King's Crest 25 Year Old

April Dowd photo

This blend comes from The Speyside, one of Scotland's smallest distilleries but plenty big on attitude when it comes to comparing itself to the market niche leaders. I tried this selection at recent Whisky Live event in Manhattan.

• King’s Crest 25 Year Old Blended Scotch:

I found this lovely blend, priced like Johnnie Walker Blue Label (see previous entry) upwards of $200 a bottle, a worthy competitor.

In fact, it might even be considered slightly superior in the peaty, hazlenut flavors that removed all traces of any unpleasant heat.

While its purveyors like to trumpet the result of the master blender's work, the company will say only that "We believe our King's Crest has become a legend in it's own right. But what makes a legend? For our master blender it is the combination of several elements, however he is very reticent to disclose them."

It can be disclosed that the maltiness, the vanillas and caramels, the hint of pineapple and citrus notes indicate a very complex and satisfying whisky.

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