Tastes

Nose: Not much on the nose at all. Hints of fruit, bready and menthol Palate: White wine, sour dried fruit, sultanas, dried apricots Finish: Short finish. White wine, slightly nutty. Souring on the aftertaste There’s really not a lot going on with this whisky. Inoffensive and a little boring. There’s not much to say about this one.

Nose: Herbal, mint, pear drop sweets, green, banana Palate: Sweet, summery, grassy/green, herbal, orchard fruit. Young, spirit forward Finish: Short finish, citrus, gristy, sugar, herbal. Sour on the aftertaste This is an uncomplicated, spirit forward dram. Young and spicy, but the main flavour is the sweetness.

(Mix & Match Ltd & The Spirit Cartel – Virtual American Whiskey Tasting, 10th June 2021). Nose: Caramel, vanilla, spice. A little floral. Palate: Sweet, caramel, spices (cloves), oak, vanilla, char. There’s some stewed fruit in the back note. Finish: Medium long finish. Vanilla, sweet spice on the aftertaste. This is a far more full flavoured whiskey than the standard Four Roses Bourbon. It has many of the same flavours/notes, but dialled up and intensified. Very sweet, but with a nice spiciness.

(Mix & Match Ltd & The Spirit Cartel – Virtual American Whiskey Tasting, 10th June 2021). Nose: Caramel, vanilla, spice. Slightly floral. Palate: Sweet, spices (clove), buttered popcorn, tropical fruit, honey. Finish: Medium long finish. Citrus/sour, oak. This is quite a warming dram, but it has a watered down feel to it. A light and spicy profile.

(Mix & Match Ltd & The Spirit Cartel – Virtual American Whiskey Tasting, 10th June 2021). Nose: Plasticine, sweet, candle wax, sweat/BO, damp hay Palate: Waxy/oily, very sweet, children’s sweets, berries, summer fruit, brown sugar Finish: Medium short sweet finish. Black pepper, salt, leather, dark chocolate. Very soft. I would have rated this a little higher, but the nose is really off putting! One you get past the, frankly unpleasant, smell this is a tasty whiskey. It has a lovely softness on the finish that really lifts the dram.

(Mix & Match Ltd & The Spirit Cartel – Virtual American Whiskey Tasting, 10th June 2021). Nose: Very light, not a lot on the nose. Hints of honey and clove. Palate: Sweet, strong black pepper and capsicum/chilli, char/ash, nutty Finish: Long finish. Very sweet, nutty and more of that explosive kick of pepper! Sweet and peppery throughout. A great kick to this very tasty dram!

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual 10th Birthday Whisky Tasting, 4th June 2021). Nose: Saline, peat, funk/farmyard/earthy Palate: BBQ pork, muddy, earthy. Sweet and ‘sweaty’. Oily. Finish: A long, funky finish. Sweet and a little sour on the aftertaste. There’s a real strength of funky flavour in this dram. It’s an old fashioned, oily, dirty whisky. It definitely has its own place in the whisky canon! I love the ethos of Springbank, I like the fact that it’s an old fashioned manufacturing style and that they keep most of their whiskies to a reasonable price point. However, I do find the taste profile quite challenging. I’ll keep trying, ‘though! Came third out of the six drams, with 19% (9 votes) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 91% (43 votes) of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual 10th Birthday Whisky Tasting, 4th June 2021). Nose: Sherry, fruit, ash, char Palate: Leather, oak, fruit compote, berries, figs Finish: Long intense finish. Liquorice, wood, more dark fruit and dates. Apparently, this is actually an 11y/o, but they chose to market it as a 10y/o as part of the GSC 10th birthday celebrations. Surprisingly little cask influence. This is an intense whisky. It still doesn’t taste it’s 60.9% - but you couldn’t accuse it being a gentle dram! Very tasty. Came fourth out of the six drams, with 17% (8 votes) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 94% (44 votes) of those present said they enjoyed the whisky. This was my favourite of the tasting. I liked it enough to buy a bottle after the tasting.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual 10th Birthday Whisky Tasting, 4th June 2021). £20 for a 20cl bottle Nose: Chocolate, rum, banana, sweet raisins and sultanas Palate: Sherry, cherries/plums, citrus, orange zest Finish: Medium finish, leather, oak, dry sherry, tobacco GSC sell this as a cocktail, but it’s almost entirely a Solera style whisky (living cask) with the occasional addition of a sweet wine or sherry to allow them to keep selling it under Scottish licensing laws! There are a lot of layers to this - you can really taste it’s ‘mongrel’ nature! This current batch is mostly (c3/5) Linkwood 11y/o, with a little sweet wine and added to the other 2/5 of the Solera that was remaining in the barrel. This is a tasty Solera cocktail/whisky. Prior to the recent addition of the Linkwood 11y/o, the barrel had also had; Teaninich 10y/o 2009 Arran 2010 Teaspoon Balvenie Burnside Tullibardine Strathmill 1990 Glen Ord Bunnahabhain 27y/o …so, some pretty fantastic drams went into this Solera! Came fifth out of the six drams, with 4% (2 votes) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 81% (38 votes) of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual 10th Birthday Whisky Tasting, 4th June 2021). Nose: Nail polish, acetone, fruit/summer berries, vanilla Palate: A little ‘hot’. Lemon, tropical fruit, gristy, charred/smoky, Black pepper and ginger. Finish: Medium long finish. Oak, vanilla, leather. Slightly charred, dry finish. This is another lovely dram from Ardnamurchan. Unpeated, which is unusual for AD, but still intense and very tasty. Despitebeing a young whisky, it has a great character that gives it a more mature taste and feel. Lovely! Came first out of the six drams, with 36% (17 votes) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 91% (43 votes) of those present said they enjoyed the whisky. I liked it enough to buy a bottle after the tasting.