12 year old single malt | 40% ABV

Is it time to switch to supermarket own brands?

Another grumble about rising costs including our beloved bottles of booze? We get it, everything has gone to pot in recent years.

So here goes Gilbert, hitting the bottom shelf and exploring supermarkets’ own brand whisky. 

Now all vague and failing attempts of humour aside, times are tough and many a luxury has been scaled back or completely crossed out of the budget. I just finished a five month no whisky purchase ban to help cover some unexpected costs. While I know you’re thinking: “What a modern day hero,” please hold your applause as the stint was shortened by an impossible to resist £11 splurge.

As Billy Ocean once sang: “When the going gets tough, the drams get flowing” or something close enough to be the excuse to not cut out the good booze from our well-balanced diets. Therefore the only solution is to spend less on the Whisky we buy… bottom shelf here I come.

I know in our weekly shop we’ve found replacing some brand label products for the supermarket alternatives has slightly dented the price increase. But at what emotional cost? I hope you haven’t had your tastebuds violated by Tesco's own brand tomato sauce on your burger instead of the far superior Heinz ketchup and after seeing the horror across my wife’s face, we still buy branded beans. Even a little sausage inside the tin couldn’t sweeten the deal. However, you may find some pleasant switches, such as replacing the breakfast staple for the constipated Weetabix with Wheat Biscuits. Much tastier and a third of the price, yet I cannot comment on how this switch has affected fibre intake. Please seek medical advice on that. For every successful switch of Snickers to Tesco Nutty Nougat Caramel Bars you can also find a vile Fizzy Cola to the majestic red ribbon of Coca Cola.

So while the lower costs can often reflect lower quality, surely this won't be reflected with supermarket whisky? It’s made in the same distilleries as other whiskies with just a different label right? This theory was only tickled further upon hearing a rumour that Co-Op Irresistible 12yo single malt is pretty much The Dalmore 12yo at half the price. [note ‘rumour’ - Ed]

While this was just a whisper on the social media wind, the only thing to do would be place the aptly named deerstalker on my head and charge down the rabbit hole to uncover the truth.

Rolling back the investigation many moons ago, I must have got myself lost after some late night Dramface reading to find myself in the dark and slightly threatening whisky threads on Reddit. Scrolling through the forums of My Macallan Collection and Homemade Jack Daniel’s Lamps, I saw a discussion that the “Tesco Finest Highland single malt whiskey [sic]” bottle was a Dalmore. Intrigued, I clicked the bait to read not only the similarities in the notes but the hard evidence of the whisky slinger Richard Patterson's signature scribble across the bottle. Now this is far from solid proof of Dalmore - I’m currently staring at a bottle of Shackleton blended malt with his name embossed in gold on the front. So while it doesn’t confirm it’s a Dalmore, it’s very likely a Whyte & Mackay bottle. 

I decided we needed extra groceries and offered to sacrifice my time and collect these items from the local Tesco supermarket. While there, I thought it would be rude not to look at this bottle on the shelf. So, grasping the milk and bread as if I was a contestant on Supermarket Sweep, I got to the surprisingly stripped spirits aisle in under two minutes. Sadly I found the fabled bottle was gone and replaced by a generic looking bottle of Tesco Finest 12yo Highland. No Richard Patterson but instead the signature of cask master David Semple. I decided against picking up a bottle and put this little exploration to an end.

The fact I had a reduced price Lagavulin 8 in my basket already may have also been a factor.

Now don’t fret, while you put yourself through the preamble ramble to this point, the case hadn’t gone cold. Outside of the office we had a dilapidated Co-Op supermarket, which was soon to be closing down in replace of a German discount supermarket to the delight of the townsfolk. As I entered to grab some grub after once again forgetting my sandwich, I saw a bottle of Co-Op Irresistible 12yo single malt whisky glistening on the dusty shelves which had a large reduced to clear label. Granted it only took off about £4.30 but that was enough for me to request it. Little did the checkout clerk know I was smugly clutching a £5 off voucher loaded on my phone. Swiftly out the door with the box in hand, I skipped back for an afternoon of whisky-less work.

The current state of that Co-Op may or may not be reflective of this bottle.

Now if you’ve seen the film Jumanji, the drums were beating with the bottle calling my name from the rucksack below my desk. However, I held my nerve and waited until I was home knowing I could also pop the cork while diving deeper. You may now give me the applause that you were holding from earlier. It was here that I saw that name again, David Semple cask master. The game is afoot!

Interestingly that was one of the many famous phrases created by Shakepeare back in 1597 but didn’t really catch on till the early 1900s due to the widespread publications of Sherlock Holmes.

But you are not here for word facts, let’s bring the story to now. So there I was, whizzing through page after page, browser window after browser window, my laptop fan whirring in a weak attempt to take off to discover more concrete details. Yet, the distillery hunt came up dry. No solid proof but only two hanging threads to continue the chase. One was a locked down social media account of David Semple, former employee of Whyte & Mackay and the other was how they listed this bottle on the IWSC awards website.

I would only question the validity of the IWSC listing as while it is recorded under Whyte & Mackay, it scored a very impressive 98 points where Whyte & Mackay were not only a sponsor of the awards but also Richard Patterson himself was a judge on that specific bottle.

I guess all that is left is to talk about the liquid from the mystery distillery. I’m sure there will be a smarter whisky nut than I in the comments below who will have the pudding containing the proof. Please.

Review

Co-op Irresistible single malt 12yo, 40% ABV: £26.25 available at Co-op supermarkets in the UK

The label is presentable with the gold foil reflecting the super-deep artificially coloured liquid inside. Another nod to a potential Dalmore. I cannot help but chuckle at how they proudly state on the box that malted barley, water and yeast are all the components needed for whisky… yet they chuck in the caramel colour as the special fourth ingredient.

To get proof after recycling the box, I nipped into a different store and asked a very confused staff member if I could take a quick snap. Thank you for obliging and also confirming you are happy for the photo to go online. For the record this is the Highland bottle, which for some reason is not displayed on the bottle anymore, but is on the website. Maybe there is a change in the wind?

I do want to highlight it’s great they’ve included braille on this label and box - something the Co-op are widely known for doing. It’s a little expense which could have been cut for a selfish sliver of extra profit margin.

Nose

Nothing. Honestly the first sniff in the glass I couldn’t pick anything out, which is this day makes you start to question things. Luckily after a little routing around I found some light malty biscuits, orange and blackcurrant Ribena. There are some slightly sherry led notes tied up with quite a sharp nail polish residue. Nothing to shout about here.

Palate

To the shock of no one, the watery texture swiftly flows past the tongue instantly. Thankfully each further sip, gives a slight twist on the previous gulp. One time it was unsalted fruit and nuts floating in a bowl of lukewarm water. This was followed by very sweet chilli chocolate floating in a glass of lukewarm water. It swiftly left the limpest finish of lemon… which has been floating in a mug of lukewarm water.

Of course it’s going to be on the watery side, yet if you’re the mild manor whisky drinker hunting for that smooth note. It hits it.

The Dregs

Tell you what, if you like your water lukewarm I got a great recommendation for you. This whisky was not made for the whisky enthusiasts like you and me and I feel it performs acceptably for their target market.

So is the solution for savvy sipping the supermarket stuff? No. Well, at least not this own brand release, especially when at time of writing you can grab these bottles of similar supermarket shelves for cheaper: The Ardmore Legacy, Tomatin Legacy, Tullamore Dew and Old Pulteney 12.

Score: 3/10

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. GG

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