I’m a big fan of miniatures.
The opportunity to try out a range of styles – or in this case regions – before committing to a full bottle is always a treat.
Having said that. I’d already ruled out buying more supermarket own brand labels. They tend to be chill filtered with added caramel & whilst perfectly fine – they lack finesse.
But spotting these miniatures in my local Lidl.
I couldn’t pass them by.
Nosing the Speyside first – I choose to do Speyside – Highland – Islay starting from mildest to strongest flavours as recommended by many tasting journals – revealed a pleasant easy honeyed malt.
On a blind tasting this would sit well with any big label brand.
The palate was a bit watery & insignificant to begin with – common to all three malts – before a typical Speyside softly sweet & gentle flavour profile presented itself.
There was even a slight dry spice on the short finish.
Not bad at all.
The Highland gave a bit more malt biscuity depth to the proceedings.
The Islay – which was my favourite – offered a straight forward satisfying smoky hit.
Each gave a perfectly decent snapshot of the regional styles – perhaps lacking in depth & complexity – but nonetheless an extremely enjoyable way of discerning your palates preferences.
Nice one Lidl!
Slàinte
WestmeathWhiskeyWorld 
Nice review, just to note a hat tip to the wrong German retailer there at the end!
Have a bottle of the Speyside, hard to fault for the price!
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Oh dear!
Thanks for that Vince. Will change it right away.
Would Speyside be your favourite?
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I’ve not tried the others yet, had intended on getting the Islay but changed my mind on the spot. I like a good peaty one, reckon I’ll give it a go, by the sounds of it it’s worth a pop for under €20!
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Better still buy the miniatures & try all 3.
What’s left add together to make a blended malt.
Must say it’s an improvement over the individual elements.
More body & depth and a lovely soft peatiness throughout!
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I’ve bought all three and have returned to the Highland for a 2nd bottle. The smoke on the Islay is really nice and I’d most probably buy that again too if I saw it. Nice reviews.
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