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Old St. Andrews Miniature

Scotch in a Golf Ball?

0 176

@talexanderReview by @talexander

20th Sep 2016

0

  • Nose
    21
  • Taste
    19
  • Finish
    18
  • Balance
    18
  • Overall
    76

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  • Brand: Old St. Andrews
  • ABV: 43%

Old St. Andrews is a scotch brand that bottles both blends and blended malts, with the novelty that the bottles are all shaped like golf balls. They also make the universally reviled Ron Burgundy's Great Odin's Raven Special Reserve blended scotch. Well, they sure like to have a lot of fun with packaging...

This mini came to me in a lot that I bought at auction. And yes, the bottle is shaped like a golf ball, white in colour with all the dimples. Bottled in 1982, this one comes in a green box with some stats about St. Andrews Open champions (from 1860-1914) and a picture of two-time winner Harold Hilton. There is absolutely no information about the whisky itself (it doesn't even say if it's a blend, blended malt, single malt or grain - I had to research to find out that it is indeed a blend).

The colour is gold. Rich old malt on the nose, with red apple skins, raisins, leather and a hint of peat. Slightly vegetal and metallic. Charred oak. Rather musty. Water just kills the nose. Somehow it noses as both old and young at the same time (I can't explain...)

On the palate, it is rather spicy, as well as being malt-forward. Hints of oak, tropical fruits, heathery peat and overripe banana. Water ups the malt and spice (though it kills the nose so if you ever run across this bottle, avoid water). Rather thin and not harmonious at all - the flavours clash together and are out of balance with the nose.

The finish is musty, like the nose was, with hot spices, oak tannins and more apple skins. It's strange - I started off loving the nose, and expecting one of those really old blends that seem to come straight from your grandfather's study...but the palate and finish betrayed its youth and were a real letdown. Interesting novelty but don't rush out looking for these at auction.

1 comments

@McTeague
McTeague commented

Whisky tasting is a lot like golf. "Dum spiro spero."

7 years ago 0

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