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Three Ships 10 Year Old South African Single Malt Whisky Review

Can a $32 South African single malt really deliver? Discover how Three Ships 10 balances peat, sweetness and value in this approachable dram.

OVERALL RATING

6
$32
  • Genevieve is a South African whisky enthusiast with a PhD in Philosophy and founder of Kenton on Whisky, a coastal tasting venture.
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Tasting Notes

About:

Produced at the James Sedgwick Distillery in South Africa, Three Ships 10 was initially released as a series of vintage single malts, but has since become a non-vintage expression in the core range.

Although a 10-year age statement might seem relatively young, South Africa’s warmer climate means whisky can mature more quickly than in some other traditional whisky-producing regions such as Scotland and Ireland.

This expression has been matured in a combination of older American oak and then second-fill American oak casks. Bottled at 46.3% ABV, Three Ships 10 is both naturally coloured and non-chill filtered, ticking some important boxes for many whisky drinkers. At around $32 a bottle, it also offers an affordable entry point into South African single malt whisky.
Appearance:
Straw gold.
Nose:
Gentle wood smoke, behind which I detected notes of vanilla sweetness and Crème Brûlée. Green bananas. Nothing overpowering.
Palate:
More intense wood fire and ashy smokiness, accompanied by vanilla and hints of citrus. Wood polish, I found myself thinking of the scent of an antique piece of furniture which belonged to my grandmother. There is something of a cinnamon flavoured candy note which makes an appearance. A white sugary sweetness breaks through, which I’m not entirely convinced about.
Finish:
The texture is light, and the finish is drying, with the smoky flavours lingering pleasantly for some time. When I finish a whisky, I find I’m in the habit of giving the empty glass a good sniff and (curiously) on this particular occasion I discovered that no detectable traces of a smoky aroma remained… a surprising and pleasing contrast to the flavours that lingered in my mouth.
Comments:
If you’re new to peat, this is a thoroughly approachable dram. If you’re an avid peat-head, you’re likely to be a little underwhelmed. Yet when I first tasted this whisky, I expected something only mildly smoky, so the more pronounced peat character, particularly on the palate, caught me pleasantly off guard. My understanding is that the peated malt used in Three Ships whiskies is imported from Scotland.

Smoky, sweet, with a range of subtleties in flavour to keep a person engaged for some time. This whisky had some notes on the palate that I was personally not the biggest fan of, yet my overall impression is a positive one, and I’d definitely buy another bottle. In fact, I already have. It is, after all, a very affordable 10-year-old single malt (which these days is becoming a laudable rarity).

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Genevieve Jacot-Guillarmod

Genevieve is a whisky enthusiast from South Africa with a PhD in Philosophy, so she enjoys both drinking and thinking about whisky. She loves tasting new whiskies whenever she gets the chance - so much so that a few years ago she set up a small whisky tasting business, "Kenton on Whisky", in the tiny coastal town where she lives (this also serves as an excellent excuse to grow her selection of whiskies beyond reasonable limits).

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