Shieldaig 12 Year Speyside Single Malt

I'm having some fun with 50ml samplers i purchased at Total Wine. This is sampled neat from a glencairn. The nose is very faint and nearly non descript. If I give the whisky a good swirl I'll get notes of pairs, apple and green apple, fruity plums, some briny air, & ethanol. It's certainly a speyside signature, and one that is offering some faint promise of a delicate sipper. The first sip shows this to be delicate for certain. It's quite toned back on arrival and offers just the slightest kiss of fruit. The barrel note is dry with a bitter mid palate that is just a bit softened by a lemon zest blush. All taken, this isn't half bad but it is a bit watery. There's nearly no finish, but what does feebly show up is a glow of powdered ginger that leaves a slight tingle on the back of the tongue. This drinks the 80 proof it is and not a bit more. This is a very soft and innocuous dram. I'm struggling with this one a bit. This is almost good enough to be a mixer, but I believe its just too spineless to handle anything more than a clear and bubbly soda. Certainly Dewar's 12yo is a full head and shoulders bigger in profile and depth of flavor, so that makes this an easily sippable "near" scotch for the times when the palate wants a simpler watercolor interpretation of a speyside malt. A fine choice for the whisky shy and the bite averse, but not a bottle that would entertain a spirited whisky adventurer for more than a moment.

The nose is pretty flat but a heck of a lot better than "The Classic" Shieldaig. It smells kind of generically like feet. The palate is watery and flat, but it has a nice slightly bitter richness with a somewhat balanced sweetness. The flavor is pretty generically scotch without much variation or complexity, but it's not too bad. The palate is so much better than "The Classic" Shieldaig. Compared with Bushmill's Black Bush, the flavor is just a little richer, but it is less complex by a long shot and also a bit mellower. The difference between this and Bushmill's Black Bush is similar to the difference between this and "The Classic" Shieldaig, though a bit less severe. It's a couple things below Glenfiddich 14 for sure, but it's definitely drinkable. For the price difference, it's hard to justify ever getting this instead of the glenfiddich though. The nose is ho-hum, but it doesn't smell bad and has a little sweetness. The palate is decently viscous and inoffensive. It tastes young, but there are some mild elements of various scotch characters to it, with a bit of malt and the coastline coming through alongside some hints of orange. It's not very good, but it's drinkable and could be a good place to start in blending Scotch at home. It's less interesting than Glenfarclas 12, but also less bad, so it gets to claim a slight victory. Slight though - the Glenfarclas Sherry richness is definitely better.

This was a small gift/joke that was given to me by some friends who asked me what they could bring over for dinner (appetizer or dessert). I jokingly said scotch. To our small humored surprise, they did and purchased this 12 year. An ever light nose of simple, baseline aromas: sweetness, fruitiness and cereals. Butterscotch, honey encapsulates the sweetness. Orchard fruits of apples and pears embody the fruits. Barley and oatmeal with a touch of leather captures earthiness. The body is watery thin delivering a handful of flavors; as if the weight of many flavors wouldn’t be able to be supported by the thin body. On the sweeter side of vanilla and honey. The sweetness fades quick and turns slightly spicy with ginger and cinnamon. A mineral, earthy, woody quality comes through at the fade. The finish is simple: drying oak tannins and orange zest with a slight nuttiness that last for a medium length. A simple straightforward dram that does what it was designed to do: easy and enjoyable at a bargain of a price. Can compete with the likes of Glenlivet or Glenfiddich and can save you $10 to $20. [84/100][$32][Tasted: 11/22/19]

Nose - pear, apple, honey, oats, decaying grass, cereal grain, coconut, old wood, white wine, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - pear, coconut, apple juice, wet grass, honey, melon, cereal grain, grape, cinnamon, bitter herbal notes, barrel spice, orange blossom, yeast, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium short with honeyed fruit, dry herbal, and grain flavors. This is definitely a step up from the Shieldaig Classic, but it still tastes young and cheap. Thankfully, spoiled meat and plastic tastes aren’t present here, but there is an off note I can’t quite place. Maybe it’s the decaying grass, bitter herbal, or just a hint of sulphur. Whatever it is, it’s not terrible. There’s still some of that same youthful graininess throughout, but nowhere near as pronounced. At around $35, I wouldn’t call this a rip off, but you can do much better in that range. I won’t spring for a higher age statement version of this, but I imagine the 18+ year expressions might be pretty good.

12 yr single malt scotch for 35 bucks. How bad can it be. Well.... its not bad really just a lot of other offering SM or not are better. This has dank overripe fruits like golden raisins and apples that fell on the ground. There is some spice, a bit of malt(not enough) and barrel influence that supports to an almost bitter level. Flavors are just not very deep and the overall vibe is nothing special. I love scotch so I easily plowed this bottle but would never repurchase. Monkey/Naked/JWB/Chivas12/ Deanston Virgin/Speyburn plus others all superior.............74/100.....drinkable cheap single malt thats all

Nose: Oranges and limes. Caramel. Cut grass. Sugary smell, like the inside of a sweet candy wrapper. Palate: Slightly peaty. Less sweet than the nose, actually somewhat bitter with some waves of sugar here and there. Some spice. Finish: Medium. Warm. Fruity and dry. Less citrusy and more rich berries. Overall Thoughts: Nothing special but nothing I’d refuse. It’s kinda complex and leaves the taster searching. Easily a middle-of-the-road whisky. I would say try this if you’re feeling up for a Speyside, other than that, it’s nothing I’d go out of my way to recommend.