Tastes

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 25 February 2022). Nose: Sweet, light peat, saline, iodine, lemon/citrus, mineral and salt. Palate: Light peat, smoke, TCP, menthol, charred wood. Salt and seaweed. Hints of fruit and berries. Finish: Long finish. Sweet, smoky, BBQ meats, medicinal, seaside notes. More light fruit hints on the aftertaste. This is like a cross between a Laphroaig Select and a Caol Ila 12y/o. Sweeter and less ashy than the Caol Ila, but more so than the Laphroaig. Imagine a toned-down blend of both. (Incidentally, I have no idea if any spirit is used from either of these distilleries, it just has some similarities). It's a decent enough standard dram, but again it does seem a little toned down. Not complex at all, but OK for someone who fancies a sweet but gently smoky dram. Came fourth out of the six drams, with 9% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 61% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 25 February 2022). Nose: Light peat, BBQ and campfire hints, salt and pickle. Light fresh fruit notes, hints (again!) of citrus/zest. Palate: Oak, vanilla, honey, maple syrup, toffee, caramel, butterscotch. More hints of smoke. Finish: Medium long finish. Toffee and butterscotch, more very light smoky notes. Quite a sweet finish with more malt notes on the aftertaste. This is a lovely, caramel and sweet dram. Think, if you can, of a smoked Werther's Original!?! Butterscotch, smoke, butter, toffee, caramel. All very warming, toffied and tasty. A lovely dram. Came joint third out of the six drams, with 17% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 83% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 25 February 2022). Nose: Summer berries, icing sugar, Campino sweets, toffee Palate: Great mouthcoating mouthfeel. Woody, vanilla, very sweet, spices. Hints of menthol. Finish: Medium finish. Toffee, chocolate, slight funk, lots of pepper and vanilla. This is my 500th taste review on Distiller, so I was hoping for a good one - and I'm glad to say that it is indeed a very good dram! This is all about the virgin oak - all vanilla and spice. It has a very pleasant mouth coating texture, but maintaining a lightness to the spirit itself. Very tasty - spice, vanilla & cereal notes. A wee cracker! Came joint third out of the six drams, with 17% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 78% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky. This was a close second for my vote.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 25 February 2022). Nose: Berries and cream, vanilla, fudge. Very sweet - icing sugar. Pear drop boiled sweets Palate: Very sweet, rich and heavily sherried. Very fruity, hints of cereals and some spices (clove & cinnamon) Finish: Medium finish. Stewed fruit, black pepper, clove, chilli, allspice and oak. This is quite full-bodied for such a young whisky. Very sweet and very fruity (pear drop sweets). The spices are more dominant on the finish which becomes dry and oaky on the aftertaste. A very drinkable young whisky - not bad at all. It promises good things to come. Came second out of the six drams, with 22% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 74% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 25 February 2022). Nose: Orchard fruit (apples and pears), cereal, honey, McDonalds apple pie, hairspray Palate: Sweet, gristy, vanilla, lemon/citrus, oak, orange, and vanilla. Odd hints of unripe banana. Finish: Medium long finish. Citrus and black pepper on the finish which builds to quite a sour and woody aftertaste. This is not a massively complex whisky, but is an easy drinker. Not a bad dram at all, but not particularly memorable. It was described on the tasting by an attendee as a 'guard dram' - one you have at the very front of your shelf to protect the better drams behind from anyone just grabbing a whisky! Came last out of the six drams, with 0% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 48% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

Nose: Toasted oak, vanilla, grist, malt, caramel. Wisps of orchard fruit and berries with honey. Palate: Rich, berries and black cherries. Plum jam, jelly sweets, honey and maple syrup. Oak, vanilla, Demerara sugar and baking spices (allspice and cinnamon). Finish: Short finish. Sweetens further on the finish, more of the berries & cream and Campino sweets. A fair bit of sweet spice and cinnamon, and waves of grapefruit souring on the aftertaste. This is an absolute sherry bomb! Very sweet, vanilla, and berries/forest fruit all the way through. It still manages to retain much of the lightness of spirit Fettercairn is known for, and some structure and spice you’d expect from the ex-bourbon barrel maturation before the finish in the PX casks. There’s a lovely mouthfeel for such a light spirit, and surprising given that it comes in at just 40% ABV. I can’t help thinking it would be improved with a slightly higher ABV, but that’s a minor quibble. Overall, a light fruity, sweet and spicy quaffable dram. c£40 for a 1L bottle on sale at Duty Free, although normally around the £80 mark.

Nose: Vanilla, butter, fresh cut wood and toffee apple. Hints of citrus and orange. Palate: Sweet, Demerara sugar, vanilla, caramel. There are hints of apple and pear, and the slightest wisp of smoke, nuts and aromatic baking spices Finish: Short finish. Very sweet, vanilla, caramel and vanilla. There’s a spiciness on the aftertaste that is not particularly noticeable on the palate, but quite pleasant on the finish. I’ve probably had this whisky in more random airports and hotels around the world than any other drink. The main thing about it is that it’s perfectly OK. No more, no less - just OK. That sounds damning, but it really isn’t intended to be. I have enjoyed it many times for it’s familiarity and inoffensiveness. Do I want it to take pride of place on my shelves? No. Will I have it again, and again and again. Almost definitely, yes.

Nose: Sweet, summer berries, honey, stewed fruit. There’s a slight sour milk hint and wisps of something floral, herbal (lemongrass) and stone and tropical fruit Palate: Black pepper, cinnamon, vanilla and sweet barley. Lemon, apple, mint, orange and a little salt Finish: Medium short finish. More peppery spices, sweet chocolate mousse, woody and minty. This is a pretty decent dram. It has a load of interesting layers, but not particularly well integrated. They are more jaggy than some more refined whiskies and a little jarring - you notice the changes between them - but overall this is a very pleasant, easygoing session whisky.

Nose: Barley sugar, toffee apples, iced biscuits, toffee caramel, vanilla. Hints of milk chocolate Palate: Creamy malt, biscuits, vanilla, toffee, caramelised sugar. Light spice (white pepper & ginger), hints of smoke and sweet chocolate Finish: Medium short finish. Sweet, biscuity and malty. Hints of salt and smoke. Sours on the aftertaste, leaving a bit of a bad taste and spoiling the enjoyment a little This was one of the first whiskies that got me into whisky in the first place. It must be over a decade since I’ve had any of this blend and I’d built it up in my mind into something much hotter and rougher than it actually is. In fact, it has quite a creamy mouthfeel, loads of vanilla/ caramel and malty notes. It’s not in any way refined, but it’s perfectly drinkable and I’m really rather enjoying this as a dram in its own right. For the price, I might have to add a bottle into my next shopping trip!

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual American Whiskey Tasting, 05 February 2022). Nose: Fruit - stone fruit and berries, stewed apples, kirsch cherries. There are some floral hints notes and hints of charred oak Palate: Caramelised fruit, red berries, orange and orange zest. Sweet, vanilla and creamy. Concentrated and unctuous. Finish: Long finish. Leather, sweet dried fruit (cranberries), burnt sugar, dark chocolate berries. Icing sugar on the aftertaste. This is a cracker of a dram! Unctuous and luxurious, loads of interesting layers - heavy on the sweet fruit - but finishing on leather and oak. Great! 13% 16y/o OBSV 6% 14y/o OBSQ 23% 12y/o OESK 58% 16y/o OESV Came first out of the six drams, with 59% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 88% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky. This got my vote for the best of the evening and it was a runaway winner. Very tasty, although a bit on the expensive side.