Old St Andrews 3 Year Old Blended

Old St Andrews is a small blending company in London that offered its whisky in a golf ball shaped bottle until recently. So it is clear who the demographic is, I suppose. But is the whisky any good, that is the question. To be honest, I had not yet heard of them until I was given a box with three miniatures, packaged in plastic cask replicas. Let us start with their 3 year old blend, bottled in 1991.

It is quite sharp on the nose. That does not come as a surprise if you realize this is only three years old. Loads of neutral grain whisky, no doubt. I get mostly caramel, oranges and a tiny bit of smoke.

On the palate, this is a big let-down. Bubblegummy, floral (almost FWP) and honeysweet. The fruit remains oranges, but the off-notes overpower the whole.

In the finish, which is mercifully short, the smokiness reappears, making it tolerable at least.

A gimmicky dram in a fun package, but not worth the effort whisky-wise.