Bought – Tesco, 24th September 2013
Ratings:
79.08/100 – Whiskybase (average from 15 member votes)
I was all set to buy a bottle of Fettercairn 2002 10yo ‘Old Malt Cask’ from ‘The Green Welly Stop’ for £16.10 (20cl) when I spotted this bottle of Fasque in Tesco. What is this stuff?! I had a look for reviews but I didn’t find any that I thought were reliable. Several people were asking about it on forums and were being put off buying it by responses saying it was terrible, then admitting that they’d never tasted it. I can understand that sort of attitude if everyone has been reading the Whisky Bible about Fettercairn. Jim Murray isn’t a fan unless it’s the 40-year-old version which he gives 92/100. But most of us aren’t prepared to sell our car for a bottle of Fettercairn so we need to find alternatives to experience what this distillery has to offer. To clearly express Jim’s love of Fettercairn he gives the ‘1824’ version 69/100 and says of it “by Fettercairn standards, not a bad offering.” Damned with faint praise.
My brother informs me that Fettercairn specifically make the Fasque for Tesco. Whether this is true I’m not sure but my brother is usually spot on. Forum discussions have confirmed that Tesco stocked the Fasque in 2012 so they’ve obviously thought it worthwhile to buy in again for 2013. I know from other distilleries, like Deanston supplying Marks & Spencer, that it’s not in the distillery’s interest to piss-off a supermarket by sending them meths in sheep’s clothing. On that basis, I’ll drink the Fasque with an open mind rather than tainted by Jim Murray’s dislike of Fettercairn and forum guessers’ inexperienced views.
Here’s Whiskey Vault on YouTube with their thoughts about the Fettercairn Fasque (Dec 2016):
Whisky Den 