I love the name of this scotch whisky. I was introduced to Sheep Dip by a friend of mine who has knack for finding interesting items. It never fails to raise an eyebrow when I offer someone a glass of Sheep Dip as they're usually more concerned about what they are about to receive.
The name literally means (to quote a dictionary), "Any of various preparations of liquid disinfectant into which sheep are
dipped to destroy parasites and to clean their wool, especially before
shearing." This does not sound appetizing but there is a greater purpose to the name. The story behind naming the whisky after an insecticide treatment for sheep is a clever nod to the illegal distillers in history. In the past, farmers who manufactured illegal whisky would hide it in barrels marked "Sheep Dip" to avoid paying taxes on the alcohol. By doing this they were able to trick tax officials into thinking that they were transporting agricultural materials rather than alcohol (and it apparently worked). I just really love the name.
Sheep Dip is a blended whisky. Hard to find but when I do occasionally find a bottle for sale I jump on it, if only because I want to make sure I have a bottle on hand. The whisky in the bottle is aged between 8 and 21 years.
As for the nose there was a strong, undeniable alcohol scent, I could definitely detect a peat which made me think of Islay or the Highlands as being the dominant region in the bottle. It had that 'blended scent' to it, by that I mean a scent where I could detect a peat but it was not peaty enough to qualify as Islay yet it had too much peat to be strictly a Speyside, the peat meant that it couldn't be a Lowland but still not enough defining character to be strictly a Highland either. Confused yet? I am. But seriously there is a scent that I detect in blends that I feel that I can attribute to blends almost across the board, a scent best described as ambiguous. All four regions of Scotland are detectable in this whisky.
The mouth feel was was medium. I could detect what I thought to be a bit of caramel flavor, but for the most part this whisky basically bites back. The angry sheep wanted to fight. There was a burn in my mouth and throat after tasting. Not as smooth as I wish it could be after such a great name, more of a whisky that you keep around to remind yourself that you can handle the burn of a more intense whisky on the market.
The aftertaste lingered, but so did the burn.
Rating: 2.5 out of a possible 5 Casks
Reason: As far as blends go I did enjoy this whisky. I'll admit that I prefer single malts but if I am going to drink a blend I like drinking one with an angry sheep on the label coupled with an interesting name. The punch in the nose and taste lowered the rating a bit, I endeavor to seek out smooth whisky that is pleasing on many levels, this was a bit of a gut check. For what it is, a younger blend priced around $40 per bottle (I haven't seen it by the glass, personally), it is a good blend. If you were to ask me if you should purchase this I would be inclined to initially recommend a single malt but this is definitely a good blend to add to your collection and a great whisky for a party-atmosphere (again, the name and label).
Time to go dip some sheep,
Charles
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