Antiquary 12 Year

I bought The Antiquary Blended Scotch Whisky for the bottle and label design alone. To no one's surprise, I went weak in my knees for its Victorian font and the embossed geometric cut bottle sealed the deal. This 12 year old offering has a faint scent of whispering smoke over salted caramel. The nose does deepen slightly over time with honey, barley and light mustiness. While neat, I'm struck by a similar savory-sweet tango dancing in front of a background of gentle pepper and peat. I enjoy its smooth, medium bodied mouthfeel. That main flavour disappears quickly amidst a moderate length, drying finish of subtle oak and fruit salad. Like when a great song abruptly changes when you're dancing with the perfect partner, it's a bit disappointing. This feels like an "easy" whisky for folks who would prefer less intrusive flavours and finishes. I'd consider this as a sweet-inspired inexpensive weeknight dram that grows on you while you drink it. The Antiquary's bottle is a striking addition to a bar, but I wish the top had a cork rather than a twist top with plastic insert pourer. Have you tried this fancy looking bottle? 7/10

I like the regular Tomatin 12 years and thus figured that the Antiquary would be nice as well. It turned out to be a tiny dissapointment and it even took me some more time than average to finish this bottle. Light and slightly sweet nose containing melted sugar, syrup and a whiff of campfire. Smells beautifully and becomes a bit richer once it has had some time to suck up some oxygen. Fruit appears. But then the dissapointment comes for me when the first sip is taken. Fairly flat taste with brown sugar, a bit of toffee. Liquorice. Hint of metal. But it just doesn't come out. It's too shallow. No depth or layers. Bitter aftertaste. Bit floral. Grainy. No, not my bottle. It ain't completely terrible but there is much more to get for this price.

A tasty little fellow. The Antiquary 12yo is very "grainy" on the nose but the peatiness on the palate delivers a good experience for any whisky drinker. This is a Blended scotch whisky thay belongs to Tomatin. Bottled at 40%abv On the nose, grain whisky. Lots of it. Butter Grain whisky aroma; Chocolate brownie and Lemon. On the palate it is very very good. Only four notes but very well done. Vanilla, Coffee, Dulce leche and mild Peat. Delicious. Aftertaste grain whisky returns but the peatiness hangs in there. Butter, vanilla and peat. Overall this is a normal blended scotch, its hints of peat help a lot. 81 over 100.

This is not available in my area, so I shipped it in from a California source when they had it on sale. Wow! What a bargain! It pours neat a dark amber. It must have a fairly high proportion of malts in the blend---I swear it has some legs. Nose is sweet malt/citrus with a small touch of peat. Those hold true on the tongue as well--and linger on a smooth rich finish. I prefer this to Chivas 12. I think I like this and Dewar's 12 equally--but they taste different--so, I will keep both on hand.

Nose: Honey, malt loaf, baking spices. Very light Palate: Oak, dusty, dry brandy, apples, pears, floral, caramel Finish: Medium long finish. Oak and caramel, sweet (but strangely drying). Citrus and candied fruit on the aftertaste. A nice, if unremarkable, easy drinking dram. Slightly unusual, in that it has a drier note than many blends, although it is still a fairly sweet whisky.

My diamond in the rough (heck, even the bottle is shaped as such). Incredibly tasty blend, outrageously unknown, and only 20 euros! Better than most entry-level single malts, for half the price. Why haven't you bought a bottle yet?! Best accompanied by Pusherman from Curtis Mayfield.