Te Bheag

[Megawatt]

I'm wondering what you all think of this blend. For those unaware it is not "tea bag" (though that is what some of us affectionately call it), but "chey vek". Yes, Gaelic is a strange language. Anyway, it is a blended Scotch from the Praban la Ninne company on the Isle of Skye, who also produce Poit Dhubhe vatted malts and are working on opening a distillery, I have heard. It is marketed as a "connoiseur's blend", meaning it contains a high proportion of malt whisky aged 8-11 years, some of it matured in sherry casks. There is no age statement on the bottle. Also worth mentioning that it is non-chillfiltered, though bottled at 40% alc./vol.

So, how is it? In some ways it is a typical blend, with a marriage of peat, honey, fruit, toffee, and grain. It achieves a similar profile of the smokier blends like Islay Mist. Where it differs is in the body: Te Bheag is big, smooth, and robust. It is highly drinkable. It is a sipping blend. Pricewise it falls in between Johnnie Walker Red and Black, and indeed that is where I would place it: far better than Red but a notch down from Black. Like the best blends its flavours are well integrated and it leaves a sweet smokiness in the mouth.

If anyone else has opinions on this blend I'd love to hear them.

[Willie JJ]

Yes its very good indeed and cracking value for money.

Their distillery is still some time away though. I was talking to them last year and apparently the planning permission is in place but the distillery isn't built and they don't expect to be in production before 2012 I think (it may have been 2011 I was exploring a number of Poit Dubh bottlings as we spoke).

[jmrl]

We only stock 2 blends we don't produce, one is Te Bheag. It is a big blend that might not suit everyone but I like it's confidence and bold body. The whiskies this company makes are of significantly higher quality than average.

[MacDeffe]

Ralfy liked it as well

http://whiskyreviews.blogspot.com/2010/ ... hisky.html


Macdeffe