THE REAL McKOY

 CUTTY SARK: THE REAL McCOY

The Cutty Sark is the world’s last remaining clipper ship. It was built on the Clyde, in Glasgow, in 1869 for the China tea trade, and was one of the fastest clippers ever built. 

I’ve been on it; it is narrow and, except for the top deck and the Captain’s cabin, there is no headroom. The average height of ceilings reduce progressively as you descend four decks, from 5 feet to 3’9”. 

Edrington PLC, a company whose head office was located ten miles from where the famous ship was built, used the name for a whisky it launched on March 23, 1923. Cutty Sark was the first light coloured, blended whisky. Launched at the height of the “cocktail culture”, it was designed to be mixed and was aimed squarely at the American market. It started as a 3 Year Old whisky during Prohibition in the US (1920-33); immediately after Prohibition was repealed in 1933, the 5 YO hit the market. Current blends are 8 YO. 

During Prohibition, Cutty Sark gave rise to the term “the real McCoy.” The whisky was bootlegged by the legendary Bill McCoy, an American smuggler based in the Bahamas. McCoy, a nondrinker, guaranteed his contraband was uncut and unadulterated. The quality of his whisky gave rise to the expression, “the real McCoy”, an expression that remains a synonym for integrity and authenticity. During Prohibition, “ordering a real McCoy” became slang for ordering a Cutty Sark.

Following the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, the impeccable reputation of the whisky led to a surge in sales and Cutty Sark became one of the best-selling Scotch whisky brands in the United States. It remains one of that country’s most popular blends. Bill McCoy died a multi-millionaire in 1948. 

In 2013, Edrington released Cutty Sark, Prohibition Edition, a 50% ABV blended Scotch, to commemorate Bill McCoy and the 90th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. A 12 Years Old version is also on the market, priced higher than JW Black Label.

CUTTY SARK Prohibition Edition 70/75/100 cl | 50 % ABV

CUTTY SARK Prohibition Edition is crafted as a salute to the famous Captain William "Bill" McCoy, who smuggled CUTTY SARK Blended Scotch Whisky into America during the Prohibition era in the 1920s. Captain McCoy's impeccable reputation for not dealing with the mob, and for providing the finest, unadulterated liquor gave rise CUTTY SARK being referred as "The Real McCoy".The second in the Cutty Sark Whisky family, Prohibition was released 80 years after the end of the era. As an original and inimitable whisky launched in memory of the Prohibition era, CUTTY SARK Prohibition was deliberately created to defy conventions. With its inimitable smooth and mellow taste profile and its unique maritime and historical heritage, the whisky is designed to take the lucky drinker on an adventure.

Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition is at least three years old, but as it has no age statement we don’t know if it’s any older. It is a blended Scotch whisky bottled at 50% ABV. The recipe is mostly a mystery but the whisky is said to contain a portion matured in American oak sherry casks.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: Opens on malt and a dessert tray of buttercream, toffee, and vanilla wafers. Behind the tray is some salted white bread dough being kneaded on slate. Fruit is here too: green apple and orange rind. Water amplifies the malt and vanilla wafers.

Palate: A sweet entry on sherried raisins and oranges. The mouthfeel is medium with some slight woody astringency. The mid-palate brings toffee and caramel, which are the dominant flavours here. The back palate gets just a touch of cinnamon and clove spicing. Throughout there is a pinch of salt. Water erases the dried fruits and adds some cream.

Finish: Medium to long on toffee and caramel with hints of cinnamon, salt and smoke. Water lengthens the finish, making it woodier and more drying.

Overall: Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition is one of the best value Scotch whisky blends available. It’s the sort of bottle that a drinker in the know adds to their basket to reach the magical threshold for free shipping. They might later find they reach for it more readily than the other, more expensive bottle they bought with it.

The malt, the casks, and the alcohol strength make this an enjoyable sipper from start to finish, avoiding the common pitfalls of widely available blends. There are no cardboardy offnotes and the finish stays around for a fair while. If there are any offnotes here they are from the young malts in the recipe – reminiscent of some immature indie Glenrotheses – but what you think of those is a matter of preference. Buy this whisky and you too can celebrate 100 years since prohibitionist referendums and reforms and alcohol-linked taxes.

CUTTY SARK 33 YO 70 cl | 41.7 % ABV

The oldest Blend ever released by CUTTY SARK, this bottling of 2014 celebrates this particular time when the brand found its way into America, flourished within the emerging cocktail culture and changed the face of Scotch Whisky forever. Exquisite and seductive, this highly collectable pack for connoisseurs and Whisky enthusiasts with only 3,456 bottles produced at an RRP of £650. Bohemian and symbolic, this limited edition bottling has been released to continue to explore the rich history, heritage and origins of CUTTY SARK blended Scotch Whisky, with a specific focus on the Art Deco period of the 1920s and early 1930s.

The bespoke bottle is decorated with sunburst and geometric designs in the style symbolic of the era. Presented in a piano black wooden box inlaid with mother of pearl, it also contains two decorated glasses and a 32-page book, which provides a brief insight into the Art Deco period.

An Edrington release says that following on from their multi-award winning Tam O’Shanter limited edition released in 2011, this is the oldest blended Scotch ever released by Cutty Sark, selected and crafted by Kirsteen Campbell, their master blender. The stylish liquid created by Kirsteen pushes the brand into exciting flavour developments, with the set the bar very high with the Tam O’Shanter 25 year old and has raised even further this time.