Shieldaig Oloroso Cask
White Label Scotch Single Malt (Total Wine) | 43% ABV
Score: 4/10
Some promise.
TL;DR
Big Box store brand whisky, you get what you get
Intersections
Following Wally’s excellent Cairn write-up a few weeks ago that openly discussed not only that bottle of whisky, but how Dramface could better serve both the whisky consuming public and bring value to those amazing folks who contribute toward a membership, a spirited debate sprang up in the comments. Nearly all positive mind you, but it was robust feedback from readers and members alike.
I, being a former freeloading-lurker-turned-member-turned-contributor, read most of them.
A marketplace of ideas and genuine engagement from those who cherish this site gave way to a discussion about what Dramface should be about.
If the goal is to optimize subscriptions, how do members get more benefits to ensure their subscription feels “worth it?”
If the goal is to create a value-for-quality buying guide for the whiskyverse, why not do more “if-not-this-try-that…” type articles that are more prevalent among whisky influencers?
If the goal is clicks or volume, why not feature more mainstream bottles or discussions through the eyes of the casual whisky sipper who comprise 90% of the whisky drinking population?
If the goal is crowdsourced whisky reviews or as a data aggregator, why not do more collaborations or have median scoring? (Or skip those lengthy preambles altogether?)
Etc.
There wasn’t really a conclusion, which I think is the point.
Dramface is an art not a science. The “fiercely independent” moniker worn like a badge of honor at the top of the website means that it can be, really whatever we want, both as contributors and as readers. Each write-up weaves at the whims of its author. There’s no schedule, agenda, or pressure. And with 1,400+ (I think) banked reviews, there’s something for all appetites in the search function.
Independence then becomes two-fold: both as unbeholden to Big Booze corporate overlords and unshackled from the conformity of a standard spirits website.
Forcing Dramface in any one direction risks splintering the great community that’s been built around spontaneity, honesty, and humanity.
Independence grows more important each day as most of the internet becomes a wasteland of conflict, misinformation and AI generated slop; with algorithms pushing slick-content-for-clicks-and-clout over true artistry.
I put all these ruminations to a close friend, fellow whisky enthusiast, and loyal Dramface reader (although he tends to be a man about brevity and skips the introductions). His suggestion was since the majority of the reviews are either a 6,7, or 8, simplify the scoring to a 1,2,3 score where 1 is good, 2 is very good and 3 is excellent. (0 would just be avoid).
My counter was that there was nuance on both the spectrums and to appreciate the 10 score in its fullest. He also suggested we discuss more mainstream whiskies or at the very least those attainable to the common person. My counter being since the goal is independence, the average Dramface writer isn’t about to stockpile bottles of Glenlivet, Chivas Regal, and Ballantine’s for the purpose of handing out a low score and hoping it attracts web volume and attention from more casual sippers.
But valid points nonetheless.
All of this intersected a couple of weeks ago when Archie’s alter-ego, who hosts a bar trivia every Tuesday, was locked in a conversation with one of the patrons. Although the venue is a whiskey bar (with a decent American whiskey list), offers flights, and has a whiskey club, it’s rare I see anyone imbibing a dram outside of cocktails. This person had ordered a 5-pour flight and being a polite and engaging trivia host, but also whisky curious, I asked how it was.
He said that it was good, his favorite from the flight was the Yamazaki. A solid choice. I asked what his preferences were, he said Scotch whisky.
No way: a fellow botherer in the wild? Too good to be true. I tried to hide my glee at being able to chat up the uisge beatha. I asked if he had a favorite style of Scotch whisky.
“I like Highland style whiskies.”
Is this really happening…? I was seconds away from inviting him to my next tasting but tried to play it cool. I asked if there were any distilleries he particularly liked.
“My favorite is Glen Fohdry, it’s so smooth.”
Glen what!?
Now I’m not a man who can name every Scottish whisky producer from memory or claims to have sampled the full catalogue from every distillery, but I’m steeped enough in the lore of the water of life to know my glens, and -fohdry ain’t one of them.
Not trying to betray my sheer befuddlement at being thrown this curve ball or spill out a rude or condescending response to my new whisky friend, I simply asked where I could acquire this mystery glen, he told me his bottles are from Total Wine.
Ah. Total Wine & More. The big box retailer that dominates American spirits sales. Ubiquitous in California.
I don’t have anything against them, but I haven’t perused their aisles in a while as I have my local family-owned liquor store I support that has better pricing and selection, as well as affordable retailers abroad for all my Scotch whisky needs.
Like Costco, the other American spirits behemoth, Total Wine has house brands through their “Spirits Direct” partner. Sure enough, after a quick lookup, there was Glen Fohdry. The information on the bottle, label, and website present like it’s a real distillery, so I can’t fault my new friend as I’ve been similarly duped in the past by another Spirits Direct brand: Shieldaig.
Deception is as common as anything in the world of spirits. After all, it's a product that’s marketed and sold. We botherers are the minority of the minority. The vast consumers worldwide of Scotch whisky, especially outside the UK, are casual sippers. A few bottles on the shelf, handful of preferred brands, and more likely to have low guardrails when confronted with a sales pitch or corporate marketing.
Also, most people don’t take whisky that seriously. One bottle is as good as the next if it's “smooth” and tastes like whisky, or goes well in a cocktail or mixes well with soda.
In the past, a friend and I (same from earlier who was texting me about Dramface) visited Total Wine before a weekend trip. We wanted a bottle of whisky and there was Shieldaig. It seemed decent and the price point was fine. I don’t have fond memories about the whisky itself, just that the sales associate said it was “very good.” In hindsight they were pushing clear “newbs” toward their house brands. We were just marks for a sales con.
