McClelland's Single Malt Highland

Lighter-bodied with a floral and honey prominent nose, hints of hay, and, to me, a slight scent reminiscent to that chocolatey air at Hershey Park/The Hershey Lodge (call it specific, but it is just BARELY there!) Taste-wise, not all too impressive. It's got a fair grass and honey-like sweetness, which isn't bad by any means, very light smokiness and a touch of oaky woodiness. Add a small bit of ice or a few mL of cold water, and the bite is rather nonexistent, but the flavor profile opens up tremendously. There is more vanilla, honey, and that slight woodiness with that small touch of water. The finish is fairly short, the brine and peat undertones are the last to linger, and they're hardly relevant to this single malt highland whisky, though they are in there somewhere. For the price, I was not disappointed, but I certainly wasn't surprised. Great for easing a scotch-newby into the finer things, good for an inexpensive night to one's self, or to share with a few other folks at a time, and certainly best for a break from errands, work around the house, hobbies, or having a drink that you don't have to pay much attention to. Overall, it's a decent buy, but I wouldn't exactly go out of my way to make it a part of my collection.

Over the last few days, I have been visiting family in GA. During that time some of the Scotch drinkers in the family have been sharing their favorites and/or their go-to bottles with me and I have been sharing my Bourbons and Gins with them. It is one of my favorite ways to have a family reunion. Anyway, my dad brings out this bottle of McClelland's Highlands Single Malt for us to try and it has been sitting for so long that the cork breaks apart and pieces fall into the bottle. After filtering all of the cork out of the scotch and cleaning the bottle we all had a glass before dinner and it was a wonderful surprise. Neat I can taste a nice fruitiness and some wood and maybe smoke. Over ice, it is even better with the sharp taste I associate with scotch smoothed out and some other flavors moving forward. Between this and Glenmorangie 10yr I am beginning to see why people drink scotch. I am looking forward to trying the other 3 McClelland expressions I read the reviews and will add them to the list of scotches to try and hopefully by Christmas I will have 2 or 3 of the bottles to review. Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Enjoy.

Appearance: The color of this highland representative is a light gold, Thin legs stick to the inside of the glass. Nose: The nose is simple but pleasant with notes of flowers, cut hay, light peat, honey, some maltiness, with some spiky sharp notes in there as well. Taste: On the palate the taste is also simple - fruity and sweet with notes of honey, grass and hay, various herbs, and I think a random note of pineapple. Finish: The short to medium finish leaves some heat and a malty honey aftertaste. Thoughts: This young NAS single malt made by Glen Garioch is, in my opinion, a decent bottom shelf single malt. I bought this for a friend to celebrate his newborn son and he loved it! (My friend did too!) There are obviously better options out there, but for sub $30, it’s not half bad. Sláinte!

This is my first real dud as far as Scotch goes. Get the Speyside, and not this one. The fusels are way too hot, with a burn that is so grainy and intense I had to verify the proof/abv. The flavor lacks any real character, with the exception of some rubber, plastic, and medicinal rubbing alcohol and some mild dried flowers. Plenty of heat, but almost no smoke. There is a musty staleness that is hard to shake. A droplet does mitigate some of the unpleasantness but doesn't improve any of the flavors. I will give this another shot because I wonder if the salad I ate is somehow coloring my experience here, but based on other reviews I would say that doesn't seem to be the case.

This is a delightfully easy sipper, though it lacks the complexities found in such Highlands as Macallan. The nose is 90% floral, with some fruity undertones and slight hints of caramel sweets. The palate is greeted with much of the same - I even think of floral tastes from gin. The burn is practically nonexistent and it goes down easy. This Scotch would make a great introductory piece for new drinkers, and I believe it would be a great entryway for those currently versed in Bourbons. The sweetness is there, but there is no onslaught of peat and brine to upset a virgin palate. The rating as an overall Scotch is lower, but for the price point, this is a solid 3.5-star.

This was my first try at a single malt, after mostly drinking bourbon and rye whiskey. I tried it because it was inexpensive. On the nose it was very floral and over ripe fruit and intense sweetness Tasting was very unpleasant. The fruit and floral notes were there but everything seemed.... off. It was like artificial fruit flavors, or maybe canned fruit. The floral notes were there too but again they seemed artificial and chemical-ish. It reminded me slightly of the scented soap my grandmother used to have on the back of the toilet. It also had a sweetness but not like a honey or sugar or caramel sweetness, but artificial. It was like sugar-free fruit candy.