To coincide with the final season of Game of Thrones, and its total train-wreck of a narrative, Diageo last year released a line of single malt Scotch whiskies for the various Great Houses. Represented are Targaryen, Tyrell, Baratheon, Tully, Greyjoy, Lannister, and Stark, plus the Night's Watch. Post finale a 'Six Kingdoms' bottle was added to seemingly complete set, frustrating collectors. Arryn (a little confusing) and Martell (not really) didn't make the cut.
Call me a bit of a sucker, having purchased House Stark 'Winters Frost,' but I love the direwolf sigil and it was relatively cheap. I correctly assumed the series was overproduced and many are still around, slowly dropping in price and becoming more interesting.
Diageo doesn't play around much with its single malts, instead opting for a small number of high quality and well known expressions. Good examples are Oban 14, Dalwhinnie 15, Clynelish 14 (my review), Talisker 10, and Lagavulin 16. So already these GoT bottles appeared gimmicky due to the nature of this promotion, similar to stuff only available in travel retail. Then most of them have no age statement, something to be noted though not necessarily bad. All considered I assumed beforehand they'd be a downgrade from a typical Diageo malt. When I discovered you're supposed to drink Winters Frost chilled (from the freezer?!), as if it came from the cellar at Winterfell, the feeling of a trick was reiterated.
I do imagine it was a challenge to match the houses with distilleries. Since Scotland essentially is 'the North' in GoT, and the North has only one house, it wouldn't make sense to link them geographically. They must've been intentional with a few and filled in the rest. Personally I don't comprehend how House Targaryen ('Fire and Blood') isn't a smoky whisky like Lagavulin. For House Stark, ideally it'd somehow be rough to mimic the landscape, by proof, flavor or both. I would've picked Talisker probably.
Dalwhinnie was supposedly chosen as the 'highest' (in elevation) distillery in Scotland, which could've made sense for House Arryn, but I digress. A Highland distillery tucked just inside Cairngorms National Park, known for splendid mountains, it figures to be a beautiful place. I'm pretty sure we've driven close by twice though haven't stopped there. Generally the 15 year is their main bottle to be found, known to be clean, fruity and one of the original 'Classic Malts of Scotland.' Trying it years ago, I thought it well made but dull.
As the bottle suggests, I tried Winter's Frost chilled (in the fridge) first and it was better than expected. The lower temperature brought out the sweetness in the nose, then dulled the flavors on your tongue and essentially eliminated the burn. A scotch-y aftertaste was there but minimized. Since I don't really have a baseline, never drinking whiskey cold, I kind of liked it. Still, it won't become a thing.
The following review was of room temperature whisky.
ABV - 43% (86 proof)
Maturation - Ex-Bourbon barrels
Age - Not listed, at least 3 years
Region - Highland (though technically could be Speyside as well)
Price - ~$40
Tasting notes:
Smell - Honey and fruit, flowers?
Color - Light amber, it even looks like honey
Taste - Light and delicate, honey and dried fruits, malt
Finish - Short and clean, some sugar and a tidge of spice
Final thoughts:
It's pretty boring. You're paying for the cool design and the branding. It's not a bad whiskey, there's just not anything special about it. I'm usually looking for peat or sherry and some semblance of complexity. It's got none of those, and somewhat matches my feelings on the 15 year way back when. Chilling was an interesting part of the experience, though altogether it's a gimmick. Outside of a cold dram, I don't see how this symbolizes the Starks and the North. It's soft and sweet, the opposite of what I'd go for. A higher proof could've helped. Independently I wouldn't buy this over, say, Monkey Shoulder. Ah well, I do like the bottle.
From this I won't yet make judgements on the entire series and remain curious about a few others if prices keep dropping, namely House Baratheon (Royal Lochnegar), House Lannister (Lagavulin), and the Night's Watch (Oban).
Thinking about GoT has me back to hoping GRRM finishes the Winds of Winter. Lol.
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