NAS
is causing quite the disturbance in the force. By NAS I mean
those bottled spirits that have No Age Statements. Those good
folks who produce all those spirits have, over the centuries,
convinced us consumers that older is better and of course
more expensive. Well that whole line of thinking has recently
been totally upturned as those age statements have begun to
disappear. Cases in point are these two scotches from Speyburn.
Their Arranta, which has no age statement, sells for $40.00
while their 10 year old Highland scotch sells for a mere $24.00,
what's up with that?
Diageo's
Nick Morgan rather succinctly stated in a recent interview:
"It's much easier to give yourself the flexibility of
producing non-age-statement whisky,' he explains. 'It gives
our people much greater creativity when producing a blended
single malt - 99% of single malts are "blends",
and that is how the people who put them together think of
it. And people might not like this, but it is a fact - age-statement
whiskies are, largely, rarities. Almost 80% of Scotch whisky
sold does not have an age statement."
Well,
I for one like my age statements. They have been a fairly
reliable guide to quality and price. Now we are only left
to believe that a more expensive scotch will be a better scotch
and I have found through a whole lot of experience that that
ain't necessarily so!
So,
let's give these two scotches the old taste test and see what's
what. Let's start with that 10 year old, $24.00 Highland single
malt. I will have to admit that for a 10 year old scotch it
is a very pale honey color and I really expected a deeper
color from a scotch that had barrel aged that amount of time.
The nose is fresh, crisp and citrusy with the barest aromas
of smoke or oak. The palate is light and airy and not overly
complicated with a slight touch of smoke and oak flavors accompanied
by spearmint and citrus sweetness. The finish features more
smoke and oak than the palate or the nose and I finally pick
up on the barley. It is full flavored a bit spicy and lasts
a fairly long time. This is not a deeply layered or complicated
scotch and is actually one of the lightest scotches I have
tasted but it is smooth and flavorful and at just $24.00 it's
a real bargain. It is light enough to sip slowly throughout
a long summer afternoon without weighing you down, just add
an ice cube and enjoy.
The
Speyburn Arranta (Arranta meaning bold, daring and intrepid
in Gaelic), with no age statement is noticeably darker in
color than the 10 year old highland scotch. My best guess
is that is because it just might be older than 10 years. My
second clue is of course the price. It is almost double the
price of the 10 year old scotch. The nose is actually quite
delicate with hints of malt, smoke and a touch of oak and
a bit of vanilla. The palate is also delicate with the oak
and smoke coming in upfront followed by a bit of honey and
vanilla. The finish ratchets things up a bit with the smoke
and oak roaring to the forefront followed by a spicy heat
with some citrus. There's a bit more flavor here than the
10 year old and there is also more depth and intensity to
the flavors. Unlike the previous summer sipper this scotch
would be a good pre-dinner drink or even an accompaniment
to say a cedar plank salmon dinner.
This
just might be the deal of the year as you can get Speyburn
10 year old single malt scotch for around $24.00 per 750ML
bottle and it is 43% ABV or 86 proof. The Speyburn Arranta
can be found for around $34.99 to $40.00 per 750ML bottle
and is 46% ABV or 92 proof.
By George Brozowski
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