Grangestone 12 YO Single Malt

The reviewed sample was provided compliments of @MarsViolet, and was decanted approximately 1 year ago from a recently opened bottle. Grangestone is an independent bottling sold by Total Wine and More stores, in different age categories. Total Wine has amassed a good bit of ill will because of its practice of having its employees pushing its proprietary bottlings of whisky at its stores

Nose: sweet, a little floral, fruity of peach, apples, pear, and grapes. No real peat or smoke. Mild-mannered malt. Mellow flavours, good strength of flavours, and very pleasant...much better than I expected from all of the opprobrium and customer backlash which this company and this label have received. This could be Speyside, Highland, or Lowland whisky

Taste: strong flavours with an edge of sharp barley and sour fruit, mostly sour citrus and some grape-wine flavours. There is plenty of laudable intensity here, but the flavours are on the rough side. I'll bet that this would be good on-the-rocks or maybe vatted with other whiskies

Finish: better than the palate, because it loses the sour and keeps a bit of the sweet and bitter in a satisfactory balance

Balance: so-so balance, just ok; mostly the sour is just too much in the mouth

I had no idea what to expect from this whisky. I think that for the small price it costs that it would be very acceptable when used creatively, i.e. vatted, or in some other way treated so that its flavourfulness is used to full advantage while balancing out its roughness and sourness