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.
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Absolute belter! I know some of you might be thinking "not for me Clive" but trust me, this is perfect for a Saturday night bender. Like Beckham, it doesn't need to mature. But it might give you some golden balls.
Rank rotten.
Strange taste. The problem with this whiskey is that it's all fur coat and no knickers. Don't believe the hype. A terrible waste of money.
I just bought 3 bottles of this! Why? Tesco were making shelf space and decided to sell the bottles for £12 rather than the usual £45! Some of you past reviewers might still question why I'd buy even one bottle at that price. Well... ...I like it. It's not a malt whisky. It doesn't taste like a malt whisky and it comes in possibly the coolest bottle ever. Do I like that it's endorsed by Beckham? No! And it's the reason I hung off trying this whisky. Do I think it's worth the full asking price of £45? Hell no! And I've never bought a bottle at that price, and never will! This whisky and the fact it's endorsed by a celeb, smacks of those J-Lo, Katie Price Kylie Minogue (AND the Beckhams!) perfumes that always find their way to an end of aisle bargain bin...because no-one wants to tell people that the scent they're wearing is the money grabbing vanity project of a fading celeb. It doesn't matter if the scent is entirely heavenly and attracts flocks of the opposite sex, It's a life principle... ...One that I broke by buying a bottle of this whisky in a Christmas sale. My reasoning at the time was mainly that I had been on a Single Grain Whisky exploration for a few years but had been thoroughly underwhelmed (and dismayed) at the money I'd shelled out to find there was very few grain whiskies that I enjoyed. Another big factor was that the House of Haig is a big, reputable whisky making name and their commercial release of a single grain whisky into the hands of the fickle malt-loving public with big exposure was something that piqued the interest of my grain-pining palette. It also helped that the packaging was not emblazoned with Beckham's face or name in any capacity whatsoever! For me, the neat taste and the cleaner "spirit" fumage of the Haig was no surprise. Almost all of the grain whiskies I've tried have it. Some have tried to mask it by maturation in Chardonnay casks etc, but all they do is impart odd tastes to the liquid. No, the Haig is different. The Haig strafes the palette with a sweetness that doesn't disguise it's spirit alcohol feel, but instead envelopes it to make the experience tastier for the taster. Master of Malt's own tasters are not wrong when they mention toffee, honeycomb and banoffee pie in their tasting notes! But all this is subjective... ...if you're coming at this bottle expecting to taste a malt whisky, then you'll be disappointed. If from the reviews below you're expecting something more akin to a clean spirit like vodka, then you'll be a little surprised. Because it is more flavourful! No, it's not a malt whisky, not by any elongation of the imagination. It's a grain whisky! And in any comparison with other grain whiskies, you'll find it's right up there. If you want to unfairly compare it to a malt, then you do it a disservice. Will I be stocking this on my shelf at home forevermore? Hardly likely. Am I just a thrifty Scotsman taking advantage of a money saving super bargain to satisfy my current bent for grain whisky? Or is it to have something tasty to hand for those moments that my mouth becomes malt-weary? Yes and yes, I most definitely am! And I'm the happier for it. If you get a chance to taste it in a bar first, I urge you to try it. But come at it with an open mind and no expectation of comparing it to anything other than equivalent grain whiskies. You might be surprised...
The bottle looks like an aftershave bottle. The whisky tastes very strange. Infact I've not dismissed the notion that this is infact a bottle of aftershave marketed by a famous footballer. There is a nice hint of bourbon in there somewhere but the finish tastes like it's part whisky part white rum. Not a good taste. And to top it off it has a very high price. Stay away, buy something else.
