10 July 2024

Whisky Tasting : Mysteries of Malt

 A completely blind tasting at Regional, I like these. We get given nothing, a few random, generally misleading, questions and the booze. That's it. I've filled in the whisky names for the notes, because I'm not that mean...

Glenrothes 48/8% Whisky Makers Cut, no colour 1st fill sherry

  • N: sweet, muscavado, caramel, chocolate, sherry, petrol, vanilla, violets
  • P: bourbon, dry, mcintosh egg lollies, salt, chocolate, honey
  • F: long and hot, slight peppery?

7.5/10 Tasty dram this one, nothing stunning, but certainly very drinkable. It came 4th= with 8.02 overall.

Jura 21 44% 105a colour added

  • N: weak, light, water, hint sherry?, vinegar
  • P: light, sweet, spearmint
  • F: short

5/10. This was a real disappointment, nothing much happening anywhere.  It came last with 7.17

Meikletoir 5yo Glenallachie peated 48% PX & oloroso

  • N: medicinal, bacon, oily, iodine, sweet
  • P: smooth, peppery, iodine, complex, salt, sweet
  • F: long and very tasty

8.5/10 Yep this was excellent, I know, another good Glenallachie? Whoda thunk it. Came 3rd, 8.17. There maybe a bottle heading my way...

Kilchoman PX matured 2023 50%

  • N: light, mushrooms, earthy, ashes, musty
  • P: gherkins, ash, dry, sour
  • F: med-long, peppery, sour

7/10 Looking at my scoring, I couldn't quite decide on it, ranged from 6-7 with a lot of crossing out. Somethings not quite right with this one. Came 6th with 7.38

Amrut Spectrum 50% Oct 2021

  • N: muscavado, caramel, chocolate, awesome, sulphur, raisins
  • P: chocolate, cake, leather aged, sticky, parmesan cheese
  • F: medium and complex

9/10 a sherry monster that delivers. It's not cheap, but it is very good, those Spectrum finishes all seem to be excellent. Came first with 8.61

Ardnamurchan Rum finish NC2 55%

  • N: salt, coastal, marshmallows, subtle, light, sweet lollies, citrus
  • P: citrus, spritzic, parma violets
  • F: short-med and salt

7/10 Interesting without being outstanding. Possibly a bit sweet for me, which maybe the Rum finish coming through. Came 4th = 8.02

Glen Scotia 54.1% 12yo unpeated NC2 Palo Cortado Finish

  • N: wood, creamy, brown sugar, hazelnuts, sherry notes
  • P: sweet, brown sugar, complex, incr alco
  • F: med-long and peppery

8.5/10 I liked this, interesting whisky that seemed pretty well integrated. It came 2nd, 8.5. 

Thanks to John we also learnt what a Palo Cortado sherry is, briefly it's a sherry being aged under flor to become a fino or amontillado, but for reasons it loses the flor and ages as an oloroso.

Fun tasting, our group made a few guesses as to who made the whiskies, that didn't go well. But I went ok on the answers to Daniel's misleading questions :)

Slainte!




10 June 2024

Casual Dram 11

 More John based booze. Tasted blind, but impressed by myself for picking all 5. I probably shouldn't be too proud, they were quite diverse tastes...

Springbank 12yo Cask Strength 2023 54.1%

  • N: grass, caramel, leather, citrus (hint), garden shed
  • P: Caramel, McIntosh egg toffee lolly, dry, tobacco, citrus, pomegranate?
  • F: long, hot, cloying

8/10 Hey, I like Springbank (generally) and I'd be happy with one of these in the cupboard...

Mystery Dram

  • N: sherry, leather, burnt rubber, demarara sugar
  • P: dry, sweet, bitter finish, pandang spice, 
  • F: med, possibly a bit too young? 

7/10 nothing really interesting in this, could have benefited from a year or two?

Glenallachie 'Whisky Galore's 21st Anniversary' 2009/14yo 57.9%

  • N: sweet, mild, caramel, burnt sugar, caramel milkshake
  • P: caramel, light
  • F: med, spicy

6/10 disappointing (sadly) I was really looking forward to this one as I hadn't yet picked up a bottle, but not sure I will now. Damnit. 

SMWS 4.312 'old-school with a twist' 13yo 61.2%

  • N: bourbon, seaside, salt, bacon
  • P: more coastal, different to nose, light balsamic vinegar, salt 'n' vinegar crisps, 
  • F: med salty

8.5/10 Yup liked this one, another interesting bottling from distillery #4.

