Most of the whiskies I review on the blog are single malts but from time to time I ‘sin’ with blends. I usually try to stick to good blends and only occasionally I taste and report on standard/low-end blends to find which are unworthy for your consumption – no harm should reach my readers.

Last weekend I’ve been on vacation with the extended family and my brother in law brought a whisky bottle to the gathering, the Chivas Regal 12. It’s been a loooong time since I tasted it, so I told to myself, heck why not!

I won’t bother detailing here the whisky information. Really, if you need it, go Google it or just accept the fact that it’s quite famous, well spread and is on sale for a decent price.

I guess most of you tasted it before, but if not or if it’s been a while since you last tried it – is it any good? can single malt lovers enjoy it?

Chivas Regal 12 year old (40%, £27.5)

Nose: The first word that comes to mind upon sniffing it is of the good kind: creamy. However, not many other notes shows up: some malt cereal, hints of wood, bit of vanilla and after some time in the glass a bit of citrus.

Palate: Creamy and smooth, cereal sweetness, a bit of spiciness, peppery and some oak.

Finish: What finish? I blinked and it went away. I concentrated hard on the next sip and noticed oak and spiciness before it totally melted away in a few seconds.

Conclusion: Yes, it’s smooth and creamy and is a vast improvement over low-end supermarket blends, but frankly – it doesn’t raise emotions or wake up any taste buds, so it’s drinkable. At summer. If you don’t have any single malt or a better blend.