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THE SPIRIT IN LIFE S
ingle malt whiskies are fantastic – no mistake. But the whiskies we really enjoy are those we drink more frequently – at the pub after a round of golf, at home with mates with a fire going in the background or just … because we can. I’ve separated my notes into the blended malts and straight blends. The differentiation between these two categories is that the first are blends of single malts and contain no grain whisky, while the latter are blends of malt and grain whisky.
FIRST UP, THE BLENDED MALTS Shackleton C ompass Box The Spice Tree J ohnnie Walker Green 15 year Monkey Shoulder While not always readily available and also not something most distillers do in great volume, these whiskies are available in South Africa at selected – if not most – TOPS at SPAR outlets. There’s a fairly large price point difference but even the top end isn’t out of whack with what the whisky delivers in terms of enjoyment and reward. Having been taken off the market in SA for a couple of years, Johnnie Walker Green is back and is their only expression that is a blend of single malts only. It’s a really amazing dram and should be included in any whisky collection. The Shackleton has been blended to mimic the bottles of Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt left behind by Sir Ernest Shackleton on his 1907 expedition to the South Pole. Three cases of the original 25 taken along by Shackleton were discovered in 2007. Certainly the story alone is enough to make one want to taste this dram. John Glaser’s Compass Box Spice Tree is the most expensive of this flight and has always been a firm favourite – particularly with its light but rich spicy caramel flavours. With Glaser constantly
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POPULIST WHISKIES ARE THOSE WHICH APPEAL TO A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE, FOR A HOST OF REASONS – AND AT VARIOUS PRICE POINTS AS WELL. PUBLISHER SHAYNE DOWLING REVIEWS A PERSONAL SELECTION.
