We are always looking to challenge the great whisky-drinking public of Britain. Our latest was pitching the latest single malt whisky from India – Paul John – against our native, and much loved Scotch. It would have been easy to line up some cheap, lesser-quality ‘ringers’ and send them in for a Paul John to slaughter, but we never like to do things the easy way. Plus where would the fun or credibility be in that…

The India Vs Scotland series ran through February – March touring through 8 cities and 9 venues around the UK – London, Brighton, Sheffield, Liverpool, Leeds,  Newcastle, York and Manchester.

In the Red corner representing India we had…

Paul John Brilliance, 46%

£38.45 The Whisky Exchange

The starting point in the Paul John range, and was released in May 2013 alongside Edited.

Unlike the other offerings from this distillery on this tasting the Brilliance is completely un-peated. The whisky is distilled using traditional methods and mirrors Scottish production in almost every way. The vital exception being the extreme heat in which the whisky matures – this forces a huge jump in the angel’s share of between 10-15%. This whisky is matured in fresh first fill bourbon casks and has  a lively, light and sweet spicy spicy character.

Paul John Edited, 46%

£42.45 The Whisky Exchange

The second stop on the Paul John trail, Edited is a lightly-peated expression with a phenol content of around 8ppm. The peat used in the malting process is imported from Islay and used to smoke Indian barley. The whisky is then aged in first-fill bourbon casks creating an interesting and complex whisky. Ripples of peat and subtle smoke combine with honey and sweet spicy fruit flavours. Unchill-filtered like all of Paul John’s releases.

Paul John Peated, 55.5%

£67.95 The Whisky Exchange 

This is one of the latest releases from Paul John and has just started to hit the shelves of whisky specialists. This release is the first heavily-peated expression from the distillery and is bottled at full cask-strength. An intense whisky with plenty of smoke, but unlike other heavily-peated whiskies, like Laphroaig or Lagavulin, is not nearly as medicinal in flavour. A bold, rich and smoky whisky which evolves in your glass to reveal a multitude of flavours. 

And in the Blue Corner representing Scotland….

Balvenie 12yo Single Barrel, 47.8%

£47.45 The Whisky Exchange

A more recent release from this well-known Speyside distillery. This 12 year-old replaced the 15 year old Single Barrel in 2013 and has become a permanent edition to the Balvenie range. The whisky is aged in first-fill bourbon casks and is bottled one cask at a time. Each cask yields only a few hundred bottles meaning subtle variations can be found between batches. A light and sweet Balvenie with notes of honey, creamy vanilla, caramel and subtle citrus.

Clynelish 14yo, 46%

£36.45 The Whisky Exchange

Clynelish distillery is part of the Diageo family and sits on the east-coast between Inverness and Wick. The distillery is probably best-known for this official release, a 14yo which has those in pursuit of a gutsy highland dram reaching back for more time and time again. Clynelish isn’t afraid to take the gloves off and smack you in the jowls with a spicy punch. A big fruit and pepper punch balanced with a trace of salt and a touch of smoke. The distillery is due an expansion soon but we hope this doesn’t affect the wonderful character…

Talisker 57° North, 57%

£61.55 The Whisky Exchange

Talisker is the only distillery on the Isle of Skye but to be honest it is more than enough whisky for any island! Like Highland Park it is ‘medium-peated’, although the barley is brought in from industrial maltings from the Muir of Ord in the Highlands. Talisker was actually triple-distilled up until 1928. The distillery was destroyed altogether and rebuilt in 1960. It still uses worm tub condensers and has other quirks in its distilling equipment that seem to contribute to the peppery, spicy note to Talisker’s spirit. This release is at full cask-strength and is a force to be reckoned with. 

This is how they lined up…

Round 1….. Balvenie 12yo Vs Paul John Brilliance

Round 2….. Paul John Edited Vs Clynelish 14yo

Round 3….. Talisker 57° Vs Paul John Peated

The tasting itself was to challenge the senses and indeed perceptions of all involved. We tasted each pair blind without a shred of branding or marketing in sight. We set about comparing each pair looking at the nose, palate and finish of each whisky, which was followed by a vote on the favourite. Each whisky in the line-up was of an exceptional high standard and in most, if not all venues, there was a good split in favour of each.

Of all the VS Tastings we’ve done Japan Vs Scotland, Blends Vs Malts (to name but two) None have been closer than this!

Scotland conquered the South taking 2-1 victories in both the London tastings and in Brighton.

It was pretty tense stuff, everyone was on the edge of the seats as we started the final vote. A good show of hands went up for whisky 5, 18 votes counted. Hands up for whisky 6, 22 votes!!!

VICTORY INDIA!!!!

But worth noting that whisky of the series award went to Scotland with the Talisker proving the overall favourite.

Here’s some choice pics from the series, you can check out what many of the people attending thought of each whisky by checking out the hashtag #IndVsScot on Twitter. For those of you who attended thanks for coming and for those who didn’t we hope to welcome you to a tasting soon! Next up Ireland Vs Scotland Whiskey or Whisky? After this result who knows who will be the winner.