SIA Scotch

A delicate, Blended Scotch Whisky by Carin Luna-Ostaseski in collaboration with Hunter Laing and Co. Ltd.; a blend of Speyside & Highland Single Malts with a touch of Islay added in for a bit of depth & character. It has a delicate birth with notes of lemon zest; mandarin orange & hints of clove; while life gives you a little bite adding notes of caramelized Crème Brûlée, vanilla, toasted walnut bread, a hint of cardamon & smoke; that led to a smooth & almost sweet death with notes of hazelnut. December 2018 / January / April 2019 / February 2020 / October 2021 / August 2022

NOSE Honey, dried orchard fruit, buttery toffee, vanilla cupcakes, banana taffy, graham crackers, and a slight earthy-farmy quality. It’s not super deep, but dang it’s pleasant. PALATE Buttery toffee, orchard fruit, tropical fruit, honey grahams and more of that earthy-farmy hay-like quality. Again, not super deep, but the SIA Blended Scotch is performing well above many others in the category. FINISH Med-short -> Banana chips and buttery toffee fade to earthy maltiness and a slight metallic note.

Initial aroma is loaded with vanilla and caramel. Very faint whisper of smoke. A touch of water opens that up, but ice dulls it. Tasted neat, it is very well balanced. Light in body, and a very smooth, creamy finish. Adding water doesn't change it much, but one square of ice highlighted the smoke and brine. The smoke builds as I get closer to the end of the glass, but never gets intense. Nice easy drinking whisky.

Very simple straight forward dram. Very one note on the nose creamy cereal grain and light sherry. Palate is creamy barley and one note Speyside sherry that swells and fades quickly into a very mild Highland honeysuckle and salty? blend of Speyside Highland and Islay. A good beginner whisky.

Initial notes of apple. Sweet and bright blend. There is not much burn. added a drop of water and the texture turned buttery, bordering on oily. It was not as sweet. Added one ice cube to cool it down and it was better than with just water, but my favorite taste was neat, no water.

Toffee, toasted wood on the nose. Strong wood flavor right off the bat, moves into a little caramel or vanilla and sweetness but a very oaky wood flavor lingers throughout the finish. It’s smooth but I’m yet undecided on the taste.