I went to TJ’s to pick up my salad for lunch, and I thought I’d get some gin (not for lunch). I noticed Trader Joe’s Single Malt Whisky (product of Scotland) and thought I’d try some. The thing is, they had it aged in sherry casks, rum casks, bourbon casks, and something else (‘double matured’?). Which one to choose? I couldn’t find a knowledgeable ‘crew member’, so I got the one aged in a sherry cask.
Have any of you tried this hooch? Have you tried the different varieties? What am I in for?
Trader Joe’s sells hard liquor!? I’ve been to their wine stores but never seen that before.
Ah, OK I see from your name you’re in LA where grocery stores sell liquor. (I always find it so weird to see aisles full of spirits in the grocery.) I never even knew TJ’s had their own liquor brand til now.
So have a sip (and try it on the rocks, with soda, etc.) and let us know what YOU think!
I’ll bet you have by now… I mean it’s after 5pm Tuesday everywhere (except between Calgary and Papeete). But I can’t believe you’d ask strangers what they think before deciding what you think of it.
I have opinions, good and bad, but don’t want to influence you…
I haven’t tried it, but I did appreciate this review of the TJ’s Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 13 Years (don’t know if this was one of your options):
This would be an ideal house whiskey for what I think of as the “new adult,” that 20-something with a decent job for the very first time. If you’re not cleaning your bathroom on a totally regular basis, but you are paying your electricity bill and you know the full names of everybody who lives in your house, this is your stuff.
Is this the stuff?
Another set of reviews:
Ouch!
Stranger
I was so disappointed when I found out I couldn’t buy a bottle of Finnerty’s, the (fictional) Scotch they drink on Blue Bloods. So I made my own label and found the perfect empty bottle. And then spent months finding the perfect whisky to fill it with. The winner was TJ’s Islay Storm. Smokey and peaty. When I’m not calling it “Finnerty’s”, I’m calling it “Talisker on a budget”.
But the OP isn’t talking about anything like that. He said he bought some “Trader Joe’s Single Malt Whisky (product of Scotland).”
The article telemark posted has a photo where the bottles on the far right are what he’s wondering about, and he bought the rightmost one.
They named a Scotch whisky “Finnerty’s”?!?
Stranger
Washington (state) now. But yeah, it was quite a shock when I moved up here and couldn’t buy spirits in a grocery store. Fortunately, they remedied that situation several years ago.
Alas…
Trader Joe’s Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Sherry Cask Finish – review
Color: Tawny light amber.
On the nose: Can’t remember the last time I nosed ethanol up top! Then a shy marzipan emerges once I add water. Next come raisin English muffins and Dial soap residue.
In the mouth: Satin-thin, easy, negligible finish.
Conclusions
It’s an average-tasting dram. Its only offense is it’s dull. I’d pour for guests that don’t know anything about Scotch, and they’ll like it just fine.
Score 5/10
Well, it was cheap…
Not yet! Maybe tomorrow. Certainly on the weekend.
Castel Knappogue single-malt Irish whiskey is my “for special” go-to, and the 16 year-old sherry cask is where it’s at. I don’t know how the peat flavor from the Scotch will combine with a sherry, bourbon, or rum cask, though.
First, I will say that TJs single malts are perfectly good, and a good deal at the price.
Then I will go off on a slight hijack to mention that my brother gave me a bottle of Ken Wright distillers reserve Aria gin, from Oregon (so this a bit in Johnny’s area) a few years ago. This gin was aged in Pinot Noir barrels and I never would have thought that I would ever consider gin as a sipping spirit. That stuff is amazing. So I would definitely consider a peated whisky aged in wine or other casks.
Not all Scotch whisky uses peat to dry the malted barley. That is primarily a characteristic of Islay Scotch made in the Inner Hebrides. Highland Scotches are smoother with a medium body and often sweet or floral overtones. Glenmorangie, for instance, specializes in port and sherr casky-finished Highland whiskys which are as smooth as any Irish or Canadian whiskey.
Stranger
Considering the subject, this is funny. 
(Jumping cursors seem to happen frequently on my 13" MacBook.)
So like the Yellow Tail of scotch.
I eventually tried the whisky. Over three nights I had a shot with water and ice, twice, and half a shot neat. It was… uninteresting. Kind of musty-tasting to me.
I don’t have any experience with Trader Joe’s whisky, but I just wanted to note that with single malt, ‘store brand’ doesn’t necessarily imply inferior quality. If it’s a single malt from Islay, e. g., it’s something that was distilled at one of the Islay distilleries, which, given the quantity they put out, mostly means Caol Ila. For whatever reasons, however, the distillery has decided not to bottle that batch under their own label—could be it’s not quite on-brand regarding the flavor profile, could be market considerations—so it’s sold as a ‘mystery malt’ for a considerable discount.
That’s especially noticeable at the higher price tiers—a 27 yo Ben Bracken Islay (the LIDL-imprint) runs around 90-100€, while a 27 yo Laphroaig sets you back something on the order of 500€. But again, that’s not necessarily an indication of quality—Ben Bracken has won several gold medals at various spirit awards.
I think you can only get it in Europe but I didn’t know you could get hard stuff at TJ in the US, so…
Definitely not. Trader Joe’s store-brand products are mostly very good. This scotch just didn’t do it for me. (The Missus thought it was OK.) We both thought their limoncello tasted like bug spray. We returned it for a refund; the first time we ever took something back. But for the most part, TJ’s store-brands are great.
Trader Joe’s is great at taking things back, glad you did.
Better luck next time… and I do mean luck. TJs spirits are very hit-and-miss.
I often check whisky reviews before one of my bottles gets low. I have to start early because I’ll read twenty reviews, a dozen lists, and check a few stores before I spend $50… classic “the paralysis of analysis”.
I bought a “Trader Joe’s Kentucky Bourbon” when I knew I’d be passing it around large group of poker players. The review said it was distilled by the same folks who make Buffalo Trace, and it was pretty good. And their “Islay Storm” is great if you want a mild peaty/smokey scotch.
But I was scared off trying their rum, after a couple of the most scathing reviews I’d ever read.
So I still buy at Trader Joe’s, but only because they have some of the best prices on Monkey Shoulder*, Maker’s Mark, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, and the Balvenie Double Wood.
.
*All those reviews paid off! After the fifth time I read words to the effect of “For the money, I’d go buy a bottle of Monkey Shoulder”, I did… it’s so smooth, I call it the Scotch for bourbon drinkers.
($30-35, no extra charge for the monkey bottle, it’s so cool my wife started a “whisky display” on our sideboard.)
I’ve had it. It is pretty good. But I prefer Maker’s Mark. Costco has a good price on a 1.5 l bottle.
I’ve had their rum, too. But I use it for cocktails, so not being the best doesn’t matter. I use Bacardi for white rum, and the higher-end Bacardis for sipping rum.
I’ll have to look for it.