Jolly Tipel
40% ABV, £2 per 5cl dram
Score: 83/100
What they say:
A recreation of a well-known/popular blended Scotch whisky by the Jolly Toper himself.
What I say:
Won as a charity dram at the conclusion of one of the Jolly Toper tastings, this enigmatic little dram gave away very little other than ABV. Whatever could it be?
Colour:
Golden amber with honey highlights
Nose:
I found the nose very reminiscent of something I had sampled recently but couldn’t quite put my finger on what? This has sweet honey, fragrant floral perfume, hay – distinctly lowland whisky character (Bladnoch), furniture polish, citric lemon, beeswax and hints of sherry and peat – quite complex on the nose and suggested Johnnie Walker Red Label at me.
Taste:
Waxy mouthfeel (Clynelish), very smooth and light, cereal barley malt, heather honey, slight apple and peach fruitiness, peaty but subtle – tasted with a wax-laden tongue, creamy, fruity and gentle spiciness of all-spice (not Old Spice!)
Finish:
Medium/short, sweet, oak wood with a hint of earthy peat, spices resurface at the end
Overall:
I actually rather enjoyed tasting this, a very well-constructed blend. It certainly gave me the impression of being quite complex in a very subtle kind of way. The hints of waxiness and peat influence just creeping in here and there. Left me with an overriding impression of a Johnnie Walker blend but produced with much better quality whisky perhaps. Who knows – clearly not I!
Categories: Blends