Bought – Aldi, 1st November 2013
This is the first time I’ve bought whisky from Aldi, so I was keen to see if I could find any reliable reviews of this 5yo. Unfortunately not. I’m no expert on the Aldi range but it seems this 5yo version of the Glen Orrin is quite new. Google results are more fixated with a 30yo release rather than this younger, and more commonly available relative.
I tend to think of Lidl and Aldi as much the same, so it doesn’t surprise me that Lidl have also got a 5yo whisky in the Glen Orchy. It’s clearly a tit for tat thing between these two companies. I will have to do a taste comparison to see which one of these 5yos I prefer.
I was curious as to the location of Glen Orrin, which I discover is in the Highlands, west of Beauly and beside the Orrin Reservoir, which was opened in 1961 as part of the Conon Hydro-Electric Scheme. For those of you interested in geneology, according to my clan map of Scotland, Glen Orrin is in the Mackenzie territory. Closest whisky distillery looks like Glen Ord but that’s not to say any of the malt in this blend comes from there, or anywhere close by.
Update (25th November 2013). Tasted it and it’s very good. You can tell it’s a young dram from the nose, where there’s plenty of spirit floating about that hasn’t had a chance to suck the juice out of the sherry, bourbon, etc., casks its component parts were resting in before being blended together. But there’s plenty of fruit perfume there to create a good distraction. I felt the finish was as short as you’d expect for that age and didn’t detract from the overall charm of the drink. After a few sips I added lemonade, which is my mixer of choice with a blend, and that worked well (which isn’t always the case with a blend). Definitely a whisky I’ll take out of the cupboard again!
Whisky Den 