Haig Club – Single Grain Whisky

Sometimes intrigue is a good thing and other times it pushes you to do things that aren’t good for you in the long run. However, I always think that you regret not doing things more than you regret doing them. I have heard lots of very sneering reviews of this whisky, but like most 1 star movies, I still really wanted to try it. So, when I saw a tiny bottle, at a reasonable price, I thought, why the chuff not?

Haig Club is a single grain spirit, not a single malt and if the advertising is to be believed it is the oldest grain making distillery in Scotland. It is the birth child of the most unlikely combination of forces, Diageo, Simon Fuller (of Spice Girls fame) and David Beckham (of Golden Balls fame). It is apparently created from spirit that is casked in three different barrel types.

Cost: £35-45

Appearance: Golden, Like the haze that you live in as a child.

Aroma: This smells like tent canvas, combined with the aftershave of a teenage boy. I am transported to Scout camp in the mid 90’s.

Taste: A very field like start, which tastes of cereal. There is a sweetness, a lightness and corn. If you were to spread honey on a corn flour tortilla, this is what you would end up with. Its quiet, much less offensive than I expected and quite subtle.

As the liquid stays in the mouth, there is a building gentle spice and warmth. This spice is that you would expect from a whisky casked in Bourbon, but with a butterscotch sweetness, which will remind you powerfully of elderly relatives. It is peppery, but a simple white pepper.

This pepper sits on the tongue and mingles with the butterscotch. This is a one note whisky, which doesn’t really develop beyond its initial notes. There is no real depth, but it isn’t unpleasant in any way.

Mouthfeel: Light, Peppery and Toffee

Overall: For all the snotty reviews that I have read of this spirit, I expected it to be awful, but its not. Its pleasant, unmiraculous, but very easy to drink.  I am no Rye expert, but I would say that it tastes like a very one note rye whisky. if this was £20, then you would buy it an make cocktails with it. At its price, its difficult to make a case for buying it.

Real Dram Factor: 6.0

More Information: Haig Club Website

Purchased: Asda

Buy Online:Haig Club Single Grain Scotch Whisky 70 cl