Ralfy review 863: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y14Dx3dXv1w (87/100).

"There's a better quality of cask been used here and it shows."

Read some good things about that distillery , so I wanted to give it a try when I saw it on the e-shop of this very same website :)

In short, not my thing. I found it unsettled and weird in many ways. Way out my comfort zone.

Moenie worrie nie

Three Ships is a South-African whisky from the Distell group. That explains the ABV, for they bottle Deanton, Bunnahabhain and Tobermory/Ledaig also at this strength, which makes chillfiltration superfluous. Next to this single malt, they also have Bain’s Cape Mountain Grain whisky. But this Three Ships is a single malt and the 12 years old is currently the flagship (see what I did there?) release.

Fresh, fruity and a bit candy-like nose with a lovely smoky edge. Yes, it contains peated malt, sourced in Scotland (30ppm). A hint of orange peel and even a light scent of stables. Then lots of orchard fruit and all kinds of berries. Very pleasant.

Wood dominates on the palate, but it certainly does not become oaky. Honey, vanilla and maple syrup, followed immediately by the peat smoke that is much more outspoken than on the nose. It gives this South-African single malt both weight and width, if you know what I mean. Some green and eathy notes follow – quite nice, actually – as do some dried apricots. A wonderful and rather unexpected salty note appears, but is soon swamped by a fresh touch of lemon zest. Good balance.

The finish is surprisingly long, smoky and sweet on honey and apples.

Moenie worrie nie (‘don’t worry, be happy!’ in the local language). Not all good whisky is made in Scotland. Case in point. Around 55 EUR and worth every cent.

The long way from Scotland to South Africa travelled by the slightly peated barley distilled for this whisky is quite clear in its tasting profile and especially in the nose. The palate is more fruity instead, with a touch of spice fading in a woody and more balanced finish.

The overall experience is interesting, displaying a nice complexity but lacking remarkable peaks.

Spicy ginger pencil shavings. Take note.

There’s something quite exciting about world whisky. It seems everyone is at it and, along with some really interesting packaging designed to appeal to a home crowd, the flavours of the whisky are equally tailored to palates that have grown up being exposed to different flavours. It would appear that South African whisky is no different in having a particular and noticeably different take on what whisky can takes like. This is from 3 Ships, a Distel (now Heineken) stablemate to Deanston and Bunnahabhain and the other’s I can never remember. This is their home boy (till they went Dutch). And like the other malts in the portfolio, it is remarkably different to its brethren and all the better for it. This is its own man. It’s not about fitting in. It’s about standing out (in a good way).

For lack of putting a ship in a bottle, it’s instead, time to put 3 up my nose. Drumroll please.

Mmmmmm. Nice. It smells like it’s come from somewhere hot. Like with Kavalan and Paul John , there something about the nose that says hot weather, it’s dense and concentrated and spicy with a little peat. There’s a lot of light fruit syrop though too. And ginger prickles and bourbon wood sourness that I get from Deanston (which I love). But it’s hotter and drier? It’s really quite sweet initially with hot dusty custard, too. Salty. Peat. Some old wine gums. Spicy apple crumble comes to mind, a little banana in there? It’s not overly complicated but it feels very active. Like it wants to climb out of the glass and get things going. I like it. Spritely. Feels younger in the nose that the 12 years would suggest.

In the mouth and the arrival is sweeeeeeet and quite light and thin with a light peat smoke but it attacks the tongue and as the sweetness envelopes the prickly ginger erupts with lovely lemon posset and a solid oatiness and digestive biscuits and it’s then underpinned with some lovely oaky, woodiness and pencil shavings. Not drying or austere but woody and solid and unmissable. It spicy wood, tasty and toasty. Some creaminess slides in and out but really this is all about sweetness and wood and a good malty base. The big take away is the wood spice.

