Hello there Ladies & Gentlemen. Spring is here. It is march. Finally the dark and cold season of winter is over. There was not much snow this year either, but oh well. What can we mortal men do about it? Nothing. I hope everyone is feeling alright and happy about spring starting. Let's see what we have for today! A very interesting whisky I can tell you that. But before going further, please check out my previous articles.

I was scrolling through the weekly discounts of iDrinks.hu and saw that there are some great cheap whiskies even cheaper now. So I actually picked up 2 bottles for 42 euros. Can you believe that? One of them, the one we review today is a blended scotch whisky while the other one is a blended malt scotch whisky. I read a few reviews on each of them before going for them, just wanted to make sure that they are drinkable. The whisky we review today is the Cutty Sark Prohibition Overproof edition blended scotch whisky. 

Cutty Sark, where the name comes from

Cutty Sark is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Leven, Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, at the end of a long period of design development for this type of vessel, which ended as steamships took over their routes. She was named after the short shirt of the fictional witch in Robert Burns' poem Tam o' Shanter, first published in 1791.

Cutty Sark was built exclusively for the China tea trade. Tea had been enjoyed in Asia for centuries, but it did not reach Britain until the 1650s.

In the 1890s Cutty Sark began to make less money, as more steam ships moved into the wool trade. Eventually the ship was sold to a Portuguese firm and renamed Ferreira. It was used as a general cargo ship, transporting goods between Portugal and its empire.

The old name was restored in 1923, and Cutty Sark returned to British ownership. 

What is prohibition?

Nicknamed "the Noble Experiment", Prohibition was the period from 1920 to 1933 when the United States prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. It lasted almost 14 years, and everyone who still supported the drinking of alcohol had to unite together to stand up against the establishment and keep the liquor business alive in secret.

Prohibition was successful in reducing the amount of liquor consumed, cirrhosis death rates, admissions to state mental hospitals for alcoholic psychosis, arrests for public drunkenness, and rates of absenteeism.

However bootlegging was very popular these days and this is where this whisky comes into the picture.

About the brand

Cutty Sark is a brand of blended Scotch whisky produced by La Martiniquaise in Scotland.

The whisky brand was thought up on the 23rd of March 1923, at No. 3 St James's Street in London. The partners of Berry Bros. & Rudd (the famous wine makers and official supplier of the royal family) Francis Berry and Hugh Rudd, met with Scottish artist James McBey for lunch. Pretty quickly, the conversation turned to Whisky (as all good conversations do), and they soon realised that there was a need to create a new, lighter style of Blended Whisky. With a dream to go global, their first aim was to break the USA.

The original CUTTY SARK Whisky label was designed by James MacBey, a famous Scottish artist and enthusiastic sailor. Named after the legendary three-mast tea clipper, the ship is an integral part of the design. And why is it yellow? If truth be told, that's a result of a printing error! The paper turned out bright yellow instead of cream and stayed this way throughout the years.

Not that long after Prohibition began, Captain Bill McCoy started dealing with smugglers in Rum Row (the name given to Atlantic waters just outside the US maritime border). Captain McCoy's reputation for dealing in only the finest liquor resulted in CUTTY SARK being referred to as "The Real McCoy". He was caught in late 1923, and by that time CUTTY SARK had captured the hearts (and taste buds) of Whisky fans across the country at the height of the cocktail culture in the speakeasies with its refined and elegant taste. 

When Prohibition came to an end and alcohol was no longer illegal, sales of CUTTY SARK shot up. Over 7,000 cases of CUTTY SARK Blended Scotch Whisky were sold by 1934, with over 80,872 cases being sold by 1936! Thanks to the end of Prohibition and its huge fan base, CUTTY SARK became the first Scotch Whisky to sell a million cases in the United States of America.

Hollywood brings CUTTY SARK to the big screen with 1996's "The Associate" starring Whoopi Goldberg. It can also be seen in a number of classics over the years, including "Raging Bull" (1980), "Goodfellas" (1990), "The Sopranos" (1999) and "Mad Men" (2007). Enjoyed by everyone from gentry to gangsters!

The core range of Cutty Sark currently consists of 5 bottles:

• Cutty Sark Original
• Cutty Sark Prohibition
• Cutty Sark 12
• Cutty Sark 33
• Cutty Sark Centenary Edition

The core range of Cutty Sark - images taken from cutty-sark.com

Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition- Natural Color(?), Non-chill filtered, 50%

"CUTTY SARK Prohibition is crafted as a salute to the famous Captain William "Bill" McCoy, who smuggled CUTTY SARK Blended Scotch Whisky into America during the Prohibition era in the 1920s. Captain McCoy's impeccable reputation for not dealing with the mob, and for providing the finest, unadulterated liquor gave rise CUTTY SARK being referred as "The Real McCoy".

CUTTY SARK Prohibition is bottled at 50% ABV (100 Proof – USA Measure). This is a "small batch" blend of the finest single malts and top-quality grain Whiskies. Hand-selected American Sherry oak casks give subtle signature flavours of vanilla and spice, whilst the overall flavours and finish are extremely smooth and thrillingly complex."

Nose: Very nice instantly. Malty. There is no cheap grain here. Vanilla and salted caramel. There is a hint of oak and a very very distant hint of peat/smoke. Orchard fruits such as green apple and pears with cracked black pepper. Not too complex but overall a very pleasant nose.

Taste: Wow. hefty and full. Oily, mouthcoating. Spicy. Vanilla and salted caramel. Brine. A hint of earthiness and freshly cut grass. Farm-y notes and hay. Freshly picked green apples and pears. Lots of black pepper and cinnamon. Again there is no cheap grain taste here. Great.

Finish: It is medium-long. Sweet at first but gets dry overtime. Salty and spicy with a hint of oak. Goes down without a burn despite the 50% abv.

Overall this is one of the nicest blends I have had so far and I had a few. The best thing about it for me is that there is no cheap grain notes in there and there is a very nice salty and farm-y aspect of this whisky. I think this is a whisky you can stock op un when it is discounted. I dare say that this can be enjoyed by seasoned whisky drinkers. This is something that I would gladly accept as a gift too. I will buy a few more bottles when it will be on sale again. I rate this whisky a very very very solid 5.3/10. Great blend, great price for value. I gladly recommend it to anyone who likes whisky. Buy it, try it. Drink responsibly.

Some pictures in this article are not owned by me, I tagged their owner and I attached a link of their site. All other pictures that have my logo on them are TAKEN AND OWNED BY ME.

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Check out the points on all the whiskies I've rated and ranked head-to-head.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. To many more. Sláinte.