Tastes

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Premium Whisky Tasting, 19 November 2021). Nose: Honey, butter, tropical fruit, coconut, menthol/aniseed, golden syrup Palate: Honey, toffee, tropical fruit, spice/black pepper, bananas, citrus/orange Finish: Long finish. Drying, nutty, leather, lemon, orange. There’s a buttery mouthfeel. Aftertaste is all spices. 1 of 163 bottles Bottled by independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail This is intense and concentrated, with the heft of Mortlach’s spirit behind it! There is so much going on in this dram - vanilla from the ex-bourbon barrel, honey and caramel, then a huge hit of sweet and spice, with all of the oils giving a luxurious mouthfeel. Great! Came third out of the six drams, with 18% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 82% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Premium Whisky Tasting, 19 November 2021). Nose: Concentrated, sweet caramel, tropical fruit, hairspray Palate: Concentrated, sharp, citrus/lemon, lemon cake, bready, lemon cake. A little salt/savoury Finish: Long finish. Salt, citrus, lemon. Floral and dry on the aftertaste. Hints of burnt heather smoke right at the end. This is a peated whisky, but there’s not a lot of peat to note, just a few wisps of smoke. Concentrated, citrus and brine. This is a very lovely, slightly ’hot’ dram. Very easy to drink and enjoy. 1 of 235 bottles. Came joint fourth out of the six drams, with 9% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 68% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Premium Whisky Tasting, 19 November 2021). Nose: Orchard fruit, summer berries, sweet, floral, soft Palate: Sweet, fruity, creamy, lightly spiced (allspice & black pepper) Finish: Medium long finish. Sweet, spice (white pepper), sherried finish. Quite dry on the aftertaste. This is a very drinkable, light, sweet and fruity dram. Cask strength at 40.4%, so bottled just in time. Very moreish, but gone too quickly! Lovely dram. Bottled by the Dutch importer and independent bottler Whisky Import Nederland. A blend of both Highland and Speyside whiskies. Matured in an American oak sherry butt. Came last out of the six drams, with 5% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 73% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Sustainability Tasting, 6th November 2021). Nose: Vanilla, floral, hay, caramel, candy/toffee apple Palate: Sweet, apple, burnt toffee, candied fruit Finish: Medium long finish. Sweet, icing sugar, toffee apple and pear. Some light wood on the aftertaste. A lovely sweet and summery dram. There are a lot of layers of flavour, mostly sweet but a fair amount of fruit and wood notes. A great summer dram with a good amount of complexity for a young whisky. I liked this enough to buy a bottle straight after the tasting. From the website: “The first release in a new series 'Quiet Rebels' from Nc'Nean distillery, celebrating their small team of staff. This initial bottling is from founder Annabel, who built the distillery on her parent's farm on the west coast of Scotland and has picked some of her favourites from the distillery's early cask experiments. In particular this release uses some ex-Tokaji wine barrels, which give a slight sweetness and velvety texture to the spirit. The rest of the barrels were mainly ex-bourbon, which give coconut, toasted vanilla and tropical fruit notes. A release of 4504 bottles. Nc'nean's small batch Scotch whisky is made with organic Scottish barley using 100% renewable energy and is packaged in 100% recycled bottles”.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Gunpowder Tasting, 5th November 2021). Nose: Caramel, burnt toffee, cinder toffee, chocolate raisins Palate: Woody, dried fruit, spices (allspice & clove), red liquorice Finish: Long finish. Leather, liquorice 1 of 777 bottles Heavily sherried, chocolate raisins & nutty. This is a great, easy drinking dram. I could drink a lot of this, although at 55% that would be a bad (bad!) idea!

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Gunpowder Tasting, 5th November 2021). Nose: Vanilla, oak, butter, grass/hay, citrus Palate: Oak, hazelnut, bread, salt/saline, sweet Finish: Short finish. Wood shavings, caramel, corn tortilla. 75% Rye 13% Corn 12% Malted barley This is a very tasty, high rye content whiskey. A little salty, very woody, quite dry but lots of sweetness from the corn. Tasty and moreish. My only complaint is that it is so short on the finish it just disappears on the palate. (Still good, ‘though!)

Nose: Sweet, gristy, citrus, orange, vanilla Palate: Sweet, ‘hot’, vanilla, caramel, coconut, fake banana flavouring, window putty Finish: Short finish. Sweet, fake banana, vanilla. A little bit of fruitiness. There’s not a lot going on with this whiskey - decidedly OK, but not unpleasant for it. Mostly forgettable.

Nose: Barley sugar, green/grassy, lime, nutty/almond Palate: Light citrus (lime), earthy, spicy, dried fruit, gristy. There’s a lovely light fruitiness. Finish: Short finish. Oak, walnut, wood shavings. Dry mouthfeel. 1 of 317 bottles Light, citrus and woody. Unassuming, easy to drink, woody dram. Not hugely memorable, but a decent dram.

Nose: Firey/hot (burns the nose hair!), ash, oak, orchard fruit Palate: Citrus, orange, walnut, baking spices, spicy (black pepper) Finish: Medium finish. Leather, oak, black pepper, dried fruit. Sour grapes/plums. Vanilla. Sours on the aftertaste. 1 of 258 bottles Warming and spicy. Lovely oaky and spicy mouthfeel. The ABV makes it a “one or two” dram max, but it really is a cracker!

Nose: Cooking spices, salt, butter, hints of smoke Palate: Spicy, black pepper, nutty, oak. Intense and unctuous. Dark dried fruit - prunes & dates. Light smoke. Finish: Long finish. Slightly citrus/orange. Black pepper, herbal, chilli, tobacco. Warming. This is a great spicy and herbal dram. A deliciously peppery and warming whisky, with loads of interesting layers. A dram to sit and ponder over. Great!