Bought – Wrights, The Lion Brewery, Farnham, 26th February 2014
Ratings:
85.5/100 – Whisky Bible 2014
When I spotted this bottle in the off licence it was behind the counter and I didn’t see the “Shieldaig” on the label. What was visible from a distance was “Speyside, 10-year-old” so I naturally thought I was getting the standard 10yo single malt from the Speyside Distillery. When I got the bottle home and studied the label, all became clear. I did a bit of research online and discovered that ‘Shieldaig’ is an independent bottling by William Maxwell & Co Ltd. The “Speyside” merely implies that the contents is a single malt from the Speyside region but from which distillery is a mystery.
Having now realised that this was an obscure, independent bottling, I was surprised but delighted to find a review and rating for it in the 2014 Whisky Bible. 85.5/100 means this malt is “very good to excellent whisky definitely worth buying”. Jim Murray says in his comments that this dram is “friendly, sweet, bursting with barley”. And at £20 I’m beginning to wish I’d bought more than one bottle!
Whisky Den 