Scapegrace Revenant

Score: 60

Scapegrace Revenant came in with swagger but left with a whimper, landing 6th out of 6 in the club’s tasting lineup. Bottled at 46% ABV and made from Laureate barley smoked with native manuka wood, it’s aged for three years in tight-grain virgin French oak casks. The profile is anything but shy: dense umami notes, peanut oil, soy sauce, shiitake mushroom, and smoked meat dominate the nose, with flashes of black cherry, ginger cake, and toasted spice trying to peek through. On the palate, it’s chewy and savory, like sipping a smoked stir-fry with a splash of mocha and a dusting of cocoa powder. It’s bold, no doubt, but the balance felt off. The heavy-handed smoke and tannic oak overwhelmed any finesse, and the fruit notes struggled to make themselves heard. Unlike its sibling Fortitude, Revenant wasn’t sent back, but it definitely tested the club’s patience. It’s a whisky that might find fans in niche corners, but in this tasting, it simply didn’t land. Ambitious, yes. Memorable? Unfortunately, for the wrong reasons.