I have a new favourite dram for the house.

On this week’s episode, we were joined by Sam Barbour from La Martiniquaise-Bardinet UK. LMB UK own the Glen Moray, Label 5 and Cutty Sark brands, and it’s Sam’s job to sell their product to bars and trade.

We’ve had a lot of Glen Moray chat on the pod, and we’re big fans. But during this podcast recording, I thought it was about time I tried the Cutty Sark Prohibition.

The first time I’d ever heard of Cutty Sark Prohibition was back in August last year when we interviewed Peter Allison.

Pete is one of the founders of Woven Whisky who create their own blends and make very ‘yummy whisky’.

Pete refused to name one of his own blended releases in his What3Drams, and chose Cutty Sark Prohibition saying it is “one of the best contemporary blends in the world”.

It has taken me far too long to get round to actually trying this dram. And I feel very late to the party by shouting so much about it.

WHAT A DRAM!

Just like Glen Moray had, Cutty Sark Prohibition has passed me by because it’s too accessible and ‘too cheap’.

But as Stephen Woodcock, the man responsible for creating Glen Moray and Cutty Sark, said on the podcast; it’s not so much about being ‘so cheap’, and more about the others being ‘so bloody expensive’.

You can pick a bottle of Cutty Sark Prohibition for around the £30 mark. And I now have one in the house.

I had two drams in front of me when we recorded this episode, the Cutty Sark Prohibition and the Glen Moray 20. And it was the Cutty Sark that won the dram of the night for me.

That’s not to say the Glen Moray wasn’t any good. It’s a cracking dram, but I wasn’t expecting what I got from the Cutty Sark Prohibition.

The first thing that sticks out is that it’s 50% ABV, which is very unusual for a blend at the price point.

The texture of the dram was the next thing that I wasn’t expecting. It’s sweet, buttery and creamy. Lots of vanilla and caramel with a bit of chocolate, and right up my street.

It’s easy drinking, which is why I’ve got a bottle for the house. Sometimes I try too hard to find a dram to pour in the house.

Now I have a bottle that I can tap into after a hard days work. Or something I can use in a highball or cocktail because the abv is a bit higher.

Pete was right! And why would I doubt a man who makes a living from blending whiskies when it comes to talking about a good solid blend?

The Real McCoy

During the podcast, Sam talks us through the stories associated with Cutty Sark. How it became a popular dram in America during the 1920’s Prohibition.

The brand was started by Berry Bros & Rudd in 1923. And according to folklore, Cutty Sark was smuggled into the U.S. by sea thanks to the efforts of the famous Captain Bill McCoy.

Bill McCoy was a sea captain who used his expertise in seafaring to smuggle rum and whisky into the U.S. from the Bahamas during the prohibition era. He’s the man behind the famous saying the ‘Real McCoy’ thanks to his reputation for never dealing with booze that had been watered down or tampered with.

Cutty Sark had become so successful across the pond that it was the first Scotch whisky to sell over 1 million cases in the U.S. in 1961 which is no doubt down to the efforts made by the smugglers like Captain McCoy.

The Cutty Sark Prohibition was first released in 2013 on the 80th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition in the United States.

It’s a cracking dram, that’s very well priced, and has a great whisky story.