What am I talking about? Who knows! Ask my psychiatrist!
Waterproof is a new blended malt from MacDuff International known for their blends Grand Macnish, Lauders and islay Mist. It's a Sherry-influenced malt whisky from a handful of top distilleries, batch bottled at higher than normal strength of 45.8%.
The name and looks are inspired by 'Water' and 'Strength' (Proof) and by the Scottish inventor of the much-needed raincoat (the Mac), Charles Macintosh.
This is a blended malt, so contains no grain as a standard blend does, it's a combination of sherry influenced malt whiskies from Scottish distilleries.
Appearance: Bronze gold in the glass (but is it coloured?) swirls cling before falling as slow thin legs
Nose: Huge sherry notes - musty book shop, old leather, strawberry jam but with a sour citrus edge and maybe a hint of smoke? The ABV tickles the nasal hairs!Palate: Thick syrupy arrival immediately spicy. Red fruit, more sour citrus and a drying note in the mouth. A few more sips off a sweetness - honey and more red berries.Finish: Long warming finish, ginger spice and drying oak notes.
Overall: You can buy a bottle of Waterproof for around £33 which puts it on par with other blended malts like Scallywag or Smokestack, much cheaper than Scalasaig Island Hopper (also sherry influenced) but a little more than Monkey Shoulder or Sheep Dip but those are only 40% ABV. I'll do a future blog comparing some of these side by side, but for now I think Waterproof is trying to find a niche balanced somewhere between a reasonably priced neat whisky and a higher priced cocktail whisky. I'm not a cocktail drinker, preferring my whisky as it comes out of the cask or bottle so my thought were purely based on it's appeal as a neat drink and I'd suggest you buy a bottle.
Many thanks to @WaterProofMalt for their generous sample(!) and gift set but this hasn't influenced my opinion of their whisky.
1 comment:
You hit it with musty book shop. I was thinking old rebuilt barrels that were beginning to rot a bit.
Post a Comment