Ledaig LMDW 2007/10yo peaty artist #9 60/8%

  • N: burnt rubber, salt, bacon, aniseed, tamarind, mushrooms, medicinal, iodine
  • P: vanilla, very salty, islay iodine, sweet
  • F: long and hot

9/10 As someone who wasn't abig fan of Ledaig's a few years ago, I'll admit I might have been hasty :) this was great. Well if you like your Islay's big and salty. 

Interested in John's tastings? have a look here. https://www.drinkscreative.com/


29 April 2024

Whisky Tasting: James Eadie

 This months Regional Wines tasting was the indie bottler James Eadie which we haven't seen much (?any?) of in New Zealand. There's some history on their website, essentially mid 1800s, James Eadie was a distiller with a good rep, fast forward 100+ years, relative kicks off a indie bottling based on his ancestors ethos. 


James Eadie Benrinnes 9yo First fill malaga hogshead finish 55%

  • N: sweet, sherry, complex, zest, young, lemonade
  • P: chocolate, rough, sweet, pineapple, lime, burnt orange
  • F: long, hot

7/10 Nose promised much which was disappointing in the flavour, it came 6th with 7.34. Not a typical Benrinnes.

James Eadie Caol Ila 10yo 55.3% First fill amontillado hogshead finish

  • N: dry, rubbery, rashuns, bacon, tasty, cigars
  • P: rubber, ash, peat but subtle, fruity, salty
  • F: med hot butter
8/10 I liked it, although it came 4th (7.44), for me it was the dram of the night. The fruity body to the normal Caol Ila flavour worked really well.

James Eadie Glen Elgin 12yo 56.6% Refill oloroso hogshead finish
  • N: caramel, sweet, nutty, butterscotch, demarara sugar, old wet wool, sultanas
  • P: sherbert, woody, oaky, sherry, tannin, sweet
  • F: short. not much happening.
6/10. Had an amazing nose, but for me was lacking after that. It came first (8.19) but our table were not fans of it (two fails from a table of 6). 

James Eadie Port Dundas 23yo 54.7% Refill PX Sherry hogshead finish
  • N: complex, sweet, heavy sherry, rum, demarara/molasses, dark chocolate, hazelnuts, plums
  • P: warm, engine oil, disappointing
  • F: short
6/10 and I think I was being generous there, great nose but overall really disappointing. It came 5th (7.42). 

James Eadie Teaninich 13yo Refill marsala hogshead finish
  • N: light, wet dog, vomit, lemon, elderflower, sherbet, acetone
  • P: damp washing, spicy paprika, pencil box
  • F: bitter, long
7/10 and again, interesting nose, although a bit more happening in the flavour. Came last with 7.3

James Eadie Glen Ord 12yo refill hogshead 59.1%
  • N: light sugar, very sweet, ash, liquid sugar, custard, tea
  • P: dull, light peppery, salty, aniseed
  • F: short
6.5/10, again a bit more happening, but not enough to drag it up for me. Came 2nd with 7.51

James Eadie Royal Brackla (mystery whisky) 58.9%
  • N: marshmallow, weetbix, vomit, light, key lime pie, floral
  • P: rubber, light ash, burnt sugar, wood
  • F: pepper, medium
6/10 again good nose let down by the flavour. It came 3rd (7.5).

Overall, a disappointing tasting, at least in our group we were keen to try a new (to us) indie bottler, as the group is a fan of them. We had quite a long discussion about what didn't work for us on the table. There's a suggestion that the finishes were good, they certainly did some pretty magical things with the nose, but maybe the underlying whisky was a bit young? That's got to be a tough call for a indie when you've got 10 years or so before seeing any profits (unless they're buying casks already a few years old, then finishing them?). Looking at the bottles, most of the finishes were at least 18months which, depending on the size of the barrel, should be enough for flavour? 
Ah well. 

B

26 March 2024

Casual Dram 10

Our favourite John, from Regional, runs an occasional Whisky tasting and this was #10 in his continuing series of a John who'd gone to the booze...


Ardbeg BizarreBQ Double charred casks PX Sherry Casks & BBQ Casks 50.9%
N: salt, bacon, oily, mint, menthol, bbq meat, dry
P: salty, sherry, lovely, iodine, woody
F: long, dry
9/10 this was really good, i know a shocker that Ardbeg bottled their own well !

