Side by side : Aldi's 3 NAS Glen Marnochs

As some of you may know I've given up buying whisky... well whisky under 46% ABV anyway! These 3 samples found their way into my Christmas Stocking and have been sat on the whisky shelf 'looking' at me for a few weeks...

Let's try not to be too disappointed...

These are all bottled by Alistair Graham Ltd of Edinburgh - will this give a clue to their origins? Looking at Companies House their first two directors are Jean-Marc Rene Boulan and Dr Peter Jonathon Nelson both of whom are also registered for Ardbeg and Glenmorangie - so LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) who also owned Glen Moray until they sold the distillery to La Martiniquaise in 2008. So is there some Glen Moray in here, some Ardbeg, some Glenmorangie? Someone knows but obviously they aren't making it public!

Dram	Glen Marnoch Speyside	Glen Marnoch Highland	Glen Marnoch Island
Characteristics	40% ABV	40% ABV	40% ABV
Distillery notes	AROMAS: A rich malty aroma with a biscuity sweetness and fresh fruit notes. A delicate leafy character is balanced with vanilla sweetness. TASTE: Sweet and rounded with a vanilla oakiness. The malty character carries through into the taste with subtle notes of caramelised fruits. FINISH: Mellow and long lasting.	AROMAS: A rich malty aroma with subtle notes of dried fruits and cinnamon sticks. The sherry cask influence has introduced a sherbet spice and oaky character. TASTE: Rich and spicy with layers of sweet oak, raisins, apricots and fresh oak. Addition of a little water releases the characteristic flavours of sherry cask. FINISH: Very mellow with a lasting oakiness.	AROMA: Intense and peaty with fresh wood smoke, spice and subtle maltiness Addition of a little water releases further layers of peatiness and hints of fruit. TASTE: Very full flavoured with deep peat and smoke notes. Some sweetness develops with time and combines with the spice, smoke and citrus fruit flavours. FINISH: Long lasting with a slightly dry smokiness.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	(Coloured) mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line in the glass, take a while to bead up and fall as slow thin legs.	(Coloured) mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line in the glass, take a while to bead up and fall as slow thin legs.	(Coloured) mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line in the glass, take a while to bead up and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose	There is a harsh new make note on this one. A little closed but eventually I got stewed apples and pears to start, a little malt, some toffee, orange marmalade and a hint of spice.	Even more closed! There's some fruit, a little honey and a hint of wood smoke.	Much better on the nose - peat smoke, dried seaweed, a little tropical fruit and some burnt rubber.
Palate	Thin sweet arrival, honey, orchard fruit and a bite of peppery spice. There's some almonds, dried fruit and a hint of coconut. The youth shows through - it is a little rough but not overly so. Chill Filtering has stripped away any mouthfeel. There's some dryness and a little wood spice as the liquid disappears.	Again thin but this one has a little bit more about it, loads of toffee, strawberries, a little dried fruit and a hint of smoke. Again youthful but not as prominent as the Speyside. There's some tropical fruit notes and a gentle ginger spice left on the tongue as the liquid disappears.	Again thin, almost watery... there's not an awful lot on the palate to be honest and then the smoke comes in as the liquid disappears - rather nice. a few more sips offer a little tropical fruit, toffee, some honey, citrus peel and a little salinity. There's some dryness and a little spice as the liquid disappears. It really is just liquid smoke.
Finish	Short and sweet with a dry spice.	Short and sweet with sherried dried fruit.	Short, dry and smoky.
Overall	The Speyside is the least pleasant of the 3 drams, thin and watery with too much spice - youth showing through. The Highland comes in 2nd place, some sherry cask influence and a little smoke elevates it just above dull. The Island (Islay?) is really watery but also really smoky - just putting it first in the line up. For £18 or so you can't really complain, their nearest price competitor is probably the Glen Moray range which are all a step up from these. But they do give three basic whisky styles for a reasonable price. Double the price and there is a huge range out there - maybe the three 12yos from Loch Lomond to give fruit (Inchmurrin), gentle smoke ('standard' 12yo) and huge smoke (Inchmoan) which give 46% non chill filtered mouthfeel.