And then it’s over. Eh? Wow. No idea how some reviews get a long finish of this. Pretty short. Just like that, the heat bundles onto the three ships and buggers off leaving a flag planted in your tongue saying ‘we woz ere’. There’s whisper of ginger and smoke and wood and a little caramel and the pencil shavings, but it passes so quickly. It’s weird. The finish is just clean and really makes you want another sip to got through the sweet ginger woody prickle as soon as possible.

It’s a pity. If only the finish was more, well, more. If it was it would be grand. It feels like there’s the last page of a story missing here. One where they get into their ships and sail off into the sunset for more adventures. Maybe one day they’ll write that missing page. It’s still early days.

Enjoyable malt from the black continent. Does not need pseudo-sympathy, can hold its own among "substantial single malts" like Scotch. Price is fair as well. Recommended!

Three ships 12 year old is a South African whisky that is bottled at 46.3% ABV, has no added colouring and is without chill filtration. It ticks all the right boxes for me. It is also only £45 which makes it extremely affordable for an imported malt. Will it taste any good or will it be forever in the shadow of Scotch?

Nose:

Initially there is soft peat smoke at the front of this nose with a cod liver oil capsule smell as well, which is quite pleasant. It is herbaceous and spicy which quite reminds me of a lightly peated islay or peated Highland, think of Bunna or Ardmore. A lovely camphor smell which I am almost certain comes from the cask selection. A slight synthetic note that is familiar with grain or bourbon but it fits perfectly into this whisky. A coal burning fire, some oregano herbs and then a real sweetness in the shape of orchard fruits. Mint is the last thing I can smell on this whisky.

Palate:

Soft in the palate but really oily. There is papaya with distinctive woody notes. More herbal elements coming through from the nose. A rather weird taste that might not sound right but here goes: peat burnt toast. Imagine a peat oven or toaster that has been used to toast some bread, that is all I can relate it to. A real savoury taste draws your cheeks in a little, pistachio nuts. Some crunch now in the form of honey flapjack. Encroaching on the finish there is a mineral and mint taste.

Finish:

Medium in length with a lingering peat note. More orchard fruits that were observed in the nose. Some sort of seasoning/spice mix that reminds me of a European dish. A little vanilla to finish.

Conclusion:

For £45 this dram is absolutely fantastic. Well presented, affordable, tasty and quite complex. So I definitely think this dram is worth it! I wouldn't buy it again as there is too much to explore with regards to other world whisky and Scotch in general however I would buy something from Three Ships again because this impressed me. This is a great dram and I would urge you to consider trying it as you don't want to miss out. Yes, initially when I first opened it I thought it was overly savoury but given time it really proves itself. WHISKY WIN

YouTube Review:

For the full review check here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JUNZyOfyQE&t=201s&ab_channel=WhiskyWhims

My Scoring Process:

My process is simple. I rate it on three factors: Is it worth it, would I buy it again and would I recommend it? I will the determine if the whisky is a whisky win or a whisky bin. A whisky can have 2/3 of these factors and still be a whisky win. Usually, anything lower than 2/3 is a whisky bin.

Sour, short, immature, non-whisky.

The nose starts off medium-smoky (a bit smelly) with a chemical note that reminds me of laundry. Behind it a little overripe mirabelle plum and cereal notes.

At first very soft and oily in the mouth, then becoming more and more peppery.

In the finish a melange of light smoke, wholegrain and oak notes.
Length: 4/10

Very tangy, tangy malt from the black continent. Due to the lack of fruit notes, it doesn't quite fit into my prey scheme, but overall it is well made.

Grade: 2-

21 21 20 21 83

Not bad, interesting, and you can drink quite well), good luck!

Surprisingly good ! Citrus on the nose, lightly peated, good color. Lemon tasting, honey and orange notes. Good finish.

Nose opens with wet leaves, earth tones, gentle peat and smoke, barley and pecan nuts.
Fruitcake, peach/apricot, white pepper on the palate. Oily texture (this whisky is unchillfiltered:kudos).
Warm and dry finish. A genuine winter dram.