A Scot on Scotch

WHISKY REVIEWS, NEWS, HISTORY & FOLKLORE

Pintail

Pintail was a discontinued blended Scotch brand before the name was revived by Keith Bonnington of The Whisky Cellar. Now, it is a series of premium drinks including independently bottled Rum, Port and Brandy alongside Scotch whiskies that have been finished in rare wine casks. This is the third part of a trilogy of reviews covering some of the latest releases in The Whisky Cellar’s Pintail series. This time the whisky comes from Teaninich in the Scottish Highlands.

*Full disclosure: the whisky featured in this review was sent to me free of charge. As always, I will strive to give an honest opinion on the quality of the dram and the value for money it represents.

The Whisky

Teaninich is a whisky distillery in the north-east of Scotland. It’s owned by Diageo and produces spirit for use in various blended Scotch brands. The owners have seemingly no interest in pushing the distillery’s output as a single malt, which means the best opportunity to encounter Teaninich is through independently bottled casks, like the one Pintail has released here.

The whisky began life in a hogshead before being split into two octave casks that previously held Vin Santo from Tuscany in Italy. Vin Santo is a dessert wine made from grapes that are dried prior to fermentation, a technique that concentrates the sugars and sweetens the resultant wine.

Smell: It makes a great first impression on the nose with something of a sherry vibe – lots of dried fruit notes. It’s also distinctly its own thing though. I was picking up fruit jams and chutneys with dark honey, Highland Toffee and some light, perfumed florals. Underneath, there’s a creaminess with vanilla and som barley character.. Some nuttiness in there too – walnuts and hazelnuts.

Taste: Caramel and hazelnut with milk chocolate and dry, almost smoky spice. All within the first few seconds. An oakiness emerges mid-palate with some black pepper and that leads into a dry finish with bitterness in the form of dark chocolate and coffee.

Thoughts: For me this was the standout dram in the latest batch of Pintail drams. It feels like something different. It’s the same feeling I had when I tasted the Pintail Picolit cask Glenlossie (which I reviewed here). It’s a sort of mental notice to stop and pay attention. An alert that a new experience is incoming. I can’t claim to know Vin Santo but it seems to be working very well with the spirit here. Certainly the wine cask brings a lot to the table but it feels like the whisky can take it. In fact, there’s arguably more balance on show here than in either the Glen Spey or Auchroisk drams reviewed earlier in the week. Fascinating and delicious.

Price: £80. The lowest price (and youngest dram) in this mini-series but for me, the best. £80 might seem a lot for an 8-year-old dram but if you were to compare this whisky with some of the no-age-statement stuff put out by distilleries, it would put most of them in the shade. I thought this was a cracking dram.

For more about Pintail Whisky visit here

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