Cutty Sark

Nose: Honey, grain forward, citrus, slight brine, oil, and generic herbal and floral notes. Taste: Sweet honey paired with tart lemon peel, brine, slight pepper, oily, slight fruit (could be pear?), generic herbal notes. Final notes: I'm going to be frank. Cutty Sark is pretty much point A to point B on the nose and taste. There is no bloom, no flurry, no surprises. It is simply monotone, absolutely no peaks or lows, just monotone. It's like the yard-gar (yard cigar) of scotches. Pleasant enough to enjoy but nothing special and does not break the bank. However, there is still a lot going for me in this whisky. One, by far my favorite scotch for under $20. I can mix it without sacrificing a $50 bottle and I can also still sip it neat and still enjoy it without having to think too hard. It's also just very easy sipping with no burn. It doesn't have near the amount of shiny grain-forwardness that makes other cheap blended scotches rather unpleasant for me personally. It also has particular notes that I really do enjoy, they just happen to be rather thin in profile. Those notes include the combination of the sweet honey, lemon peel, and brine. That being said, a 3.25/5 rating seems appropriate and anything higher would be a far stretch but anything less seems rather unfair for what this budget blend brings to the table. If I had a friend who wanted to try a scotch but their other whisky experiences were generally Jack and Jameson and I didn't want to pour them a $50 that they may or may not like, I'd pour them Cutty Sark. Old Fashioned Recipe: Pour on a large cube of ice. Barspoon (or 2) of simple syrup, 2-3 dashes of mint bitters+dash of Angostura (I used homemade clove bitters), 1.5-2oz Cutty Sark. Stir. Orange peel twist to garnish (lemon peel works too).

So Im trolling TW in Selma, TX late on a Friday afternoon cause I35 is so jammed up might as well pull off and peruse fine spirits. Lately they have had some sale tags and Im a value shopper so hell yeah. Spotted this well known bottom shelfer that ive never had on sale for 11.99 so thought wtfn and grabbed it. The tasting notes listed here by Steph are actually pretty on the mark with the lemon/honey/fruit vibe and some light malt and char. There is decent amount of flavor and its nowhere near the total rat piss I thought it would be. The dreaded grain alcohol takes over the finish as expected with a low end blend but Im drinking it neat. That is not the purpose of this, it was designed to be mixed and if thats you by all means do it up. Its better than mixing with vodka imo as this has some taste and is aged some at least. For 12-15 bucks its a go but get to 20 ish and there are better options. Im glad I tried it but will never buy again.......70/100......respectable enough blend that you dont have to spit out neat

I've done a complete 180° about Cutty. You see, when you're obstinate, and you only see mixers as Ginger Ale and Cola, you limit your own palate. When I starting realizing soda and lime, and Tonic, it really opened up my sense of taste. Cutty Sark goes well with Soda,especially with Lime, but excels with Tonic. That 'lemon toddy' flavor Stephanie spoke about marries well with a good quality Indian Tonic, like Fever Tree. Schweppes works well with it, too. I found myself refreshed by the combination,and wondering how I could have been so blind,when I did my earlier review? My only fear now is whether or not La Martiniquaise changed its flavor profile; like I said,a total 180° turn!

Simple and soft, it is not a bad dram at all. Just simple. Bottled at 40%abv, with a pale staw color. On the nose is very dim, with notes of stinky peat, tobacco, pepper, salt, sea aroma, vanilla and chocolate lindt. On the palate is normal but fine, with caramel, liquorice, pepper, tobacco, and the finish is sweet & salty, with a mild hotness, and chocolate lindt. Overall this one is a 75 over 100.

Cutty Sark is a regular due to its versatility and VFM - ¥1,100 here in Japan, about $8 a bottle. Makes a great Highball with some sparkling water with lemon. Drunk neat there's a nice cereal note, a hint of vanilla and a touch of smoke. My American friend (of a certain age) swears by his Cutty & soda, and it's easy to see why. Hits the spot every time.

Nose: smells like straight up tequila. Wtf. It says honey, citrus, and char… yeah… tequila… straight up college-vomit tequila. Palate: tastes pleasantly more like whiskey than I was expecting. Harshly scotch-flavored. I thought I liked scotch once… which was before I tried bourbon. Finish: Smokey, peaty… gross. Just gross.