I’ll be straight up with y’all: Part of the reason why I tend to drink American and Iberian wines more often than products from France is because I’m better at pronouncing English, Portuguese and Spanish when I order or ask about a particular wine at a restaurant or liquor store. So when the opportunity arose to sample some Usquaebach Scotch Whisky, I was just glad that Bites isn’t a podcast.
Named after a line in a famous Bobby Burns poem titled "Tam o’Shanter," Usquaebach is a whisky from the highlands of Scotland, where spirits age slowly in the cool climate. Not as well-known as some of its neighbors, Usquaebach is best-known for creating blended whiskies, a common practice in Scotland. Unlike the case of Kentucky bourbons, where fans get all up in arms to know the exact provenance of their whiskey, in Scotland it has been a tradition to combine malt whiskies of different ages, finished in different types of casks, and even produced by several distinct distilleries in an effort to create the desired taste profile.
Some of the single malts blended to create Usquaebach 15-Year-Old are actually older than the statement on the label, some spending more than two decades in oak. By convention, the youngest barrel determines the legal age, so that’s why this particular spirit is still listed as an adolescent. Some of the malts were finished in casks that had previously aged sherry, and the honey characteristics shine through on the nose, along with some notes of vanilla and caramel that might be familiar to bourbon lovers.
However, malted barley is not nearly as sweet as the preponderance of corn used in American whiskeys, so I didn’t expect Usquaebach to maintain that honey flavor through the palate. However, rather than emphasizing the smoky/peaty notes that many Islay scotches strive for, Usquaebach prefers to let the spicy, fruity grain shine through. You can detect a bit of smoke, but mainly nice elements of rich toffee and peppery spice give way eventually to a long tannic finish.
This is definitely a sipping whisky, and for $70-$80 per bottle, you’ll probably want to take small sips. But if you’re looking for an introduction to blended whisky from a source you may not be familiar with, Usquaebach 15-Year-Old is a fine example of the genre. Sláinte!
