Today’s review is the Cutty Sark Prohibition, an affordable and popular blend owned by La Martiniquaise, France’s second-largest liquor brand and owners of Glen Moray.
TL:DR: Not a dram I’d meditate over, but one I thoroughly enjoy.
Vote*: 7 Very good stuff
One of the advantages of writing these reviews is that it forces me to set in words moments in this journey. Reading these back, even after just a few posts, can be slightly embarrassing. They are also revealing of how taste changes even in a short time. It can also raise red flags. Specifically, am I becoming a whisky snob?
Now I don’t have any issue with seeking whiskies that leave a strong impression. If that makes me a snob, so be it. I am fine with that. Yet, I started worrying I might be becoming prejudiced against mass-market brands just because they do not conform to the integrity bottling dogma. I purposefully decided to try the Cutty Sark Prohibition for a couple of reasons. First, it is an affordable mass-market brand which is widely available, at least online. Second, and vouching for quality, it does have a lot of whisky fans.
A quick history of Cutty Sark whisky
The Cutty Sark Blend was originally launched in 1923 by Barry Bros and Rudd, one of the most famous wine and Spirit merchants in London and suppliers to the British royal family for over 200 years. The popularity of this scotch brand grew significantly in the US during prohibition. Barry Bros and Rudd have an interesting post on their own blog discussing prohibition, here, in quite some detail. If you do decide to give it a read do spend some time admiring the carefully crafted sentences balancing between not participating in bootlegging and yet the known vast demand from the Bahamas (for some time one of the key bases of operations for bootleggers). The brand was sold to Edrington in 2010 who in turn sold it to La Martiniquaise in 2018
The Prohibition bottling was launched by Edrington in 2013, to celebrate 80 years from the end of prohibition. Why 80 years and not 75 or the more common 100, is a bit of a mystery. Who needs logic when you have marketing? The ABV was set at 100 US proof or 50% ABV as a reference to the higher strength whiskies popular during prohibition. The blend composition at launch was said to include Edrington’s own Macallan, Highland Park and Glenrothes malt, though it is unclear how much and if the blend remained the same after the sale to La Martiniquaise. Still, changes would not be surprising. The blend might (possibly) have changed, but let’s jump to the review of the Cutty Sark prohibition to check if the popularity is still justified and if a mass-market brand can save me from snobbery.
Cutty Sark Prohibition blended scotch
Specs
Price paid: €27.05
Lot/bottled date: L219259A
ABV: 50%
Natural colour: No
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Casks Used or Blend components: No information provided
Tasting notes
Colour: Pale amber, not that it matters, being caramel coloured.
Nose: There is a core of aromas that carry throughout the time I took to sample this dram. There is a hit of intense toffee, lemon, sea breeze and honey. Lurking behind there are more subdued aromas of malt, musty wood, white flowers and something green, vegetal and fresh and just a faint smokiness. The 50% ABV is noticeable, more potent than aggressive as alcohol can come from young spirits.
Taste: The 50% ABV hits my inexperienced palate right away. Even compared to the row of 46% blends I have tasted before this one, the difference is very noticeable. Once I got over the slight initial shock the taste reminded me of the nose, rich full-on if not too complex. The aromas are also similar: there is toffee, lemon peel, malt, honey and some peppery spice. Nice mouth-coating texture.
Finish: The finish brings back honey and citrus (now more like stewed lemons), a bit of mustiness and a slight floral note, almost like Parma violets. Ends with a slight drying tannin
How does it behave with a drop of water? I stopped adding water recently when I review whiskies because I found the experience usually didn’t gain anything from it, but that mainly concerns 46% ABV or fewer drams. Here adding water brings quite a change. The citrus note almost fades away and instead, a rich yellow fruit (peach) note and more toasted oats aroma take its place. I prefer it neat, but diluting the Cutty Sark Prohibition with a little water is not a bad choice if you find the alcohol burn a bit too much, without turning this into a disappointing watery malty drink.
Vote*: 7. Undeniably straightforward yet powerful and fun to drink. Not a dram I’d meditate over but one I thoroughly enjoyed. Very good stuff.
*Votes are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
Conclusions
After reviewing the Cutty Sark Prohibition, I am glad to report that I do not give a rat’s arse about prejudices against brands. There, got that off my chest. I don’t care that the standard Cutty Sark is a not-so-great (from memory) supermarket blend. The Prohibition is an extremely enjoyable whisky at a great price.
Sure, it is not going to win prizes for complexity and sophistication, but it does one thing and it does it well. It is a dram packed full of aroma and flavour, which can appeal to newbies and expert drinkers alike, even at 50%. Sometimes there is no need to overcomplicate things. If I had to complain about something, it would be the complete absence of information on the blend and why La Martiniquaise continues to use caramel colouring when they already have a great, full-fat, non chill filtered whisky.
I always find it interesting, after writing my tasting notes, to look at other opinions. Here are a few other reviews of the Cutty Sark Prohibition (post 2018) I enjoyed:
The Dramble (with some very interesting facts explaining how we ended up with 40% ABV whisky)
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