Drago 5yo Canarian Whiskey
Blended Whiskey | 40% ABV
Score: 4/10
Some promise.
TL;DR
There's something to be said for pedestrian whiskies, but let’s not make a habit of it.
A Spaniard Making Whiskey?
Here I am, kicking back on a Sunday evening with a dram of Drago’s 5 year old blended whiskey.
Drago is a whiskey from the Destilerias Aldea from the Isle of La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, situated some 600 km off the Moroccan coast in the Atlantic. Now why on earth would Dramface bother with some obscure Spanish whisky that probably no one ‘s ever heard about? Well, first and foremost, I (and I assume you as well), are all for expanding the horizon. Second: it never hurts to check out the competition to see if there’s anyone out there who might be a contender to the Scottish throne. Furthermore: this was pretty damn cheap – some €22 if I remember correctly, and it comes with an age statement.
How did this bottle make it to Dramface, then? Well that’s the result of a recent vacation of yours truly. Allow me to elaborate. As such, the Canary Islands are quite interesting to go alcohol shopping, due to the low VAT (7% if I’m not mistaken). The downside being, there are few ‘dedicated’ liquor stores to be found, and the stores and supermarkets that do offer a selection of whisky and whiskey are generally aiming for, and relying on, household names and well-known brands. That said, I did find a few bottles I generally don’t have access to at home, so I was keen to try some new things. Instead of going for what I already knew, I took a punt on terra incognita, because curiosity won over budget consciousness, even if that meant leaving behind some bargain bottles of Highland Park, Glenmorangie and Glenfiddich on the store shelves. One of the whiskies I did bring back home however, which was found in a dedicated store, was this 5yo blended whiskey. Because “when in Rome…”
“but seeing how whisky has become a bit of a panglobal phenomenon, there’s no reason why the Spanish should be left standing in a corner”
Obviously, I could have just settled for the obvious option - picking up a few bottles from travel retail at the airport, but I didn’t really see the point of maxing out my allowed import limit here. These days I find it’s far more interesting to pick up some local stuff, because the days where travel retail meant interesting prices are long gone and 90% of what global travel retail (GTR) has to offer these days is, quite frankly, dull and predictable.
To quote Wally on this one: “GTR forces producers to make pretty things with no substance for maximum profit, knowing how important they are as a promotional tool and 'shop window' for travellers. The problem is, to meet the requirements, things become more and more watered down and contrived.” Indeed, that sums things up nicely.
Granted, whisky or whiskey isn’t something you’d immediately associate with Spain or the Canary Islands, but seeing how whisky has become a bit of a panglobal phenomenon, there’s no reason why the Spanish should be left standing in a corner, now is there? In fact, I’m all for trying some of the local specialties when visiting other countries. So if you put in a bit of effort and avoid the places that persist on offering things like a full English breakfast or the obvious clichés such as paella, you’ll find there’s often quite some culinary surprises waiting. Just for the record, they’ve got some pretty nice wine and some quite good goat cheese there too. And if one of the local specialities happens to be whiskey, who on earth am I to complain?
Having said that, if there’s one spirit you’d associate with the Spanish, it’ll likely be rum. And seeing how the archipelago lies on the same latitude as Florida, and with the Spanish having ‘a bit’ of history with that general area of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, it’s easy to see how rum would find its way across the Atlantic to places like La Palma and Tenerife, where they are now also producing rum in all shapes and sizes – white, spiced, honey flavoured, liqueur, aged… you name it, they got it.
Indeed, anyone visiting any of the Canary Islands can testify they practically throw the stuff at you. Sidenote, and obviously broad-brushing things here a fair bit, but generally I’m not overly keen on Spanish style rums. Based on my experience, I find them too sweet. Disgustingly sweet even. Some of their rums are so sweet you can feel your lips being glued to your gums with every sip while your teeth are desperately trying to make their escape from the barrage of sugar, a result of a lot of producers being quite generous when it comes to adding extra sugar to the final product.
Review
Drago 5yo Funest Blended Canarian Whiskey, 40% ABV
£20 and generally available in Spain
So, it’s no surprise that Destilerias Aldea, a family business now in its fourth generation, is first and foremost a rum distillery and has been since 1936. Initially founded on Gran Canaria, the rum production moved next door to La Palma in the 1950’s, and in recent years they branched out when they decided to start producing whiskey on the side as well.
Whether that was a wise decision, we’ll get to that in a bit. They’ve christened their whiskies ‘Drago’, after the namesake indigenous tree and symbol of sister island Tenerife. Apart from this 5yo blend, they also produce a 3yo blend and some single grains, which leads me to believe this is in fact a single blend, if we want to get really technical.
Nose
Light and sweet fruitiness with banana and kiwi notes. Behind those, a soft, almost faint malty biscuit element. More fruit, this time with all sorts of berries such as blackcurrant, strawberry marmalade and cherries and some milk chocolate in the back. All remains very light and easygoing.
Palate
Malty, a more generic sweet note now. Barley sugar, chocolates and cherries, with a soft bitterness countering the sweetness. Even before it goes into the finish it disappears into oblivion.
The Dregs
A simple whisky. Too simple really. Pleasant, yet rather unremarkable and forgettable. And while there’s obviously room for improvement here, I’m not at all sure if this will ever develop into something even remotely close to formidable. It’s very much a product of its environment: a subtropical island (who wants ‘feisty’ or ‘complex’ when it’s already 30°C half the time), and also it’s aimed at local customers and tourists. Why on earth would they want to go full Ardnamurchan or Springbank? Not disrespecting what they do here, just stating what I believe they are about: making an easy sipping, background whisky.
Despite this being rather middle of the road, it’s time to put a few things into context. Can I complain about this whisky? Not really, actually. It’s a 5 year old, sub €25 blend, let’s bear that in mind at all times. Do I enjoy it? Sort of. It’s as inoffensive as you’d want a whisky to be, and on a hot summer evening, it fits the bill nicely. Even non-whisky drinkers may well enjoy this, and now I have something in the cabinet I don’t mind pouring over ice, or adding some Coke to. Does it float my boat? Not particularly. If anything, it’ll be a nice souvenir more than a go to whisky for the foreseeable future. I also think it looks rather nice, particularly the labelling. I don’t regret buying it and you could argue I could have saved that €20 odd to spend on a ‘better’ whisky. However, it’s no use crying over spilled milk and also, if you only stick to what you know, you‘ll never experience new things. If anything, if you don’t stumble on mediocre from time to time, how can you enjoy the truly wonderful? So, hooray for pedestrian whisky, I guess!
Score: 4/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. EA
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