“There’s a good boy” — things I never wanted to say to my bottle of Blended Whisky.
Scallywag — The Shibuya Edition / 48%
Tasted neat
Scallywag The Shibuya Edition is Douglas Laing’s 100% ex-Sherry casks Speyside blend with a nice label inspired by some of the landmarks of downtown Shibuya Tokyo, including girl’s fashion shop Shibuya 109 and the zebra crossing named “Shibuya Scramble”.
From the Blender:
Scallywag is a Small Batch bottling created using only the finest Speyside Malts including, amongst others, spirit distilled at Mortlach, Macallan and Glenrothes Distilleries. Bottled at 46% alcohol strength and proudly non chill-filtered, Scallywag embodies all that is Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky — beautifully sherried, richly spiced and truly charming.
- Color: burnished (1.1)
- Nose: burnt plastic, chemical glues, pine needles, camphor, salt, and lemon butter
- Taste: warm sherry, custard, some cut grass and orange peel oil, honey-mustard, and ripe apple
- Finish: medium; wax fruits give way to spice
There is a very Johnny Walker double-black-esque soft sherried blend that tastes much better than it noses. It is undoubtedly quite young, and while you get that full-on in the nose, in the mouth it’s fairly delicate and charming.
I’m not rushing out to buy more of this limited edition, even with the +2% ABV over the regular one, but it’s certainly not a bad blend.
Rating: 75/100
