I believe I wrote it before but it’s a fact that can bear a repetition: Wine finishes are a notorious hard thing to do correctly. It’s not easy to do it and keep it balanced and mesh the flavours together to elevate the whisky to another level.

Therefor it’s not really surprising to see why they aren’t too common and it’s mostly done with special editions and not official bottlings. Heck, take out Sauternes finish segment and the count is even rarer.

But there are a few braves expressions out there, like this one: the Royal Lochnagar DE. It’s using a dessert win but not the Sauternes but Muscat.

Our local airport shop carries this bottle and few months ago it was in a 50% discount (about $50) so a good friend of mine, Yori, who passed through the airport, grabbed a bottle and I got to try it. (Thanks Yori!)

How well does it integrate with nature of Royal Lochnagar highland spirit?

Royal Lochnagar Distillers Edition (40%, Batch RL/98-11V, £54.45)

Nose: It’s a bit dry on the nose, starts with oak, Sweet white wine, hints of pepper, grapes and with time there are also some tropical fruits with Melons and Ananas

Palate: Quite thin with with oak, lots of peppery spices, at first it’s sweet (yet still thin) and then it becomes fruity/grapes combo.

Finish: Very short, oak wood, starts with sweet sultanas (semi-dry feeling) and ends with oak

Thoughts: Hmm, I was disappointed. I expected the finish to lend some sweet and rich notes and instead we got a dry and thin whisky. For $50 it’s a good bargain but at the running prices in shops now, it’s a bit overpriced.