Art is a deliberately confusing word, which can be used both as a noun and as a way of dismissing something which a person finds confusing or challenging.
It is also an almost defiantly controversial word to use correctly. Like when the word actor is used to describe Nicholas Cage, or caring to describe a Conservative MP.
Many people claim to make art, from Turner Prize Winners, through to artistinal makers of bread sticks, but just what is art? And why is it important?
Sadly, I don’t know and neither does anyone else.
ART OF THE BLEND WHISKY BATCH 1
Price: £40.00
ABV: 43%
Appearance: Light Straw
Aroma: Caramel apples, lemon, oats and malt.
Taste: Initially this is a very sweet and floral honeyed dram.
The middle notes stay sweet, but develop a wooden quality, that drys the palate and leaves behind a cinnamon spice on the tongue.
The final notes are a mix of those before, there is honey, but it’s lower in the mix, with the spice and wood on top. All of these flavours are balanced, nuanced and could even be described as slight.
Mouthfeel: Light, mellow and super easy to drink.
Overall: This is a super easy to drink whisky, which could most definitely act an educational marker for those that say they don’t like whisky, or are still new to the joy. It is enjoyable, but it isn’t interesting enough for me to want to buy another bottle, especially at £40 a bottle.
Real Dram Factor: 6.8
Source: Bottle Share.
More Information: www.edenmill.com
Buy Online: Eden Mill Webshop
ART OF THE BLEND WHISKY BATCH 2
Price: £40.00
ABV: 43%
Appearance: Pale Amber
Aroma: Brown Sugar, Oak and Subtle Charcoal Smoke.
Taste: The brown sugar is here on the start of the dram, bringing sweetness, but also darkness and depth. There is a sharpness of citrus, which cuts through the sweetness.
Then in the middle there is a greenness, which tastes oddly like the smell of newly cut wood. As the dram progresses, this wood is thrown on a fire and smoke emerges into the dram.
The final notes are light charcoal smoke, meaty bacon and maple syrup.
Mouthfeel: Sweet and yet smoky.
Overall: This is a dram that sits much more within my whisky sweet spot. It has a sweetness, but also smoke and then extra dimensions, with the fresh greenness in the middle and the savoury notes that can be found at the end. Much more interesting than batch one, but again, is it that much better than a dram like JW Black, for the extra money? I think you would have to decided that for yourself.
Real Dram Factor: 7.2
Source: Bottle Share
More Information: www.edenmill.com
Buy Online: Eden Mill Webshop
ART OF THE BLEND WHISKY BATCH 3
Price: Unavailable – Was £90.
ABV: 43%
Appearance: Rich Amber
Aroma: Big charcoal smoke, apples and salty heather.
Taste: The very start of this dram is honey sweet, with a quality of floral heather and a distinct saline quality.
Very quickly the salt is joined on the palate by a rich, dark charcoal flavour. This part of the dram is very evocative for me, reminding me clearly of the chimney smoke of summer holidays spent on a remote Scottish island.
As the smoke mellows out, the final notes are a light spicing and a heat of white pepper. These notes linger long in the mouth and as they do the oak, presumably from the bourbon casked spirit in the blend, come to the fore.
Mouthfeel: Light in nature, but big in smoke.
Overall: This is my least favourite of the three drams, which is odd, as I love smokey whisky, especially from Islay. I think for me that this whisky is too thin. This quality means that the flavour is more one dimensional and lacking than other big whiskies. I recommend this one the least.
Real Dram Factor: 7.1
Source: Bottle Share
More Information: www.edenmill.com
Buy Online: Unavailable
Afterthoughts: Overall, these whiskies offer the drinker an interesting insight into the impact of differing spirits within a blend. All three are drinkable, with the first and second batch being very accessible to all drinkers. However, I just feel that this range is overpriced and that you could get a better experience of blended whisky for less money, by just checking out some more mainstream blends.