Rage Against The Maltchine 2

The full line up

For our August tasting we returned to a theme we explored last year: Rage Against The Maltchine.

Singleton of Dufftown

Club chairman Adam took us through three distilleries owned by spirits giant Diageo, and three expressions from the same distilleries released by independent bottlers.

First up was Dufftown, a Speyside chosen by Diageo back in 2006 to be marketed under the 'mega brand' Singleton. The opener of the duo - we were tasting each pair blind - turned out to be the official bottling, the Singleton of Dufftown. Easy to drink we thought, but at the same time a bit forgettable.

If anything, not really worth the £60 price tag, even for an 18-year-old. It's 40%.

The Cadenhead's

The other Dufftown had had was from (extremely) long-standing indie Cadenhead's, a firm favourite at the club. It tasted a lot stronger than the first whisky, and it took a bit of water which helped ease off any rough edges.

Perhaps surprisingly it was only 51% - some in the club had it pegged a bit higher than that. It's 51% and when we picked it up we paid £57 for it.

Mey Selections Glen Ord

The second distillery of the evening and second pairing of drams took us to another of the 'Singleton' distilleries, Glen Ord, situated in the Highlands on the Black Isle.

Whisky number three would turn out to be the indie this time around, a 12-year-old from Mey Selections, a brand name used for a wide range of products from salmon to gin. Launched by the-then Prince Charles in 2005, the whole enterprise is managed by Loch Fyne Oysters.

But how's the whisky? Not bad, ok on the nose certainly, but if anything a little blander on the palate than we'd expected. A bit metallic, was one tasting note. The 12-year-old was 51% and came in at £118, again not one we're likely to be investing in.

Singleton of Glen Ord

For once, the Maltchine had it, in the form of Diageo's Singleton of Glen Ord 18-year-old. More punchy all around, and we felt this had the edge on the Mey Selections. Having said that, it wasn't exactly cheap either at £130. It's 55%.

With Rage and the Maltchine level at one each, we went to the third distillery to act as the decider for the evening. And it was Blair Athol, a Perthshire distillery known for being a major part of the ubiquitous Bell's blend.

Blair Athol F&F

The fifth dram was the distillery bottling, a Blair Athol 12-year-old Flora and Fauna. A great drink, this got the thumbs up all round, even more so when it was revealed as costing a very reasonable £46. From a first fill sherry cask it was a very chunky dram, especially considering it was only 43%.

The 23-year-old

The last whisky of the evening, being tasted alongside, was another cracker. The indie in the spotlight this time was another long-time club favourite, Whiskybroker. This was a 23-year-old coming at 57.7% and, as ever for Whiskybroker, was reasonably priced at £87. Between both the distillery bottling and that last one, Blair Athol earned a few more fans.

This led us to the dram of the night voting. And although the Whiskybroker Blair Athol did well with ten votes (all drams got at least one - this doesn't always happen! - a sign of a strong line up), it was just one behind the Cadenhead's which took the honours.

Thanks to all club members old and new for attending another great tasting at the Briton's Protection, and of course to all at the Briton's for hosting us once again.