BLEND BASH! Mother's Toddy vs Dad's Dram vs Chivas Regal 12

While in Edinburgh two years ago, Kristen and I wandered through a Royal Mile shop full of tartans and kilts (there are a couple of those stores in Scotland). She exited without buying anything. Meanwhile, I bought these two random minis...

...because what the shit.

👆 Not a preferred reason to buy whisky.

I decided to do a blind Taste Off between Mother's Toddy and Dad's Dram, but needed some additional perspective so I added a more recognizable blend to the blind match up.

This is the same Chivas 12 that I'd included in episode 5 of Killing Whisky History (watch it now!). Trying to consume this whisky has proven to be a fugly slog, so this Taste Off offered an opportunity to knock down another ounce.

There was only one issue with the blind tasting. The Chivas was dark orange compared to the very lightly colored tourist drams. And there was one surprise: I thought Mother's Toddy was Dad's Dram, and vice versa. See why below...

THE NOSES

Whisky	Notes
Dad's Dram blended whisky The Scottish Collection 40%abv	Lots of barley with some decent industrial stink. Brown sugar, fresh linen. Quite grassy, with a hint of lime.
Chivas Regal 12yo Blended whisky Pernod Ricard 40%abv	Vodka. Nail polish. Grape candy and flower kiss candy. Sawdust, wet cardboard and little bit of maple syrup. Loads of vanilla.
Mother's Toddy Blended whisky The Scottish Collection 40%abv	Leather shoes. Iodine and band-aids. Pine-scented car deodorizer and new plastic toys. Citrus and wet dog hair in the background. Some shoe polish to go with those leather shoes.

THE PALATES

Whisky	Notes
Dad's Dram	Fudge and caramel meet herbal and grassy bitterness. Lemons and barley. Gets more herbal with time, picking up a milk chocolate note.
Chivas Regal 12yo	Thin, with plenty of ethyl heat. A vodka-like bite. A hint of coconut. Otherwise it's all flat vanilla and caramel.
Mother's Toddy	Iodine and wood smoke. Vanilla, salt, toffee and toasted oak. Small notes of grapefruit and pineapple appear after some time.

THE FINISHES

Whisky	Notes
Dad's Dram	An herbal bite that grows a bit sharp at times. Tart lemons and a hint of vanilla.
Chivas Regal 12yo	Heat, grain, vanilla, coconut-flavored vodka, sour, icky.
Mother's Toddy	Lots of barley. Tangy and salty. A hint of smoked salmon.

COMMENTARY AND RATINGS

Whisky	Notes	Rating
Dad's Dram	The prettiest of the three, so I thought it was Mother's Toddy. Apparently Papa enjoys the lighter stuff. It's decent overall, though a bit thin on the palate, and its finish starts to reveal some premature whisky and limp casks. *cough* But it's better than Chivas.	78
Chivas Regal 12yo	I was going to be nice about this, but... This is miserable whisky, descending to Dewars and Cutty levels. What the hell is going on over there? Where's the malt? Stay away from bottling code 2016/03/24 LPBK0521.	69
Mother's Toddy	Oh, Mama, I like your style. Plenty of Island malt going on. A very good nose. The low abv starts showing on the too brief finale. At around 46%abv this would be Mother's Papa's little helper.	82

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Apparently Mother's and Dad's are part of a whole series. Unfortunately, I don't know where to get them, other than at some of Scotland's tourist shops. Dad's Dram would be a perfectly respectable $20 700mL bottle, while Mother's Toddy is preferable to the current version of Johnnie Walker Black Label. But these cost me $10+ per mini, so you may want to save your GBP for something else. Also, sayonara Chivas Regal.