Notorious Beam Team

From Luxist:

"Australian liquor producer ASM Liquor operates under the premise that spirits without chemicals will deliver less of a hangover. The company has a range that includes vodka, rum, gin and tequila with the quirky names, Vodka O, Kinky Nero dark rum, Kinky Lux white rum, Jinn Dry Gin and Tequila Blu. The latest is a whisky called Naked Scot. As Bill Dowd reports ASM Liquor has the whisky distilled on the Isle of Mull and aged three years. They claim that the whisky is free from residual herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides (it doesn't mention if the product is organic)."

You can see the range of other spirits they have launched below:



When you read the article on the Dowd's Spirits notebook you realise that this product has caused a stir. David Williamson, Scotch Whisky Association said in a comment:

"As you can imagine, we were surprised to read (this) article ... and the
inference in the headline. To be clear, as a result of the science of the whisky distillation process, there is absolutely no question of "residual herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides" being in a bottle of Scotch whisky. The inference made is inaccurate and misleading.

Can I ask that the point be clarified in a future article, please? That would be much appreciated.

Separately, there also appears to be some confusion as to whether the brand is a single malt or a blended Scotch whisky. This may be a result of the PR material being distributed by ASM Liquor, and it is a good example of why the new Scotch whisky regulations -- which should be implemented later this year -- are needed to avoid potential consumer confusion. The regulations will require that it is made clear on the bottle what category of Scotch whisky it is.

You should also be aware that initial enquiries at the only distillery on Mull raise the need for further investigation of the product."

Whatever the outcome, it's getting talked about. But a 3 year old Scotch sounds pretty iffy to me. And if Naked Scott is setting the benchmark in terms of quality, I doubt the rest of the range will be any good.

And as an aside. I couldn't hate the tartan cap on the bottle any more!