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Liquor Review: Cutty Sark

Published on April 15th, 2008 in Scotch by Kevin

Cutt Sark Okay, I can admit it, I have a bit of a problem. It turns out that I am a little bit of a liquor snob, especially with Scotches and the single malt varieties. I have a very difficult time walking out of a liquor store with a blended Scotch when I know that there are a number of delicious single malts calling my name from the shelf. However, I managed to summon some will power and purchased a box, containing a bottle, containing the finest Scots Whisky. Well at least that is what Berry Bros & Rudd, the makers of Cutty Sark, claim.

Cutty Sark was created on the 20th of March, 1923. This Scotch was the brainchild of the Berry Bros., a wine and spirit merchant that was established in 1698. Senior partner Francis Berry insisted on blending only the finest malt whiskies and each of those whiskies should be naturally light in color. The resulting product consisted of about 20 different single malt whiskies, mostly from the Speyside region of Scotland, and high-quality grain whiskies. The individual whiskies are matured in American Oak barrels before blending. After blending, the mix is aged together for another 6 months creating the final product you can purchase for about $22.

The name “Cutty Sark” was suggested by famous Scottish artist James McBey when he was invited to a luncheon with the partners of Berry Bros. It is named after the world’s last tea clipper, the Cutty Sark. This seems appropriate because the ship was used to ship fine Scottish whisky around the world. Oh wait, actually it was used for shipping tea in between China and London. Later, it was also used in the Australian wool trade. Maybe the artist was really just obsessed with the undergarment bearing the name cutty sark, often worn by women in the 18th century? Actually, drinking Scotch named after undergarments is a bit awkward, so we’ll just stick to the ship story. The Cutty Sark clipper is still around today and you can actually visit it if you happen to be in Greenwich. Unfortunately, in May of 2007, the Cutty Sark sustained extensive damage from a fire, so it is currently under repairs and restoration. Honestly though, if you are reading this site you probably don’t care about the ship anyway. You care about the Scotch, so lets get on with it.

We cracked open the bottle, took a wiff, and then immediately wished we had not. It has a nice initial oakey aroma, but it was followed by what can only be described as fresh vomit. We poured it over some ice and could not help but notice Cutty Sark’s incredibly light, pale-gold color. The first sip was a bit harsh. It warms the mouth and throat the same way a branding iron warms a cow’s hide. Surprisingly, after a few sips it smoothed out and went down relatively easily. Now the flavor of Cutty Sark is where we run into a big problem. As I have mentioned before, I enjoy liquors that can stand on their own in terms of flavor and complexity. Cutty Sark has a very light flavor, and by light, I mean virtually nonexistent. There is a nice oak flavor, but it vanishes so quickly it’s hard to enjoy. There really isn’t a finish to speak of, other than a slight bitterness. I suspect that the 20 single malts in this bottle spent very little time in barrels. There is not even a hint of the smokey and peaty flavors that you expect from Scotch. It tastes more like some oak sawdust was dumped into a vat of young Scotch, stirred it around for a bit, and then filtered to remove the chunks of wood. Basically, the BoozeBasher staff does not understand the purpose of scotch without flavor, and as such, we could not give it a very high rating.

Cuty Sark is an 80-proof liquor, but it didn’t give me an 80-proof buzz. I really was expecting a little more out of this Scotch in the drunk department. The good news is that I felt fine the next morning. I could tell I had a few drinks the previous night, but there were no real ill effects. Cutty Sark, to me, is a watered-down version of a Scotch. The color, flavor, and drunkability are all significantly less than you would expect. If you are a vodka drinker trying to get into whiskies, then Cutty Sark might be a good transitional liquor. However, if you are a Scotch or whiskey drinker, I suggest you spend your money elsewhere.

Sipability – 4.5

Mixability – N/A

Drunkability -6.0

Hangover-ability – 7.5

Bang for the Buck – 8.0

Overall – 5.5