Distillery/Brand: Sia | ABV: 43% | Color: Sunlight
Nose: 23 | Taste: 22 | Finish: 22 | Balance: 22 | Rating: 89

Review
I was just going through my emails when I saw one from a certain Carin Luna-Ostaseski. Who’s she? I wondered.

As it turns out she’s a former digital creative who decided that it would be a good idea to develop a new brand of blended Scotch whisky from scratch. So she took her proposal to Kickstarter to get it funded.

Then she got none other than Douglas Laing to put together the blend for her. It boasts a fairly high malt to grain ratio (40/60) with whiskies from three regions Speyside (50%), the Highlands (40%) and Islay (10%).

Through 245 backers she managed to raise US$45k and realized her dream of creating a blended whisky.

And she was nice enough to send over sample for me to have a go at. Now let me tell you something. I don’t fall for transparent marketing ploys – no matter how good the story if the liquid inside isn’t worth my time I’ll call it like it is.

However, this one is.

Nose: Melons. Hint of peat. Dark honey. Very sweet. Cloves. Citrus. Pineapple. Apple strudel. Butter malt. The caramel explodes. Hint of salt. The nose is quite big. Lots and lots of fruity sweetness. I like it

Palate: Hint of peat. Honey. Melons. Quite fruity. Creamy. Mild spices. Peaches. Creme Brulee. Vanilla. Nuts. I like the delivery. It has a nice robust mouthfeel. Must be the high ratio of malts in play here.

Finish: Short. Oak. Spices. Wisp of smoke.

I think if you look past the alluring stories this is quite an accomplished tipple. Seems like it’s been thought through at all levels. From the stylish packaging to the approachable flavor profile. I quite like this.

And I like it more because it’s making whisky approachable to a completely different audience. And that can only be a good thing.

Rating: 89