Scotch Whisky Review #386: Archives Butterflies from the USA for Spec’s Texas Speyside Blended Malt 19 Year (2001)

Distillery: Blend of Edrington’s Speyside distilleries (Glenrothes and Macallan).

Bottler: Archives / Whiskybase.

Region: Speyside blend.

Age: 19 Year. Distilled on August 30th, 2001. Bottled on May 6th, 2021.

ABV: 45.9%.

Color: 1.3, Russet/Muscat. Natural Color and Non-Chill Filtered.

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Nose: It smells much boozier than the ABV suggests it should be. Wood varnish and dried fruits are the major notes. I get dried berries, dried figs, and dried persimmon. Some spice comes through in the way of cinnamon. Smells heavy. If I take a massive whiff, there is sulfur, but normally don’t smell it.

Palate: As it is, it is quite heavy and feels a bit tight and locked up. Oak and wood varnish along with those dried fruits from the most make up proceedings. A dash of cinnamon comes through here and again. A splash of water loosens things up considerably. Sherry notes take the wheel along with some baking spices and raisins (both golden and normal raisins).

Finish: Medium in length and quite simple. Sherry, raisins, and a bit of oak.

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Conclusion: For all of the whiskies I’ve had from Edrington’s distilleries, I’ve never had a blend of them. Not even Famous Grouse. I was looking forward to see what the Archives team over at Whiskybase had managed to find as the specs on it look like something right up my alley. This Speyside Erdington blend delivers exactly on those expectations. You get some fantastic dried fruit notes with a bit of oak and varnish. The little bit of baking spices here and there really make things sing. The finish doesn’t quite deliver for me and you can get a but of sulfur if you smell it the wrong way. Nitpicks, but ones that keep this from being truly special in my books.

Final Score: 83.

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Scotch Whisky Review #386, Blended Malt Review #14, Speyside Review #139, Whisky Network Review #540

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.