Whisky Connosr
Menu
Buy Whisky Online

McClelland's Islay Single Malt

Interesting, if somewhat unbalanced

2 1176

@OdysseusUnboundReview by @OdysseusUnbound

28th Jan 2018

0

McClelland's Islay Single Malt
  • Nose
    19
  • Taste
    20
  • Finish
    20
  • Balance
    17
  • Overall
    76

Show rating data charts

Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

This whisky was a gift from my wife, but I’ll attempt to be objective nonetheless. Depending on which online source you trust, this young Bowmore is anywhere from 3 to 7 years old. There are a lot of interesting notes here, but the balance is really lacking.

Tasting Notes

  • Nose (undiluted): honey sweetness, light smoke, raw chocolate chip cookie dough (seriously, it’s uncanny), black tea that was steeped too long.
  • Palate (undiluted): medium to light bodied, a bit thin, lots of cereal sweetness, milk chocolate, more black tea, a bit of raw almonds
  • Finish: medium-short with light smoke returning and barley sweetness lingering.

Adding water didn’t change the taste much, it just got more watery. Ice, however, made things interesting. The black tea note disappeared, but the smoke seemed to get “thicker” with ice. This whisky was also quite pleasant (dare I say it?) as a mixer. There’s a time and place for every whisky, and I feel that this is a better “background” whisky than a star in its own right.

Related McClelland's reviews

11 comments

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

"There’s a time and place for every whisky"

OK. I challenge you to find a time and a place for LAMBERTUS

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@Nozinan Our next meet-up ! Maybe it’s the appropriate whisky to serve when trying to tell someone “the party’s over”.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@NamBeist
NamBeist commented

Time for Lambertus ? When hell freezes over

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@NamBeist even then.....?

6 years ago 3Who liked this?

@MadSingleMalt
MadSingleMalt commented

@OdysseusUnbound, damn you and your raw cookie dough! I vowed never to buy this again, but that's a flavor that could possibly pry another $13 out of my hand one day.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@MadSingleMalt I swear, it’s the closest thing I can use to describe that note. Weird, but interesting.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@MadSingleMalt
MadSingleMalt commented

Maybe a little Laphroaig & cookie dough ice cream would do the trick.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote commented

@OdysseusUnbound The only way I could get rid of mine (other than the drain) was the same way I got rid of my Bowmore 12: I mixed it with a good shot of Laph QC. Sorry brother, but I could find no good reason for this stuff to exist. I know this sounds a bit snotty, and I know you are far more receptive to a wide variety of malts at various price points than I am, but for me life is too short to drink stuff (I was going to say shit) like this. But I think your review is very perceptive and I commend you for your broad mindedness when it comes to malts like this and Bowmore 12.

Cheers

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@BlueNote No worries, brother. I’m very open-minded and I live by my late grandfather’s maxim (adapted somewhat as he was a beer drinker):

There are no bad whiskies, only some that you like more than others

I would likely buy this again, as I can imagine it would work well in a cocktail or as a “background whisky”. It won’t replace Uigeadail on my list of favourites, but it’s not as expensive or difficult to obtain.

6 years ago 3Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@OdysseusUnbound

"There are no bad whiskies, only some that you like more than others"

Spoken by a man who never tasted Lambertus...

6 years ago 4Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@Nozinan Once I do taste it, I may review it here and score it 100 just to piss everyone off! laughing

6 years ago 0