Tastes

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 9th July 2021). Nose: Damp peat, chocolate, citrus peel, leather, damp earth Palate: Salty, damp peat, milk chocolate, nutty. There’s a vanilla sweetness and a slight gristiness Finish: Long finish. Peat, oil, leather. Sweet and a little citrus. This has an odd sweetness for such a peaty dram. Released for the Fèis Ìle Islay Festival 2021. 1 of 5,190 bottles. This is a really easy drinking dram. Sweet but not fruity. Many peaty Islay whiskies will rely on a sherry (or similar) cask finish to sweeten them up, but this is a simple sweet peaty whisky without the fruit. I’d like to describe this as a session whisky, although at 53.8% ABV it would be a short session!

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 9th July 2021). Nose: Wood smoke, baking spice, nutmeg, toasted pine nuts, plum, cherry and light peat. Palate: Salty, gentle peat smoke, creamy/buttery, stewed dark fruit, malt loaf/rye bread, caramel, vanilla, black pepper. Finish: Medium long finish. Toasted oak, buttery caramel, gentle peat and smoke. Earthy notes. Slightly drying. This has a wonderfully gentle Island character. It’s a very warming dram, with a creamy buttery mouthfeel. The peat is more than a hint, but is a gentle note rather than the punchy Islay style. A very tasty and nicely balanced dram.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 9th July 2021). Nose: Quince jam, orange, chocolate, baking spice/ nutmeg, raisins, pears, leather, tobacco. Palate: Christmas cake, chocolate, coffee, dried fruit, blackberries, creamy/buttery Finish: Medium finish. Leather, Armagnac, old wood/oak, PX sherry, dried fruit, dark chocolate. Light bitterness on the aftertaste. This is a warming and delicious sherried whisky. There’s a lovely layering of flavours throughout, although heavy on the sherry/chocolate notes. Fantastic! Came a strong first out of the six drams from those present on the tasting. I voted for this as my favourite of the night.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 9th July 2021). Nose: Milk chocolate, digestive biscuits, vanilla, children’s sweets. Very sweet. Palate: Salted caramel, lemon zest, vanilla, tropical fruit (kiwi, papaya, mango), green tea. Salty and mineral. Finish: Medium short finish. Nutty, oaky and dry on the finish. Black tea, leather, tobacco, grist, hay. 1 of 200 bottles. Full bodied. This is a simple, spirit forward, oaky and drying dram. It has quite a milky mouthfeel which gives it a slightly luxurious feel to such a spirited dram. Tasty! I liked this enough to buy a bottle after the tasting.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 9th July 2021). Nose: Strong alcohol, toffee, berries (raspberries), plums, apples, pears, icing sugar Palate: ‘Hot’ upfront. Fruity - apples, plums, apricots. Very light. Finish: Medium finish. Stone fruit/apricots. Sours towards gooseberries with a little zing. The aftertaste is nutty/oaky and quite dry. Matured in ex-Oloroso sherry butts and ex-bourbon barrels. All of the barley used in this spirit was grown within the Kingdom of Fife. This does taste like a young, spirit-forward whisky with an old fashioned character to it. The fruitiness evens up the taste profile to keep it interesting, but with a nutty dryness on the aftertaste - a little odd when combined with the zingy fruit. Creamy and mouth coating mouthfeel. Not bad, and quite promising of what’s to come from this distillery. I don’t normally comment on packaging but the bottle and package colours are pretty awful. The orange/brown in particular is not good! No reflection on the whisky at all, but it’s sufficiently bad that it’s worth stating!

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 9th July 2021). Nose: Sweet, orchard fruit (pears & apples), boiled sweets, caramel/toffee, vanilla Palate: Quite ‘hot’. Sour dried fruit, vanilla, spices (ginger, chilli, white pepper). There are hints of Simpkins travel sweets, too. Finish: Medium finish. Citrus and orchard fruit on the finish. Quite oaky on the aftertaste. Spirit has been matured in a combination of bourbon barrels, sherry butts and wine barriques. All of the barley used in this expression was grown within the original Abbey grounds. The first record of distillation in Scotland was at Lindores Abbey back in 1494. There were excise records from the production of Aqua Vitae (medicinal tonic) rather than whisky, but it is still an interesting exercise to start distilling again on this historic site. There’s a lot of promise in this whisky. At the moment, it’s quite ‘hot’ and a little sour on the palate, with a kick of oak on the finish. The distillers we’re aiming for a fruity style and I think they have been successful in this aim, although obviously matured in an active cask that has served to dry the finish.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual American Whiskey Tasting, 3rd July 2021). Nose: Sweet, orchard fruit, plum, caramel, furniture polish Palate: Oak, caramel, nutty, toasted pine nuts, coconut, black pepper, vanilla Finish: Long finish. Sweet, caramel, oak, leather, roasted nuts, black pepper Intense, sweet and oaky. Well integrated and very tasty. Lovely! Came third out of the six drams, with 15% (2 votes) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 92% (12 votes) of those present said they enjoyed the whiskey.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual American Whiskey Tasting, 3rd July 2021). Nose: Fruit, berries, icing sugar, soap, dough/putty Palate: ‘Hot’, fruit, berries, caramel, wood notes, nutty, gristy, hay/grass Finish: Long finish. Sour, zesty, oak, leather. Still sweet but souring on the aftertaste and eventually drying. Using spirits from 4-24 years old. Gentle for its 57.15%. It has a gristiness throughout. Approachable, but lacklustre for all its fire. Came first out of the six drams, with 54% (7 votes) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 92% (12 votes) of those present said they enjoyed the whiskey.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual American Whiskey Tasting, 3rd July 2021). Nose: Dried light fruit (apricots), slight sourness, buttered popcorn. Very light on the nose. Palate: Intense mouthfeel. Light spice, buttercream, clean and mild. Finish: Short finish. Light spice, oak, vanilla, leather. Light sourness on the aftertaste. 73% Rye 15% Corn 12% Barley Empire rye from New York State. This has a lovely burst of flavour, but it quickly disappears on the finish. Came second out of the six drams, with 23% (3 votes) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 92% (12 votes) of those present said they enjoyed the whiskey.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual American Whiskey Tasting, 3rd July 2021). Nose: Sour dried fruits (cherries & gooseberries), summer berries, dough/window putty Palate: Caramelised icing sugar, summer berries, strawberries & cream, light vanilla, oak Finish: Medium finish. Sweet, berry fruit, oak. Slightly sour aftertaste, turning to dry and tannic at the very end. 72% Corn 18% Rye 10% Barley Very gentle, there’s no burn and very little spice. Summer fruit, berries and cream throughout. It’s a nice change to have a fruit/berry sweetness than the more typical caramel and vanilla. Gentle and fruity, but a little thin. Came joint last out of the six drams, with 0% (0 votes) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 85% (11 votes) of those present said they enjoyed the whiskey.