Oh Taste & See: Old Crofter Blended Scotch Whisky

For my first scotch tasting on this blog I thought I'd pull out the bottle of Old Crofter Deluxe Old Blended Scotch Whisky that's been gathering dust in my liquor closet for close to a year. Old Crofter is blended by Smith & Henderson of Edinburgh, but a quick Google search makes me think that it's no longer in production - I could find no real information on Old Crofter or Smith & Henderson. I believe it was a featured product at Total Wine & More in Claymont, DE when I bought it, but even their website has no mention of the brand now.

To my surprise I may have accidentally collected a bottle of out-of-production Scotch! I suppose that is kinda cool given that it was a price-driven impulse purchase (around $13 for the 750mL bottle), but I'm not really the collecting type, so let's go ahead and have a taste of this one.


My first visual impression is that Old Crofter is a nice looking Scotch. The classically-shaped bottle is quite understated with a nice red and cream colored label that wouldn't look out of place on a bottle in a higher price bracket (I am a sucker for pictures of old bearded men on bottles though). The nose of this whisky is very pleasant - nice hints of peat along with honey and grain. There's very little harshness or alcohol smell in the nose which portends a nice smooth drink to follow.

While Old Crofter did prove to be quite smooth and easy-drinking I felt like there was almost too much peaty flavor - certainly more than you would expect in a light, blended scotch. The peat is most noticeable in the front of the mouth, and as the whisky makes its way down a couple other flavors emerge. Sweet honey and a tiny bit of pepper are hidden in there alongside a nice malt flavor that lingers for a bit after each sip. There's even a little caramel chewiness to this Scotch if you hold it in your mouth for a moment. The finish is quick and clean, making this a Scotch that I could see drinking as a refreshing after-lunch drink on a warm spring day.

While not the most interesting drink for the aficionado, Old Crofter stands up very well to other blends in its price range. In fact, one of the few online mentions that I did find of this Scotch referred to it as "Dewar's White Label but 10 bucks cheaper" which seems fairly accurate. Since it's apparently a difficult bottle to find now it also has an air of exclusivity that adds a little something special to the experience of drinking it. If you see a bottle on the shelf at your local liquor store it's definitely a bargain worth grabbing, just don't wait a year to drink it like I did.