Wemyss Malts Dark Chocolate Orange Whisky

April and the time around Easter is an indulgent chocolate month. Chocolate bunnies, eggs, even chocolate chickens can be found in most of the shops. Echocolate everywhere. I keep on finding lost (hidden) chocolate eggs in strange places. I am not complaining.

With all the chocolate around, it is nearly a requirement to eat chocolate. I realised that with all the chocolate around the house, I have not blogged about my favourite chocolate whisky – The Wemyss Malts Dark Chocolate Orange single malt Scotch whisky.

I tasted Wemyss Malts for the first time at Wild About Whisky in Dullstroom and was smitten. Since then, my Wemyss Malt collection has grown substantially. I picked up this 2013 release on one of my trips out of the country. Wemyss Malts single casks are not available in SA (yet).

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This past year some of the blends such as The Hive have become available in selected shops. I have however managed to get my hands on a few releases and have written a few times about Wemyss Malts. My favourite is the Wemyss Malt Brandy Casket release.

Wemyss Dark Chocolate Orange is a single malt Glenlivet bottling. Distilled in 1977 and bottled in 2013, this 36 yo was aged in Hogshead and was one of only 149 bottles. As with all their single cask releases, the Wemyss tasting panel names the bottle based on the whisky’s individual taste and aroma.

After 36 years of the Angels taking their share, only 149 bottles were released. I wonder how many of the 149 bottles remain?

Wemyss Malts Dark Chocolate Orange Whisky Review

ABV: 46%

COLOUR: Dark gold

NOSE: Orange marmalade, oak and cocoa powder.

PALATE: Fresh orange slices dusted with cocoa powder. Faint hints of cloves and mint. In the background, there is more citrus and malty richness. You can feel the 46% alcohol on your palate, and it needs a bit of water to smooth the sharp edges.

Water releases a little more sweetness in the Dark Chocolate Orange. It is a medium-bodied whisky with plenty of spice.

FINISH: The finish end in notes of citrus and spice.

RATING: VERY GOOD

This whisky is perfectly named. It is the whisky equivalent of dark chocolate covered orange slices. That is what I love about Wemyss Malts – how perfectly they name their releases. However, as much as I love chocolate and this whisky, it is not the most complex of whiskies.

After more than 35 years in a cask at Glenlivet, I was hoping for something with a bit more depth and a few more nuances.

Still, the Wemyss Malts Dark Chocolate Orange is the great dram to enjoy in April – don’t you agree? I have tried various Wemyss releases including the Wemyss  Malts Sweet Mint Infusion, Wemyss Gooseberry Marmalade and the Wemyss Velvet Fig blended whisky.

And I see that a few of the blended malts are now available in South Africa and I have tasted Wemyss The Hive and loved it.

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