Cutty Sark Original (Yellow Label) Blended Scotch Whisky

Product of: United Kingdom

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A blend of grain whiskies and more than 30 single malt whiskies, predominantly from Speyside, matured mostly in American oak sherry-seasoned casks (no age statement is declared). After blending, Cutty Sark benefits from an extended marrying period of six months in a vat prior to bottling.

In February 2010, The Edrington Group took over ownership of the Cutty Sark and in September 2011 launched bright new packaging, more in line with the bright yellow label of the original with the motto "Our actions define who we are" embossed below the label and "The Spirit of Adventure" embossed around compass points of the back of the green bottle.

Cutty Sark was first created by Berry Bros & Rudd in 1923. Established in 1698, Berry Bros & Rudd in St James's Street, London holds the record for the oldest establishment in the world to still sell wines from the same premises, owned and operated by the same family. Originally opened by one Widow Bourne as a grocer shop that specialised in grinding coffee, the business was taken over by William Pickering in 1731. The Berry family's name, his direct descendants, was painted over the shop in 1810. Hugh Rudd was a wine expert who became a partner in the firm after the First World War so his name was then added to the shop's livery.

Francis Berry was supplying George V with Scotch whisky and fine wine from his family's shop when Prohibition gripped the United States. As the U.S. made up a significant proportion of his whisky business he was naturally concerned about the impact of Prohibition. So he travelled to America and then to Nassau (the capital of the Bahamas, from which illegal liquor was smuggled to the U.S.) to meet the legendary smuggler Captain Bill McCoy. McCoy told Francis that he'd have a ready market for a lightly flavoured Scotch, which he thought would appeal to the American palate. This was also borne out by the popularity of Canadian whisky in America.

In 1923 Francis approached James Stannard, a whisky blender in Scotland, to create a new whisky with a light character, to be bottled with minimal amounts of caramel so it had a light colour to match its taste. When trying to decide on an instantly recognisable name and label for his new blend, Francis hit upon an idea while he was reading about the restoration of the old tea clipper, the Cutty Sark. The idea of linking the name of the famous fast ship with the smuggling activities of the likes of Captain McCoy appealed and so the now famous label was created by the Scottish artist James McBey. The bright yellow colour came about due to a printer's mistake. It was meant to be beige to denote age but the vivid yellow looked so good it was continued. Cutty Sark whisky was smuggled into the States by McCoy. One of the many origins of the phrase 'the real McCoy' is the quality assurance the Captain gave to his customers.

Devotes of Cutty Sark tend to refer to their dram as simply 'Cutty' but the anagram 'Rusty Tack' has also become something of a nickname.

Review and Tasting

Sampled on 24/09/2011

Appearance:

Clear, pale straw gold.

Aroma:

A light, grassy, vanilla, butterscotch and milky chocolate biscuit nose with orange zest and citrus aromas.

Taste:

Equally light, slightly sweet, lightly malty palate with hints of cream of soda vanilla, jasmine tea, orange zest and fleshy tropical fruit.

Aftertaste:

Relatively short but pleasing honeyed, fruity, lightly malty finish with chargrilled sweet corn-on-the-cob flavours.