Jack and Victor – The Complete Still Game Whisky Collection
A short while ago, I reviewed Jack and Victor Whisky’s ‘The Blend’, a limited-edition, no age statement blended malt from Still Game creators Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill. Still Game is an award-winning, iconic, utterly hilarious sitcom that first appeared on screens in 2002. It also happens to be one of my favourite shows ever made. It follows two pensioners named Jack and Victor, played for Ford and Greg, as they navigate life as a pensioner in the fictional town of Craiglang, Glasgow. The show has a cult following, which is part of the reason why this dram sold out so quickly.
The dram was first released in 2021 and was distilled, aged, and bottled at the Loch Lomond Distillery. Named after the iconic Still Game pensioners, Jack Jarvis and Victor McDade, Jack and Victor – The Blend (as it is now known) was hugely successful and sold out quickly.
Since then, the creators, along with Loch Lomond Distillery, have been very busy, and now have an entire range of whiskies inspired by different characters in the iconic BBC Scotland sitcom, along with other spirits, merch, and a hot sauce. Needless to say, you can probably guess what I’ll be reviewing for you today.
Here’s a brief look at the complete Still Game-inspired range of whiskies from Jack and Victor Whisky.
The first dram in this collection comes to you is a peated Highlands expression, named after, and inspired by one of the show’s two main characters Jack Jarvis Esq, played by Ford Kiernan.
When he isn’t smoking his pipe, getting stuck in the bath, or cosplaying as a bogus gasman (IKYYK) Jack, much like his auld pal Victor, is more than partial to a wee dram of the good stuff.
The Jack is a limited-edition single malt whisky, bottled at 46% ABV, with a glorious copper amber hue to it. Not a great deal is known about the production process behind these drams, but I can only assume they went with a peated expression for Jack, due to his beloved pipe.
On the nose, you should get subtle hints of toffee and honey, with roasted creamy malt. These are balanced expertly by gentle aromas of seaweed, orange peel, and smouldering applewood logs.
On the palate, you immediately pick up golden delicious apples, black treacle, orange blossom honey, and earthy peat. These flavours are then joined by sweet and smoky BBQ notes, sea-salted caramel, and roasted spicy pink peppercorns.
The finish is medium, warming, and fairly dry with a wonderful tannic mouthfeel. There’s orange marmalade and honey, combined with woodsmoke, and heather. Almost as if it had been ‘filtered through the heather’. Clark Gable would definitely be a fan (if you don’t get some of these references, please sit down and binge Still Game from start to finish until you do).
The Victor is a Speyside expression and is more subdued and laid back compared with The Jack, much like their characters (most of the time at least).
This too, is a limited-edition single malt whisky bottled at 46% and is named after and inspired by the character Victor McDade, played by Greg Hemphill.
On the nose, you should pick up punchy aromas of crisp green apples, pear drop sweets, candied citrus peel, freshly mown grass, and subtle notes of bees wax polish.
On the palate, you can definitely tell this is a Speyside dram. There’s apple and pear compote, creamy vanilla custard, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg, along with lightly roasted oak and creamy oatmeal made with whole milk. Lingering in the background, there’s also a touch of butterscotch.
The finish is clean and lengthy, with a waxy mouthfeel. There’s more green apples, candied peel, buttery shortcrust pastry, and a sprinkling of white pepper right at the end.
The Boabby is another 46% ABV, limited-edition single malt from Speyside, that is named after, and inspired by, Boabby the Barman (or Troy the Gardener) played by Gavin Mitchell.
Boabby is the long-suffering barman at The Clansman who is often the butt of his customer’s jokes, especially Jack, Victor, Winston, Tam, and even Auld Eric. He may be down on his luck, with no real prospects ahead of him, but that is most definitely not reflected in this dram.
The Boabby is a bourbon cask finished dram that has a wonderful chestnut brown colour to it. On the nose, it’s rich in vanilla, caramel, and toasted oak, just like you’d expect with a bourbon. These aromas however, work in harmony with those of fresh strawberries and cream, apricot jam, and fresh thyme.
On the palate, it becomes more of a Speyside. There are prominent apple flavours throughout, along with lime zest, clotted cream and vanilla fudge, treacle tart, cinnamon sugar, brandy snaps, and caramelised pineapples.
The finish is medium, cloyingly sweet, and incredibly smooth and creamy. There’s mixed summer berries, evaporated milk, maple syrup, and a whisper of lightly scorched oak. It would make a great summer dram, this one.
Isa is the incredibly nosey neighbour of Jack and Victor, played by Jane McCarry. When she’s not gossiping about other people’s business, or peeking through Victor’s letterbox, she can often be found in The Clansman enjoying a sweet sherry. In fact, ‘sweet sherry, Boabby’ has become somewhat of a catchphrase of hers.
