The much anticipated David Beckham endorsed single grain whisky, produced at Cameronbridge distillery. A combination of first-fill, rejuvenated and refill bourbon barrel-matured whiskies are used and Beckham, along with Simon Fuller, is very much involved in the development of the Haig Club brand.
The Haig dynasty meanwhile is the stuff of legend, with Robert Haig getting himself into trouble for distilling on the sabbath back in 1655! Cameronbridge was founded by John Haig in 1824, and a continuous still designed by Robert Stein (who was John's uncle) was soon installed at the site for the production of grain whisky, predating Aeneas Coffey's famous patent for his own version of the continuous still by a handful of years.
The grain whisky produced at Cameronbridge would naturally become integral to the well-loved Haig blended whiskies and now the Haig brand has been reinvented for a new generation and new markets. It may seem like a scary new world to some, but grain whisky is on the march, and Haig Club is at the very forefront.
It doesn't jump out at you, granted, but there's more here than meets the eye (/nose). Apple crumble, expressed lemon peel and a touch of mango. Millionaire's shortbread, banoffee pie, coconut milk, dried grass, orange Turkish delight and cardamom.
Toffee and vanilla with pleasant supporting oak notes. Fresh banana (neither overpowering nor artificial), a hint of nougat and honeycomb pieces.
Praline, cinnamon and a little ginger with perhaps a hint of cardamom returning right at the death.
Approachable, adaptable, good mouthfeel (I chucked some ice in afterwards and the texture was great). A hugely accessible whisky with tasty spice, toffee and, with the ice now, increasingly some tropical fruit notes too.
As others have said, the best thing about it is the bottle. Definitely one for mixing.
Definitely not an expert on Scotch but on ice it's smooth. I've had better stuff at same price and I've had much worse. Wanted to try something different and it's establishment date caughty eye. Maybe a sucker to advertisement but overall OK.
Never mind comparing this to a single malt, even comparing it to grain whisky in the same price bracket it's awful, as a stand alone drink it's awful, as a fluid it's awful, I wouldn't even use this to disinfect my toilet, it would do an awful job of that too. It's crap with a fancy label and if you buy it you support selling a product with fancy advertising opposed to selling product based on its actual quality.
I love this whisky its got a real easy to drink element to it bit pricey for a grain not a single malt though but I will buy again if on offer my husband and I are both whisky drinkers and prefer malts as a rule of thumb
The wannabe whisky snobs are out in force. Haig Club is well worth adding to your collection. There's a hint of spice and it goes down nicely on the rocks.