I’m not going to fault Total Wine for having in-house brands pretending to be distilleries, but their sales tactics to promote these brands are downright deceptive, and not just because I was bamboozled by a bottle of Shieldaig in pre-botherer days.
I recently did a little sleuthing on the website of my local Total Wine, searched “Scotch”, sorted the list by “Expert Ratings” and sure enough, their house brands and Spirits Direct were all at the top. A bottle of 21-year-old “Isle of Skye” bottled at 40% was the top-rated whisky in the whole store, earning an impressive 98 score from IWSC.
The top three whiskies by “Expert Rating” on Total Wine’s website are: the aforementioned “Isle of Skye” 21 year, the Glengoyne 12 year, and “Isle of Skye” 12 year. All with that impressive 98 rating from the IWSC and “award winner” under both 12-year-olds.
We can talk about “international awards” and the whisky-awards-industrial-complex another time, but I’m quite sure we’re all on the same page that if low-ABV blends and the Glengoyne 12 are the highest rated whiskies, something fishy is going on.
Sigh. Maybe my friend is right. Perhaps Dramface should start doing some good in the world and begin discussing these high-selling house-brands. I still don’t think the team of writers are going to spend their hard-earned shekels acquiring them and who knows if it will matter. Like my new whisky friend at the bar, maybe people like them just fine.
Review
Shieldaig, Oloroso Cask edition, NAS, Single Malt Scotch Whisky, matured in sherry casks, 43% ABV, 75cl.
US$60 (gifted)/ £45, wide availability in the US
It’s strange how the bob-and-weave of writing and choosing what to discuss intersects.
I received this bottle as a Christmas gift. I was grateful of course. If anything, it gave me a chance to dive in and taste something I normally wouldn’t as a contrast to the bottles I usually source for my personal enjoyment.
I wasn’t originally going to write about it, but my conversation both with my old friend and new whisky friend at the bar got me thinking that for every 7,8, or 9 bottles that splashes these pages, there must be a balance from the other side. After all, there’s as many if not more on the underwhelming or average side as there are at the top.
The bottle under discussion is from Ian MacLeod Distillers, a family-owned independent company according to their website that operates four Scottish whisky distilleries: Tamdhu, Glengoyne, Rosebank, and the newly opened Laggan Bay on Islay, as well as a handful of gin and rum distilleries. But the bulk of their core brands is a long list of different blended whisky varieties including a few of I’ve heard of like: Smokehouse, Shieldaig, Isle of Skye, Barrowman’s and others I haven’t: The Six Isles, Mash Cut, Sheep Dip, Pig’s Nose, King Robert II, and more.
To the surprise of no one, those I’ve heard of are tops of the Total Wine ratings, imported under the “Spirits Direct” moniker. I’ll allow folks to make their own assumptions.
There’s not much information about Shieldaig except a couple of marketing blurbs on the website. The bottle itself simply says: “Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Speyside, the Oloroso Cask Edition, 43% ABV”.
Its non-age stated and the dark color leads me to believe there’s a fair amount of spirit-caramel added.
Score: 4/10
Some promise.
TL;DR
Big Box store brand whisky, you get what you get
Nose
Right off the bat it reminds me of Yoo-hoo, the “chocolate-flavored drink” that couldn’t call itself chocolate milk. Saccharine sweetness like sweet-n-low. Orange peel. Wet cardboard. Red apples. Boxed red wine. Iced tea. Orange chocolate. Gum drops. Damp newspaper. Hawaiian punch. Flat Orange Crush.
I mean it’s not terrible, there’s clearly cask influence here but it is hard to identify the spirit. No water added.
Palate
More Yoo-hoo. Chocolate-covered almonds. Somehow both sharp and smooth at the same time. Cinnamon apple sauce. Burnt sugar. Watery, thin mouth feel. There are vague red fruits like candy apple and dark cherries. Hi-C.
The finish is flat and short with a final sugary-sweet milk chocolate note wrapped in more wet paper & cardboard. Again, no water.
The Dregs
Well, there it is. There’s not much else to say. This is the third bottle of Shieldaig I’ve come across and I’ll give them one thing, it’s at least drinkable. Other house-brands or blends and even some single malts are just downright drain worthy, especially those mass-marketed and watered-down. As I’ve become more conscious of my whisky purchases in the last few years I wouldn’t pursue this bottle, even as an experiment for Dramface.
With these bottles gracing the top of the “Expert Ratings” on the Total Wine website and their employees pushing these whiskies to casual customers, it’s clear there’s a racket going on, but nothing that’s not commonplace with any large corporation.
And so, somehow Dramface realises it’s true mission. Through the grind of regular enthusiasts simply relaying their genuine experiences with context, free will and individual personality, we build relevance. We never insist that any of the subject bottles should be available for sale, because - unlike the Total Wines et al - we are not here to sell.
Through our growing library of documented flavor notes and engagement testimonies we share, as openly and honestly as possible, what you might expect to get in return should you choose to hand over your own cash when whiskies are available; but, when they’re not, we hope there’s still something of interest as you take in the whimsy of our writers who enjoy the space as a creative outlet.
If there’s any casual whisky sippers looking to elevate their sip who found this particular review randomly while googling, thanks for reading. Try the GlenAllachie 12yo or the Arran 10yo instead, they’re only a few bucks more at Total Wine and much higher engagement.
Luckily at the Dunlop household we have a nice ritual, since my partner doesn’t like whisky but likes whisky cokes, any that don’t meet Archie’s standards make their way into cocktails. It’s a great routine and ensures these bottles have their rightful place in the whisky ecosystem.
Score: 4/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. AD
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