The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By Father John Rayls
Rating: B
King’s Falcon Single Malt
(Credit: John Rayls)
Little is known about the provenance of this whisky. It’s labeled as a single malt, so it must have been sourced from a single distillery. Also, it’s known to have been “aged in American oak” and then given a “first-fill bourbon cask finish.” Who bottles it and what distillery it comes from are shadowy and unknown respectively. However, you are fairly likely to encounter this 40% ABV whisky in liquor stores, where it’s making the rounds as a generic product.
The Scotch
The look is very bright and clean with a shiny copper appearance. The highlights of polished brass, glistening copper and gold contribute to the inviting color and overall appearance. The legs are thin, but drain slowly and they are prolific.
The nose is somewhat aggressive and easily rises to greet the consumer. The aromas are filled with fresh fruit and ample floral notes all layered over light oak and some faint sweetness leaning into notes of vanilla.
This is a very smooth and clean Scotch whiskyy, with a very light mouthfeel. The palate experience is fairly short, but includes a lightly sweet floral and fruit presence over some light oak mixed with some very light vanilla. Most of the experience is mid-mouth and forward to the front. The finish is a medium to long experience. It is whole-mouth beginning down the throat, moving quickly to the front and out to the lips before settling in at mid-mouth including both lower and upper regions. It stops short of pepper, but provides a gradually warming experience for all areas. The flavors of vanilla, oak and fresh fruit continue throughout the entire experience.
The Price
This whisky is mostly listed at approximately $28. Anyone asking for substantially more than that is probably gouging you.
I bought King’s Falcon, not knowing its provenance, as you mention. Thought that was rather odd. Decided to give it a try based on the price. While it may be a single malt Scotch, I believe that its taste will appeal more to bourbon lovers than Scotch drinkers. It never loses its sweetness, which I was hoping it would do after the first couple of sips. Won’t buy it again.
I find it rude that you assume a store would be “gouging” a consumer if the product is over $28 on the shelf. Every state’s (and country’s) laws and taxing are different which means the product comes to the retail outlet at varied prices. FOR EXAMPLE: I buy this product from my distributor for $24.67. At our standard liquor markup that puts it on my shelf for $32.99. You should be careful about how you word things if you are a website considering that anyone in the world could read this. N
It is true that taxes in particular vary from place to place, and prices can vary accordingly.