Lismore Single Malt is a “mystery malt” or a “bastard malt” as the Malt Maniacs put it. This basically means that we have no idea where it’s sourced from and the only thing we do know is that William Lundie & Co. are NDPs who are sourcing and bottling Speyside whisky. As far as we know they aren’t distilling a drop, which is fine because they aren’t claiming to have.
This NAS offering was my first exposure to this particular brand of value priced single malts. Which, if you’re ever looking for cheap whisk(e)y to experiment with, is a great place to start and Trader Joe’s always has it in stock. TJ’s is also decent place to go general whisky shopping. They have some well known brands for cheap and they have their own private bottlings for even cheaper. Many of my out-for-everyone / fair-game bottles come from Trader Joe’s because, like everything else in the store, they’re priced incredibly well.
Lismore Speyside Single Malt Review
Bottler: William Lundie & Co.
Age: NAS
ABV: 40%
Price: $17
EYE
Light Caramel
NOSE
Kind of a Plain Jane Speyside nose. Light fruity character with a bit of malt, caramel, honey and a touch of earth. There’s just not a whole lot going on here.
PALATE
Same here, just not a whole lot to get excited about. Some fruitiness, butterscotch, malt, honey candy, a thin hint of spice and a weird earthy note. Not sulfury, more like ashy dirt.
FINISH
Long and mostly made of that ashy earthy quality with some slight notes of malt, fruit, graham and spice
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
The weird ashy earthiness pulls it off balance for me; not enough of the fruity or sweeter characters to even things out. Light weak body and watery feel. Not exciting.
OVERALL
The bottom line here is that it’s a $17 Speyside Single Malt. It’s not going to wow you, nor is it trying to, but if you’re maybe just starting out in the Single Malt world and want to test out the value priced end of the pool before jumping into the deeper end this wouldn’t be a bad way to go. If you’re an experienced scotch sipper this one won’t have much to offer, but if you’re a cocktail crafter, or want something for when company comes over, then this isn’t a bad $17 bottle to keep lying around.
SCORE: 77/100
