Strathclyde Distillery, Scotland     founded: 1997 | active
For more detailed mapping of the distilleries in the area from our whisky map page, use this link.

Mostly sweet and fruity on the nose but tarnished (?) by a late night burger: candyfloss and muscovado sugar move into pear drops and apple strudel. With that dessert-y concoction you pop into a McDonalds and try to exchange a dirty penny and a glass of varnish for a burger - it works!

Other alcohols come to mind: Becherovka, Advocaat and Jägermeister without sugar. It definitely tastes better than it smells and surprises some - sweetness pervades, light brown sugar, Toffo lollipops, toffees with mint inside, peppermint creams. In fact, it's not just peppermint creams, it's sugary peppermint madness! Dates start to bridge the gap from sweet to savoury whilst yams take it a step further, nicely leading into a bit of seasoning to finish things off, in the form of black pepper. Oh, one more thing, a "facebook like".

The end notes provide a bit of flash fire causing some insurance damage to the flavours: pepper spray and chilis start the emergency, with burnt sugared-apple and burnt birch bark hampering the rescue efforts - once inside, the air is still tingly and a smell of vinegar lingers. After the wash-down, a bit of salted caramel eases the tensions and sweetens the memories.
 
 

~£62 (70cl)

SMWS: G10.1 - Thanksgiving dram   |   http://www.smws.co.uk/whisky/G10.1_Thanksgivi
GRAINS review: G10.1   |   http://meiotic.co.uk/grains/smws_g10.1_strath

We've always scored out of 10 in our group (see number in red box, below), with scores regularly given across that spectrum. The value out of 100 below is adjusted to the scale most commonly used for whisky reviews, to allow for better comparison.

81 / 100