James Eadie Port Dundas 23yo refill PX Sherry Hogshead Finish 54.7%
N: wood, age, vinyl, PVA glue, brown sugar, too sweet
P: sweet, sickly, very dry
F: medium and dry
6/10 didn't like this, which was frustrating as the potential was great

Glentauchers 'North Star' 2008 / 14yo Oloroso Sherry Butt
N: apple/pear, complex, leather
P: sticky date, 
F: long, very hot
9/10 This was lovely, I want more of it. 

SMWS 30.122 'A Bootful of Brazil Nuts' 9yo, Oloroso Butt/European Oak Refill Puncheon HTMC 67.6%
N: sulphur, complex, charcoal, wood, grilled seafood
P: sulphur, massive, sour nectarines
F: long, massive, lovely
10/10 Why yes, I did rather like this. Amazing. 


25 March 2024

Whisky: Blackadder tasting

 I think this is the first of the Regional Wines tastings we've done this year, the first one didn't have a lot of unique things so we skipped it - with the intention of having our own tasting, which we, as usual, failed spectacularly to organise. 

Blackadder are an independent bottler with their USP being they keep some of the soot/wood/crap from the barrel in when they bottle. So each bottle has some floating bits, for that added authenticity. This we learnt makes it very difficult to pour for samples. 


Blair Athol Blackadder 13yo Raw Cask 2009 Hogshead 3049 51.7%
N: sherry, sweet, glaze, acetone, sulphur, tea, apples
P: spicy, liquorice, woody, orange, savoury
F: warm, spicy, long
8/10 Came 3rd with 8.33
I liked this a lot. Interesting whisky.

Inchgower Blackadder 12yo Raw Cask 2009 58%
N: dry, powdery, sherbets, bourbon, phenol, thyme
P: floral, lemonade, peat(ish), mineral, chardonnay, vanilla
F: med-long
8/10 6th with 7.33
Interesting and unusual in its flavours.

Macduff Blackadder 14yo Raw Cask 2007 59.7%
N: sweet, parma violets, hot, phenol
P: dry, vigorous, coconut
F: very dry, med-long, buttery
8/10 7th with 7.04
Starting with three 8s seemed a good indication of the quality of this tasting. 

Linkwood Blackadder 12yo Raw Cask 172 2010 59.2%
N: sweet, sherry, lovely, woody, blue cheese
P: incr alco, big, 
F: prickly, solvents, short
6/10 4th with 8.14 (people are silly)
Promised much on the nose and failed to deliver. Possibly too much alcohol and may have needed mor time in the barrel?

Glen Spey Blackadder 11yo Raw Cask 2010 61.3%
N: light, phenol, sweet, bourbon, fruit, lemon, balsa wood
P: fruit salad, medicinal, lemon
F: medium, bitter, lemon
8.5/10 This came 5th with 7.34
Obviously I liked this far more than others int he tasting, it seemed very balanced to me.

Mystery: Glendronach NS Cask Batch 11 59.6%
N: brown sugar, molasses, sweet, sherry, old leather, varnish, complex, aged?
P: dry, sherry, tannins, cigars
F: long, dry, massive
9/10 Came 1st with 8.98
This was great, as you'd expect from Glendronach, and it's a little embarrasing that the mystery won the tasting, but it didn't for me, so I'm obviously a better person. But seriously, this is great.

Glentauchers Blackadder 10yo 2012 Raw Cask Butt 900472 64.3%
N: sherry, sweet, rich, incr alc, papaya, spiky, fruit
P: amazing, long hot, sherry, spicy
F: long hot dry
9.5-10/10 Came 2nd with 8.86
I ended up pushing for a 10 on this one, and may have a bottle sitting at home now. It's stunning. 


2 January 2024

Untappd - update on the Alec v Bruce competition

 This competition has been going, unofficially, since err, I dunno, I want to say 2010? 2009? who knows. Any way, I've tried to post updates every 6 months or so. 

The good news (for me), I'm still ahead on total number of checkins, although Alec continues to have had more unique beers. Badges, I'm 4 ahead, which suggests we're both maxxing out on the gamification. 

Also we share two of the top beers, Schlenkerla and Oude Geuze Boon. Again, not much of a surprise. 





Last.FM year update

 What did I listen to last year? one of the benefits of last.fm is that it records what I've listened to from the laptop and the phone. I'm also retentive enough to scrobble digital versions of the LPs i'm listening to. So I'd say this is pretty accurate.















