I could use a little help from Kayaker on this one.
I popped into one of the regular state stores (not a premium collection store) to grab another bottle of what is hands down my favorite budget single malt - the Bowmore Islay Legend.
While there were out of that they did have a single malt on the shelf I'd never seen before (which is saying something - generally their entire selection premium of Scotch, single malt or otherwise, is limited to the Glen's, the Mc's and the Johnny's).
So since it was in the same price range as the Bowmore (which is usually right around $28) just for fun I grabbed it and pretty much forgot about it until tonight.
I decided to open it up and try it out. Unfortunately I was greeted with a broken cork so I had to decant it through a sieve - not sure how much that will affect the taste.
First I tried just a nip of it neat:
Neat tasted very fruity and citrus-y. Easliy the most citrus I've ever tasted in a Scotch.
Next with just a couple drops of still water, which really opened it up. I tasted more fruit and a little bit of peat.
Finally I tried it as I usually take my Scotch - on the rocks:
I found that while I usually enjoy the taste on the rocks more I don't think that it really complemented this one as it lost the interesting fruitiness and really brought out the medicinal taste.
As it sits and the ice melts a bit the medicinal taste is drying down and I'm getting mostly sweetness and peat. For the price I think I might go over and try to grab another bottle.
So here is the question. Everything I've seen online the bottle looks like this:
Mine looks much different and says "The" Edradour.
Any idea what's up with this one?