As Isa’s favourite tipple is a sweet sherry, you probably already know what sort of cask type this dram will be. Yes, this limited-edition, 46%, single malt is indeed a sherry cask finish. In fact, for this particular Speyside dram, they’ve opted for a PX (Pedro Ximenez) sherry cask finish, and it has worked wonderfully, not only in terms of flavour, but also with the colour too. It’s a stunning amber-burgundy colour, almost as dark as a tawny port.
On the nose, you get rich aromas of plums, sticky dates, red grapes, and dried fruits. A further nosing should reveal hints of tiramisu, black cherries, syrup sponge, and winter baking spices.
On the palate, you get strong honey-drizzled fig flavours, along with Black Forest Gateaux, dark drinking chocolate, raisins, Christmas cake, toasted almonds, honey, and fresh orange zest.
The finish is rich and decadent, with prominent notes of red grape, cherry compote, black treacle, and a gentle oak spiciness to finish. If ever there was a dram ideally suited for Christmas, this is it!
Winston Ingram is probably Jack and Victor’s closest friend. Played by Paul Riley, he’s the one-legged, short-tempered, sarcastic, lovable rogue best known for his long-standing feud with Stevie the Bookie.
This non-peated limited-edition, single malt, Highland expression was bottled at 46% ABV (bit of a theme going on here) and has a glorious gentle amber colour to it. if you enjoy your drams fresh, fruity, and floral, this is going to be right up your street.
On the nose, it is rich in ripe orchard fruits, heather, orange blossom honey, cherry blossom, and pears poached in syrup. There’s also a gentle hint of vanilla in there.
On the palate, more of those fruity and floral flavours immediately shine through. There’s apple and cinnamon crumble coated in fresh vanilla custard, candied limes, roasted almonds, fresh Battenberg cake, roasted malt, and lemon, honey, and thyme elixir.
The finish is lengthier than the line to the bookies in Craigland. It’s smooth, medium, and leaves flavours of chocolate coated raisins, crystalised ginger, honey, vanilla, and toasted oak.
The penultimate dram on our list today is The Tam, named after the character Tam Mullen, played by Mark Cox.
Tam is notorious for his tightfistedness. He’s often scrounging for freebies and is quick to scarper to the lavvies when it’s his turn to buy everyone a round.
As you can probably guess, The Tam features an ABV of 46%, it’s a single malt, and guess what? Yep, it’s a limited-edition expression. This is another Speyside dram, but this time, it’s been finished in Oloroso sherry casks to give a rich and fruity finish and a wonderful copper crimson hue.
On the nose, you get rich aromas of figs, prunes, cherry compote, and candied peel. These are complimented wonderfully by notes of antique leather and clove-studded Seville oranges.
On the palate, a strong sherry influence, this time in the form of dark chocolate, red grapes, dates, figs, iced fruitcake, toffee, toasted almonds, and autumn baking spices.
The finish is lengthy and warming, offering up plenty of sherry notes. There’s mixed baking spices, fruit and nut chocolate, citrus peel, and golden syrup.
Finally, last but by no means least, we have The Navid. Another limited-edition single malt, again bottled at 46%. This time however, it is a Speyside with a port cask finish. This has helped give it a gorgeous ruby chestnut colour.
The Navid is named after, and inspired by local shop owner Navid Harrid, played by Sanjeev Kohli.
Navid is the quick-witted, sarcastic-yet-loyal shopkeeper who constantly bickers with his wife Meena. He was originally from India, but made his way over to Glasgow in the 1970s, where he has remained ever since. This dram is sharp, complex, and exotic, just like his character.
On the nose, you immediately get red grapes, plum jam, mixed berries, toasted hazelnuts, and rose petals, and mixed spice. The sweetness is balanced beautifully with aromas of fresh vanilla and toasted oak.
On the palate, flavours of dark chocolate cherry liquors, cinnamon, clove, cardamon, and fresh coriander seeds to give it a wonderful orange citrus kick. There is also a prominent taste of honey, figs, apricot jam, toasted almonds, and glacier cherries. Very retro this one, and that’s no bad thing.
The finish is fairly short and offers up more oak, a subtle woody spice, mixed berry compote, pink peppercorns, and a very gentle dusting of crystalised mint.
If you’d like to learn more about your favourite whiskies, or simply treat yourself to a dram or two in the process, head on over to GreatDrams.com and take a look at the diverse selection of unique whiskies we currently have in stock.
With an impressive selection of limited-edition, rare, and award-winning whisky, as well as heaps of whisky info on our blog, it’s the perfect spot for any whisky lovers out there.
Greg
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