Scapegrace Vanguard
A rascal of a dram!
Today a review of the Scapegrace Vanguard. And I start with a spoiler:
Sometimes you encounter a whisky that, by accident or not, just hits all the things you like in a dram. And for me, this dram is one of those drams.
Coming from New Zealand, this is again a world whisky that pleases me so much, I open my laptop and start talking about it.
Small problem: I just enjoyed the dram, but I only know where it comes from.
So, a small Google session later, I found some oneliners on the webpage of the distillery that could tell me more.
Having a "grain to glass" ethos, we again (remember the Høst, or Heritage Hunter?) encounter a distillery putting the focus on local barley.
They also put the coordinates of the distillery on the bottle, explaining that the unique location has very hot summers, but freezing cold winters. This climate will have an intense effect on the ageing of this whisky. But you can read that and more on their website, you don't need me to copy paste that.
I want to talk about this dram! So let's get to it!
While pouring this dram already gave me a sensory insight in what to expect. A warm scent of grains and malts swirls around me.
The color is that of a dark golden yellow in the glass. Talking about the dram in the glass: A quick swirl gives me a curtain of tears sticking to the sides. Lovely sight!
I spoiled the nose already a bit: Warm grains and malts. This thick "accent" is followed by a tart fresh fruit, apples and pears. But a bit mealy. So the note on the label is correct: Poached pears. There is also something a bit more chemical towards the end. Closest I can get is the scent of briquettes coming out of the bag.
I keep returning to the glass for a new sniff and even the empty glass keeps passing under my nose.
The taste is funky! a mix between the malts and the tart pear, in a crossover with some more bitter tannines fighting the warm toast with honey on the other side of the palate. this short battle is won by the sweet side, but then a hint of crushed aniseed pops up. It end with a small flush of alcohol.
A second sip adds some heat from white pepper, but again, the dominant note is grains.
The finish is rather short. But to be honest, the time spend on the nose and the enjoyment in that phase compensates for the short finish.