No real surprises there. The categories (eg prog rock) are Last.FM's not mine, I don't think I've got anything filed under prog. 
I see Prince is in the top artists - twice. I quite like Prince :D 


21 November 2023

Whisky: Best of the Best

 Another year of tasting, another Best of the Best. Range was definitely better this year than last, but I'm not sure things are back to pre-Covid variety. Having said that, I doubt anyone would complain with this line-up.


Benriach 10yo Hart Brothers 1st Sherry Butt 57.5% 
N: apple, sweet, toffee, redwine, cinnamon, vanilla, hazlenut
P: complex, sweet, chocolate, cinnamon, spicy, sticky
F: long, hot, sulphur on finish, spicy

9/10 hey its a BenRiach, the odds are high it'll be good. Came 4th, 8.76

Aberfeldy 18yo #3080 Exceptional Double Cask sherry finish 52%
N: dry, chocolate, sherry, dusty, apple, aged, tobacco
P: spice, light, dark chocolate, fudge, sour, sticky
F: med-long, salt, sulphur
8/10 Interesting and tasty, nicely aged sherry finish. Came 7th on the night 8.37

Glenallachie 15yo 46% NC2
N: sweet, sherry, coke, varnish, cedar, marzipan, vanilla, parmesan
P: light, honeycomb
F: med
8/10 good but possibly the worst (?!) of the evening. Came 8th, 8.12 

Ben Nevis 25yo Blackadder 1996-2022 Statement 41 Raw Cask 51.9% Oloroso Butt #2203
N: sweet, prunes, chocolate, banda reel
P: grass, phenol, peat, amazing
F: long
9 maybe 10/10 I loved this, hugely complex and interesting. Stunning. Came 1st, 9.34

Glenfarclas 105 60% (circa 2006)
N: disappointing, lemonade
P: salty, honey, cloying
F: med
8/10 so it's not bad, but i felt it was lacking something compared to the others in the line-up. It did better (for me) in the tasting. Came 3rd 8.91

Finlaggan Original Peaty 58% single malt cask strength
N: medicinal, supporting wound, bacon, salt
P: quiet, smoke, salty, chewy, 
F: long, dry
8.5/10 this was good, only salty finish of the evening. 6th 8.43

Cardrona 62.7% full flight 2016-2023 Gonzales Byass 7yo Oloroso PX butt #114
N: sulphur, matches, biscuit, cigar, bleach
P: tasty, caramel, wood, ginger, chocolate
F: long and tasty
9.5/10 this was excellent, it's not cheap, but very good. 5th 8.63

Mystery: Tamdhu Batch 5
N: popcorn, caramel, cut wood, vanilla, fruity
P: spicy, salt, dry, toffee, caramel, ginger, vanilla, 
F: long hot spicy
9/10. Really nice, and quite reasonably prices. Came 2nd, 8.94

Best of the Best also has haggis, and all the usual stuff addressing the haggis. This year our band of intrepid booze hounds were asked to do the carrying... and we got to drink some very nice booze out back. All win.




Slainte!


27 September 2023

GlenDronach & Benriach with Rachel Barrie

 A tasting with the master blender for GlenDronach and BenRiach? well ok, that works for me.


BenRiach The Original 10yo 43% (served with smoked ham rillette, peach & apricot relish, toasted ciabatta)
N: apple, citrus, fruit salad, spritzic
P: fruity, light, pears, marshmallows, spicy
F: short-med, spikey, hint of pepper/salt?
6.5/10 nice dram, just not really too interesting? 

The GlenDronach 12yo 43% (maple glazed duck breast, carrot and ginger puree, poached cherries). 
N: sherry, leather, complex, warm, honey
P: lollies, sweet, perfume, sherry, spikey
F: med-long, dry
6/10. a marriage of PX and oloroso casks for this one, nice quaffable dram.

The GlenDronach "revival" 15yo 46% (seared venison, minted sweet potato, cranberry and cherry relish)
N: chocolate (maybe white), caramel, marshmallow, orange, tobaco, fruit, scallops
P: spikey, hot, poor balance, chocolate, strong, fruity
F: hot, long, dry
6/10 increased PX and reduced oloroso.

BenRiach 25yo 46% (confit pork belly, waldorf salad, quince mayo).
N: sweet, caramel, sherry, show polish, menthol, smoke
P: long, big complex, leather, sherry
F: big long prickly
8/10 this one had additional madeira casks in it, it's lovely. big, complex, showed its age well.

GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 11 59.8% (Crispy fried katsu chicken, Japanese bulldog sauce)
N: rubber, complex, honey, menthol
P: sweet, port, ?too sweet?, leathery
F: hot, complex
8/10 also liked this, had increased oloroso and reduced PX and is roughly a 10yo

BenRiach smoke season Double Cask matured 52.8% (teriyaki chicken skewers, toasted sesame kewpie mayo)
N: smoke, bacon, peat, medicinal, sherry, suppurating wounds 
P: ash, dry, peat, sweet
F: long, dry
7/10 I had high hopes for this as the old benriach solstice is one of my favourite whiskies, this was good. without being great.

Overall, disappointing. Both labels have some amazing whiskies, but most of these were standard releases, with the exception of the the 25 and cask strength. That seemed a missed opportunity, if you've got the blender out, and Rachel Barrie is famous, to trot out something interesting for her fan group. She's a good speaker, but we left after 2.5hours which seemed a little too long, lots of stories but it was hard to hear the questions which made understanding the answers a bit tricky. Special vote of fuck you to the company reps (?) who spent most of their time making pointless remarks to themselves, making it even harder to hear. 

I guess this is one reason we like the Regional tastings, better selection of whisky and fewer twats.



31 August 2023

Tamdhu Tasting : Regional

 I'm writing this up after a few beers and whiskies, which I'm hoping will make my notes during the tasting more legible. In the words of my favourite hero "what could possibly go wrong?"

So this was a Regional Wines tasting focussing on Tamdhu, a distillery I've come to like more over the years, which can probably be traced back to Neil...



Aberlour A'bunadh Batch 76

  • N: nutmeg, marmalade, wood, balsa, PVA, perfume, syrup, sherry
  • P: caramel, spicy, smooth, juicy, vanilla
  • F: long, dry, raisins
I was a fan of the A'Bunadh thanks to Regional, we had a couple of early releases (6, 9?) and I've had a few bottles over the years 6, 10, mid teens, and a mid thirties. And the quality has definitely decreased. It used to be our benchmark for tasting, so was great to see the quality has come back. I gave this 8, and would happily have a bottle in the cupboard as a benchmark for sherry monsters. It came 2nd, with 9.33 

Glenfarclas 105 60% (current release)

  • N: pineapple, acetone, fruit salad, sweet, sulphur, dusty shelf
  • P: prickly, sap, caramel, green apple, light
  • F: med long, integrated, dry
8/10 for me, but came 7th with an average of 8.14. It's used to be a go-to for me, but again had dipped, great to see it getting better again.

Tamdhu Batch Strength #6 56.8%
  • N: lighter, pineapples, sweetness, meths, coconut, salty caramel, hint of citrus
  • P: fruit salad, sweet, sour, metallic, boysenberries
  • F: med tannin, sour
7.5/10 - this did not do well with the group coming last (8th) although still a respectable score of 7.94.

Tamdhu Batch Strength #3 58.3%
  • N: sherry, rum, sweet, acetone, sour, molasses
  • P: sherry, chocolate, raisins, thick, spicy, cinnamon, 
  • F: long, chocolate
8.5/10 Came 4th with 8.98

Tamdhu Batch Strength #4 57.8%
  • N: very sweet, fruity, pears, sour, musty, peaches, mushrooms, coffee
  • P: citrus, dry, creme brulee, woody, pepper, 
  • F: long, dry, pepper, heat builds
8.5-9 /10 I like this a lot. Interesting and complex. Didn't go so well with others coming 6th with 8.53

Tamdhu Batch Strength #5 59.8%
  • N: sweet, high alc., sour, tobacco, ginger nuts, treacle, dry, woody
  • P: sour, sick, fruit salad, oak, bourbon
  • F: med
6.5/10 this one was pretty bland for me, although it did well coming 3rd with 9.0

Tamdhu Batch Strength #7 57.5%
  • N: apple, pear, caramel, fruit, citrus, sea salt
  • P: sulphur, parma violets, sherry, very sweet, coconut
  • F: med-long
8/10 and came 5th with 8.84

Glenfarclas 105 60% (c. 2006 release)
  • N: strong, high alc., sherry, musty, molasses, green apple, vinegar, calvados.
  • P: musty, dry, tasty
  • F: long, dry,
8/10 didn't seem to make a huge impression on me, although everyone else rated it as it came 1st (9.43). I used to like 105, and have an older bottle sitting in my cabinet....

So although I appear a bit disparaging about some of these, it's worth looking at what they scored by the group - they were all good whiskies. with the 'worst' whisky coming in at 7.94 (Tamdhu #6) it's a pretty good indication that was a good tasting.