Tastes

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual American Whiskey Tasting, 3rd July 2021). Nose: Hairspray, acetone, very sweet, lemon/lime, washing-up liquid Palate: Soft, citrus, oak tannins, banana foam sweets Finish: Long finish. Leather, oak, vanilla, liquorice 70% Rye 18% Corn 12% Barley Very sweet (more fruit/vanilla sweet than sugar/caramel). Not as much spice as you’d expect from a rye. It’s very gentle and approachable. Nicely integrated flavours, but has a watered down mouthfeel. Just OK. The UK issue has a slightly lower 45% ABV than the standard 47% in the US. Came joint last out of the six drams, with 0% (0 votes) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 62% (8 votes) of those present said they enjoyed the whiskey.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual American Whiskey Tasting, 3rd July 2021). Nose: Baked biscuits, caramel, orange, citrus, floral Palate: Bitter tea, sharp, very sweet, caramel, vanilla, spices, white flour Finish: Medium finish. Menthol, earthy, butter, kids banana flavoured sweets. Drying on the aftertaste. 20% Corn 70% Rye 10% Barley Cut with Oolong tea to bottling strength. There’s an odd bitterness all through this dram, which is slightly off putting to my taste. Floral and buttery, there’s a light fruit sweetness as a back note. A different take on a standard rye with the floral notes. Generally OK. Came fourth out of the six drams, with 8% (1 vote) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 85% (11 votes) of those present said they enjoyed the whiskey.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Premium Whisky Tasting, 19th June 2021). Nose: Soft peat, gorse, floral, bonfire/fireworks, salt/saline Palate: Savoury peat smoke, dried dark fruit, liquorice, coastal/salty Finish: Long (long!) finish. Vanilla, heavy oak char, bonfire. Sweet and full bodied. 194 PPM 18,000 bottles For all of it’s full bodied character, this whisky has a creamy mouthfeel. This is a great, peaty dram! Surprisingly balanced, nuanced and soft. Gristy and salty, but really well thought through. Elegant for all its ludicrous peat! Oddly, this has none of the typical Islay BBQ notes. Came third out of the six drams, with 13% (2 votes) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 81% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Premium Whisky Tasting, 19th June 2021). Nose: Terry’s chocolate orange, cherries and berries Palate: Oranges, chocolate, Christmas cake, sherry, dates, raisins, sultanas, figs Finish: Medium finish. More of the intense chocolate, orange and dried fruit. Fig pudding. This is an intensely sherried dram! Bizarrely clean and crisp for such a sherry bomb! Beautifully balanced, a fantastic dram! While this whisky is stated as simply being from “A Highland Distillery”, this is almost definitely Glenmorangie. It has the typical Glenmorangie orange notes, but also the drawing on the label appears to be a copy of the famous Glenmorangie distillery building! Came first out of the six drams, with 50% (8 votes) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 88% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky. This was my vote for favourite of the evening (although extremely close with the Octomore 11.3). I bought a bottle shortly after the tasting.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Premium Whisky Tasting, 19th June 2021). Nose: Kids sweets, berry jam, vanilla, strawberries and cream Palate: Spirit forward, honey sweet, floral, stone fruit, orange. Hints of peat. Finish: Medium finish. Waxy and buttery. 1 of 2,576 bottles worldwide Limited to 6 per distributor Matured in ex-bourbon barrels Re-racked into Paul Launois casks from Champagne This is youthful and vigorous in the best possible way. Complex, layered and delicious. This is a great dram. Came joint last out of the six drams, with 0% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 81% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Premium Whisky Tasting, 19th June 2021). Nose: Light, floral, orchard fruit. Hints of dried fruit and light spice Palate: Warm, dried fruit, toffee/caramel, herbal Finish: Medium long finish. Earthy, ginger, leather, toffee, icing sugar and caramel. Very dry and woody on the aftertaste. 1 of 4,976 bottles This is an old fashioned, fruity and earthy dram. The nose is lighter than you get on the palate, and a very dry aftertaste. There’s a Victoria sponge feeling to this whisky. Nice to ponder over. Came second out of the six drams, with 38% (6 votes) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 88% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Premium Whisky Tasting, 19th June 2021). Nose: Orchard fruit, red berries, marzipan. Light clove and spice notes Palate: Concentrated, caramel, cinder toffee, intense orchard fruit Finish: Very sweet medium long finish. Oak, vanilla, pepper, ginger and clove. Light burnt notes. 1 of 249 bottles Cask No: 7161 Refill ex-bourbon hogshead Distilled: May 1997 Bottled: November 2020 Interestingly, only 2% of the whisky distilled at Dailuaine is produced as a single malt, the rest ends up in Johnnie Walker. This is a very nicely layered, crisp and spicy dram. There’s a fruit note throughout which is quite right in it’s notes. Not a bad dram at all, but it does need a little time in the glass to open up. Came joint last out of the six drams, with 0% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 75% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Premium Whisky Tasting, 19th June 2021). Nose: Sultanas, raisins, Demerara sugar, lit matches Palate: Gristy, caramel, raisins/dates, waxy. Very sweet. Maple syrup, candied/dried fruit Finish: Medium sweet finish. Oak & chocolate cherries. Vanilla and leather on the aftertaste This is quite a waxy dram. Sweet and gristy, but with some lovely dark fruit notes from the PX which is most noticeable on the finish. Not a bad dram at all, but muted and a little too waxy for my palate. Came joint last out of the six drams, with 0% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 19% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Charity Whisky Tasting, 11th June 2021). Charity tasting in aid of the Drumchapel Food Bank. This tasting, included 6 drams from GSC’s past Whisky Bottlings over the last 10 years. Nose: Ash, peat, BBQ, salty, bacon, dry and sweet Palate: Sweet peat, salt/seaweed,. More of the BBQ that was hinted at on the nose, but not meaty. Damp malt, liquorice. Finish: Medium short finish. Salt/seaweed, black pepper, spicy and chilli, leather, tobacco. More of the damp peat. 1 of 270 bottles Distilled: 2013 Bottled: 2018 This is a lovely, sweet and peated dram. Surprisingly gentle for such a damp And peated dram. You get the taste of gristy spirit, no fruit but a lot of layers and tastes. Great! Came second out of the six drams, with 20% (4 votes) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 95% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Charity Whisky Tasting, 11th June 2021). Charity tasting in aid of the Drumchapel Food Bank. This tasting, included 6 drams from GSC’s past Whisky Bottlings over the last 10 years. Nose: Hairspray, dark dried fruit, vanilla, caramel, saline Palate: Spirit forward, caramelised fruit, brown sugar, citrus/orange, dates/prunes. Quite sweet. Finish: Long finish. Leather, oak, car, sweet, dates, tobacco. Sour/sweet aftertaste 1 of 120 bottles Sherry butt Bottled: 2012 Released to commemorate the first birthday of the Good Spirits Company. This is a chewy and tannic whisky. A real burnt caramel and dark fruit flavour. Delicious! Came first out of the six drams, with 45% (9 votes) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 95% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.