You think watching the last season of Game of Thrones was hard? You should have tried watching the last season of Game of Thrones *and* reviewing all eight of Diageo’s Game of Thrones malts. Sure, only a couple have been completely dull but only a couple so far have been better than decent (the Lagavulin and the Clynelish). Nor have very many of the pairings made much sense: House Lannister (built on gold mines) got the smoky Lagavulin while the dragon-riding Targaryens got the Cardhu Gold. The Night’s Watch being assigned Oban makes very little sense as well. The Night’s Watch is at the very north of the known world of Westeros; shouldn’t they have been matched with one of the northernmost distilleries? If you ask me, House Stark should have been given Glen Ord or Teaninich instead of Dalwhinnie (which should have gone to House Tyrell), and the Night’s Watch should have got Clynelish. I’m upset about this because none of it matters. On to the whisky.

Game of Thrones Whisky: The Night’s Watch (43%; Oban Bay Reserve; from a bottle split)

Nose: A big wave of citrus to start (orange) along with malt and a leafy note. On the second sniff there’s some cardboard and a metallic brightness. With time some berry sweetness pops up as well. Water brings out some vanilla/shortbread.

Palate: Pretty much as promised by the nose though the citrus is more restrained. Nice texture at 43%. As it sits there’s more citrus and less cardboard but the texture seems to thin. Nothing of note happens with water.

Finish: Medium-long. The orange hangs out for a bit mixing with peppery oak as it goes. Less oak here with water.

Comments: I had low expectations but rather liked this one. It’s a good daily drinker without any flaws and I’d be happy to have a full bottle of it.

Rating: 83 points.