I
guess
that if you've whipped up a new scotch whiskey and you're
sitting around the distillery endlessly sampling it and tossing
around names for this as yet unnamed scotch, eventually you'll
come up with the perfect name; "Bradan Orach". WTF!
Nope that's not the name of the distiller or anyone who had
anything to do with creating this scotch. It's not even the
name of anyone living or dead. It's Gaelic for "Golden
Salmon!" And this scotch was named in honor of the world-class
salmon fishing found next door in the River Spey. I'm guessing
that it probably also refers to the color of this scotch,
which is sort of a pale golden salmon color.
I
can't quibble with these good folks at Speyburn as they have
been producing mighty fine scotch since 1897, and they know
what they're doing. If they want to name their scotch "Golden
Salmon" and put a fish on the bottle's label, I'm just
gonna have to shut my mouth, open a bottle, open my mouth
and take a sip. We have already tried their Speyburn Arranta
and Highland Single Malt Scotches and enjoyed them both.
This
scotch comes in a clear bottle with an old timey feeling label
with a picture of the distillery and a picture of a salmon.
The color of the scotch, as stated previously, is a pale golden
color, but I'm just not sure I see much salmon colored pink
or orange in it. I just hope it doesn't taste too fishy!?!
Well, let's open this bottle and see what it does taste like.
The nose is quite subtle with the barest hint of oak. This
gentle nose is reminiscent of honeysuckle, vanilla and citrus.
The palate is lemony bright with almost no oak flavor at all.
The smokiness is also very light with the emphasis on green
apples and vanilla. The finish is just slightly spicy and
oaky and citrusy and just a tad creamy and lasts a medium
amount of time.
This
Scotch has a very light hand and a very light body and is
quite laid back with well balanced and very subtle flavors.
If you're looking for a scotch that won't overwhelm your palate,
or you're new to the wonders of single malt scotch, this would
be an excellent entry level scotch. Although it is subtle,
it has all the flavors you would expect in a really good scotch
and this is a really good scotch.
Speyburn
Bradan Orach is 40% ABV or 80 proof and is available for a
quite reasonable $24.99 in 750ML bottles.
By George Brozowski
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