The Antiquary is a blended whisky brand owned by the same company which owns the Tomatin distillery. I have previously looked at a cheaper version when I wrote The Antiquary 12 Year Old. That was a cheap blend which I quite liked, when you add Claret casks though it stops being a traditional style blended whisky and into the same block of strong wine or sherry influenced blended whiskies. Could this be a mistake?

The Whisky

For around £45 you get a combination of Highland and Speyside malts and Lowland grains that spent at least 15 years maturing with a finish and marrying period in Claret from Bordeaux.

I can’t say I have ever seen a bottle of this in a shop so the distribution must be very small in the UK at least. However, the massive online retailers do carry some bottles if you want to pick one up.

Tasting Notes

Colour	orange
Nose	took a lot to tease very much out of the glass. Wet cardboard, black tea, a raw chemical petrol smell and orange blossoms
Palate	raspberry tea which reminded me of Mrs Malted being pregnant, honey, nutmeg and vanilla pods
Finish	A little bit of soot, more tea leaves, stale cigs and plum pudding

Where Can I Buy?

Master of Malt – Blended Whisky

Final Thoughts

I can’t say this did much for me, it’s fine and would work in a pub or restaurant but a full bottle would bore me. Can’t really think of a cocktail or drink it would enhance either