Té Bheag Nan Eilean

Té Bheag (pronounced “chey vek”) is a blended scotch whisky, the source materials drawn from unnamed West Coast and Speyside distilleries, blended and bottled by Pràban na Linne of the Isle of Skye. Some of this whisky is matured in sherry casks, which may account for its beautifully deep, golden colour. It is medium-bodied and unchilfiltered.

The nose on this blend is delightful, reminiscent at times of ice wine. Alongside the sherry, there are notes of honey-coated apples, spiced cider, sultana raisins, and ginger. Sherry comes through on the palate as well, but here a waft of gentle peat smoke moves to the fore, intermingled with tinder and toasted pecans. Though the finish is leisurely and a touch sweet, this is a bracing dram.

In short, Té Bheag is a wonderful whisky—the nose, especially, is a real winer—and is rather well-priced. For such an astonishingly good value, I am amazed I haven’t come across more discussion about it. I searched Connosr cabinets and found that only six members own a bottle, five of which are Canadians (the sixth owner hasn’t listed his whereabouts, and other owners may not have added the bottle to their cabinets). This whisky is distributed fairly widely, however, so I would recommend readers grab a bottle while they can. When a blend is this good, one's usual disdain only gets in the way.