Whiskey Review: Clan MacGregor Blended Scotch Whisky

Imported spirits are getting expensive these days. Blame whatever you want, but the reality is that your money might not stretch as far as it once did for things like bottles of scotch. So today we’re going to be trying a suspiciously cheap bottle of imported Scotch whisky called Clan MacGregor to see if there might still be hope for an inexpensive-yet-decent tipple in the our near futures.

History

In 1886, William Grant invested his entire life savings (and the help of his wife and their nine children) into opening the Glenfiddich distillery in Dufftown, Scotland to make scotch whisky. He had been working at the Mortlach distillery but had dreamed of opening his own facility one day. The first whisky was successfully run through the Glenfiddich stills on Christmas Day 1887, and the business was launched by selling to distributors who combined this product with that of other distilleries to make the blends that were popular in those days.

His business was successful, and in 1892 he decided to expand to another facility and started converting the Balvenie mansion into a distillery. The process took fifteen months and on May 1st, 1893 the first distillation run at the new Balvenie distillery took place. Like the Glenfiddich distillery, for the first 78 years of operation the whiskey would be combined with other distilleries’ spirits and used to produce blended scotch.

Over the years, William Grant & Sons (as the company would be known) would have many firsts: the first “single malt” scotch from the Glenfiddich distillery, the first distillery to open up to the public for regular tours, and others. The Balvenie distillery would continue to receive upgrades and enhancements, including a modern malting floor in 1929, and produced its first single malt whiskey in 1971.

Nearly a century later, in 1990, a Kininvie distillery would join the three distilleries that William Grant & Sons continue to operate to this day.

According to what I can find, Clan MacGregor is a sub-brand of that Kininvie distillery operated by William Grant & Sons. I say that because, despite a website address being listed on their bottle, their website doesn’t actually appear to be working.

Product

• Learn More: What Is Scotch Whisky?

Without the benefit of a website or marketing materials to review, we really don’t have much information available to figure out what went into making this bottle of whiskey. All we really know is what we can glean from the information on the label, and even that isn’t showing any of its cards.

The phrase “Blended Scotch Whisky” is about as broad and generic as you can get. The only legal requirement is that there needs to be at least some single malt whiskey in the bottle, but the proportions and the other elements are pretty much up to the distillery to decide — and they don’t have to tell you anything about that decision.

There’s no mention of what distillery the base spirit here comes from, but it’s very likely the Kininvie distillery that we mentioned before. The single malt portion of this spirit starts with 100% malted barley that was cooked, fermented, and distilled on-site at the same location before being aged for at least three years in oak barrels. The specific type of oak first used isn’t disclosed, but it’s usually previously-used American oak bourbon barrels.

That’s typically blended with some grain whiskey, which is more closely aligned with American bourbon than it is traditional scotch, and also typically much less flavorful. Grain whiskey in Scotland is typically mass produced (and cheaply produced) and shipped in from elsewhere, then blended with the in-house single malt whiskey to produce the finished bottle of spirits.

Packaging

From my research online, it looks like this is a very recently refreshed branding on this bottle. The older versions look much closer to a bottle of Highland Mist, another “bottom shelf” whiskey produced by Sazerac. And I gotta say, they did a good job with this updated take on the bottle.

Overall, the style is very typical of a Scottish spirit. The bottle is tall and cylindrical, with a shorter neck. Similar to high end spirits, the glass on the bottle is tinted a dark green which is usually done to try and prevent the contents from oxidizing and degrading with exposure to sunlight. That bottle is capped off with a metallic screw-on top.

Along the front of the bottle is a label, the background of which is colored roughly the same shade of green as the glass on the bottle itself. This does a nice job of tricking the mind into thinking it’s just one continuous background without having to use a transparent label or some other trickery.

Most prominent on that label is a giant high-contrast lion head wearing a crown. The subject of that image is consistent from the old branding — it was a golden image inside a golden wreath before — but the change in art style seems intentional. In fact, I get the feeling that the similarities between this bottle’s label and Conor McGregor’s Proper No. Twelve Whiskey are close enough for someone to get litigious about.

That’s really what I think is going on here– there seems to be a hope and an intention that some UFC fan will remember that Conor McGregor has a whiskey, but forget that he’s Irish and not Scottish, and that he spells his name slightly differently, and pick this bottle up thinking it’s the famous UFC fighter’s product and not some blended spirit put out cheaply by a massive Scottish distilling empire.

Neat

While the bottle might be green, the whisky itself is a slightly tarnished golden color. Not as bright and light as some other Highland spirits; this is closer to a light American whiskey.

The aromas are good, if a bit simple. There’s honey, a little cereal, a hint of vanilla, and just a dash of baking spices. Think: Honey Cheerios but with a little bit of allspice thrown in.

Normally, with a blended scotch, the aroma is pretty good but the flavor is bland. Here I do think we get more of the flavors coming through than usual, but they are just so naturally chill and unimposing that there’s not much flavor to actually expect in the first place. It might actually take a couple sips to see the flavors through the alcohol burn, so I’d recommend you give it a few moments before judging yourself.

I get the honey sweetness up front, some baking spices like nutmeg and allspice, and then the Cheerio cereal as the flavor develops. On the finish there’s a disappointing note like a bit of wet cardboard that’s thrown in, but it isn’t overpowering and doesn’t ruin the mood. After repeated sips, I also pick up a hint of dark chocolate that adds some depth and weight to the mixture, and that dark chocolate element only becomes more consistent and louder as you take more sips from the glass.

On Ice

Ice has a tendency to sap a lot of the vibrancy and interesting character out of a spirit, and I think that’s the unfortunate case here.

The only thing I’m getting at this point — and I mean only thing — is the Honey Cheerios. A little vanilla, some cereal elements, and some honey sweetness. Everything else is completely gone.

On the one hand, this a positive development because the wet cardboard flavor that I saw neat is also banished from the flavor profile, leaving behind something light and sweet and easy to sip. But it also means this is much less interesting and complex, which is unfortunate.

Overall Rating

Not every bottle of scotch needs to be a transcendental experience. Sometimes you just need something alcoholic and slightly interesting — and this fits that bill perfectly, serviceably providing some basic scotch flavors at an affordable price.

It’s probably pretty good in a cocktail and likely to be less objectionable to newer drinkers than a traditional Islay spirit, but for the seasoned drinkers you might want to think about spending a couple extra dollars on something with a little more interesting flavor profile.

All reviews are evaluated within the context of their specific spirit classification as specified above. Click here to check out similar spirits we have reviewed.

Overall Rating: 4/5
A lighter, sweeter, simpler scotch whisky that likely won’t break the bank.