Apologies for the late upload! I’ve been working on a lot behind the scenes that should come to fruition soon, stay tuned! On with the show!
Next on the 2025 Grand Tour, from the highest distillery in the UK to the tallest distillery in the world; it’s Port of Leith! The first and only representation of scotch whisky on this trip (as I received rum from the next distillery) Port of Leith only has one bottle of whisky to show, and it’s an odd one: their unique offering known only as “Table Whisky”!
Bottled at 43% ABV, this is one of the very few Single Grain whiskies I’ve seen in the Scottish market, or any market for that matter! For the uninitiated the difference between a Single Malt and a Single Grain whisky is that instead of using 100% malted barley, the distillers can use practically any grain they so desire, malted or not. This bottle is being pitched as a great casual whisky to just pop in the centre of a table at a gathering for people to pour from. I remember enjoying it when I first tried it, but is there any deeper flavour to keep an enthusiast coming back?
The nosing reveals notes of prominent milk chocolate and sticky toffee, with undertones of buttercream and fresh pear. The front is very wood forward, with lightly toasted oak and hickory smoke at the forefront and a hum of toffee apple underneath. The body continues the themes up to this point with potent crisp granny smith, but is complimented by subtle notes of pink peppercorn and what seems to be just straight up salted butter. The finish ties up the whole package with a neat little bow of caramel, coffee and cacao nibs, though also seems to have a hint of liquid smoke in the after taste. The dram is really thin, it doesn’t cling at all; it’s practically like drinking water. The palate overall is quite sweet, but is consistently pleasant.
Dilution causes the nosing to fall quite flat, being too subtle to detect anything of note. The palate also becomes very mild, but remains wood forward with a new hint of chalk candy under the body, which was interesting to see. This is clearly not meant to be diluted with water.
For me this really does work best as a casual dram to drink neat, though it does leave me wanting more. Curiously I found that mixing it with cherry cola of all things elicited an odd reaction, bringing out a sweet spicy character that lacked before, almost akin to a cinnamon candy. It was rather good! I could see this dram working well in cocktails too, though I have yet to experiment.
Overall this whisky has quite a generic palate, though not for a scotch whisky. It tastes like the textbook definition of a bourbon but with the light body of a scotch, both in colour and in texture. It’s a bizarre experience at first, but quite comfortable once you’re acclimatised. It works great for what it was made for, and the price point is solid too, though it does leave a bit to be desired for experienced whisky drinkers. If you’re looking for a casual bottle for your party guests, this will do nicely, but if you’re looking for something more substantial I recommend waiting a few years for Port of Leith’s first proper Single Malt release.
This post’s recommended song is: “Streets of Edinburgh” – The Proclaimers
