited years ago. My recollection of that experience doesn’t seem any different to this dram even after those 11 years.

Finish – chilli heat is all that lasts on the finish. There are more citric fruits but really its just still a bit of a punchier whisky.

Final Thoughts

This isn’t for me there is spirit led and then there is just spirit. As far as new make flavours go though this is good whisky. I have tried some like Tamdhu for example which are too yeasty and bready to drink alone in my opinion at least. This is a fruity and pear drop-y spirit and one which must be going a good trade for the blend portfolio at Diageo. I can’t say I would be quickly getting through a bottle of this if it was in the cupboard though.