Pure Scot Virgin Oak 43

Rating: 14/23 I hated the regular Pure Scot. It was an absolutely miserable bottle to work through and a fair amount ended up down the drain. I unfortunately bought this bottle at the same time, so I can only hope that it's a little bit better in some way. N: I get a lot of toasty grain blending into wood. There's a dash of malty sweetness in here and a rich (but not at all floral) vanilla scent. For anyone who struggles to differentiate vanilla from floral scents, this is a great nose to practice on. There's something lightly tart in here too. I wouldn't say there's a ton going on here, but it's rich with some solid notes and it's just interesting enough. I'm (very) cautiously optimistic based on this nose. P: Wow! I can really taste the virgin oak in this. It makes me think of something like Kavalan where a big focus is clearly on sourcing first fill barrels. I get some of that bland lowland character from the regular Pure Scot in here, but I also get tons of robust, sweet vanilla. Surely, this must be American oak. The flavor tends slightly toward maple even at times, reminding me of a smoother, mellower, less tart, and less bitter Balcones Single Malt. The Balcones is more interesting, but it's hard to object to the terrific smoothness here. This is far smoother than the regular Pure Scot, despite being slightly higher proof. It also really reminds me of Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Barrel. Usually, bourbon barrel aging doesn't change the spirit a whole lot (at least compared with something like oloroso or PX sherry), but for these two the American oak really comes through. The sweet vanilla woodiness is stronger here, whereas the spice and tartness are a bit diminished in comparison. There's more going on in the Glenfiddich and it tastes a bit older, but it's hard to argue with the decadent smoothness here. Digging in deeper, I get a little dusty earthiness from the barrel that goes nicely with the bit of toastiness I get from the grain. There's also some nice spiciness that helps cover for the little bit of harshness. I really don't get much in terms of raw alcohol flavor coming through. There's a faint tartness that borders on waxy helping to complete the profile and keeping it from being too sweet. That leads into a little bit of brine, which is connected nicely with the subdued smokiness via a faint herbal flavor. F: It's a mellow finish that continues to emphasize the sweetness along with the wood. The complexity drops out, but it's still pretty enjoyable. - Conclusion - This is a big improvement over the regular Pure Scot. I wouldn't call it great by any means, but regular Pure Scot is young with not a lot of barrel influence. This may still be young, but the fresh oak influence brings in some much needed vanilla sweetness and richness. Scotch isn't usually aged in new oak barrels, so this is actually additionally enjoyable because of how interesting the experience is. This is an easy sipper. I'm looking at a 12 to 16 here. I think that this is probably not as good as the Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Barrel, which I gave a 16. There's plenty of stuff below a 14 that I think this beats though. I think I'm probably going to land on either a 14 to 15 here. Based on my personal experience blending, I can attest that it's hard to highlight the oak sweetness like Bladnoch has done here without also adding a lot of undesireable bitterness. It really tastes like they cycled rapidly through multiple new oak barrels and so I think "luxury" every time I taste this. The underlying spirit isn't anything exciting and the whole product really is a one trick pony, but it's unique and very tasty. Considering the youth and lack of complexity, I think I need to start with a 14, but I'll be trying this again later and I very well may go up from there. For $25, this is a steal!

Yet another blind tasting... Light golden, sparse quick legs. Nose: Butterscotch funk. Then the peat comes through with pleasant phenols but only faint barbecue smoke. There are lovely fruit and vanilla notes - pear, mango, plantain, dark vanilla extract. A hint of earthy wood spice. This is a symphony of aromas in wonderful harmony. Heavy mouthfeel with fried plantains and a bit of smoke from the oil burning in the pan. Oh this goes on and on... it sticks to every corner of the mouth. Bits of butterscotch, walnut and oak flicker in and out. The phenols come out with subsequent sips but are never outdone with rich, heavy sweet notes. There is nothing burnt here. No ash. No embers. All is in balance. The finish is sticky and sweet, just slightly dark and goes on for several minutes. There is no heat in the chest or nares. Everything about this dram is pleasant. Impression: This dram doesn’t have a single rough edge. It is elegant, proper and doesn’t rely on a fancy barrel finish or cloud of smoke. While the fruit that the nose offered up never landed as discrete flavors on the palate I don’t really miss the notes so much as I enjoy the chord. Empty glass is filled with wet tobacco, caramel and sea salt. Reveal: Pure Scott Virgin Oak Another generous sample from @Contemplativefox. And this is one I’ve never heard of. Being that it is a blend it has some unfair advantages and likely explains the balance. I should have been suspicious as the balance is almost a little too good. It reminds me of JW green label but with a butterscotch hard candy or two dissolved into the mix. The sweet, coating finish on this is really enjoyable (for a bourbon drinker). The virgin American oak really showcases the vanilla and caramel sugar qualities I love. Not ashamed to say this is now among my favorite blends. I looked up reviews of their base product and doesn’t seem to receive much love. I will say if you like bourbon that this virgin oak expression is one to consider! Considering price I would go a quarter point up. Considering that this is a blend - well is that an unfair advantage or does blending itself deserve some credit? I'm almost ashamed to rate this as highly as I do but on a personal, superficial level I truly enjoy it.

"Pure Scot" is Bladnoch's owners brand of blended whiskies. With beautiful, heavy bottles, they are trying to compete with some dinosaurs of the Blended Scotch Market. "Virgin oak 43" is one of their first expressions, the other two that i know are "signature blend" which i already reviewed and "Midnight Peat" which seems interesting. Lets get into business. Bottled at 43%abv, where it gets its name, this bottle has a burnished gold color. As soon as you uncork it you get this bourbonish aroma. On the nose, lots of american whiskey notes. Red chilli peppers, prunes and a bloody mary coctktail. Thick vanilla, Bbq sauce; hints of coconut. Feels a little young. Letting it breath will turn it to an exact cherry coca cola, not Dr. Pepper. Very grapy. It got a lot better. Thick very thick caramel. On the palate it is nice. Vanilla, new wood, wood polisher, prunes, chilli. Second sip was a toffee hard candy, spiciness has been tamed. Sour and bitter. A third sip was super sweet; all the sourness and bitternes appear if you hold it for 10 seconds. Toffee. Aftertaste is a little surprising and rewarding. Sawdust, hints of vanilla. Oaky, hints of tobacco. On the second sip it gave me something that i can only describe as "smoked almonds" (if such thing even exists), hints of milk chocolate. Overall, the virgin oak has left it a very bourbonish profile. If i were on a blind tasting event, i would have guessed this dram as an american whiskey. It is a solid, enjoyable dram, but intended to be drank by Johnnie Walker or Chivas drinkers. Not bad at all, i am actually going to work my way to the end of the bottle whenever i feel like having a normal dram, maybe in the beach. My score for it is 83 over 100.

Very enjoyable and definitely good enough to sip neat, particularly considering the very reasonable price. Taste provides a nice balance of many aspects; a little smoke, oak, brine, sweet, fruit.... nothing to excess but a pleasant bit of everything.

Light bronze color, fruity, notes of walnut and burnt sugar. Red apple and ginger, slightly smoky finish.

Cheap, buttery blended scotch whisky with a hint of BBQ smoke, not nearly enough to save it.