Tastes

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 07 May 2021). Nose: Oak, peat, TCP/medicinal, chocolate, caramelised brown sugar, vanilla Palate: Berries, sweet red fruit, oak, vanilla, peat smoke, citrus, dried figs/dates Finish: Medium long finish. Coconut, salt, earthy. Slightly drying. Very sweet aftertaste This is a lovely, sweet, smoky dram. BBQ & wood smoke, with a very light, smooth overall sensation. Very easy to drink for such a heavily peated dram. 2 parcels of spirits distilled in November 2011: Parcel 1: 6yrs in 1st fill ex-American Whiskey Casks, then 2yrs in 1st fill casks which had previously held red wine from the Pauillac region in France. Parcel 2: 7yrs maturation in 1st fill ex-American Whiskey Casks, then 2nd fill casks which had previously held red wine from the Pauillac region in France. Came third out of the six drams, with 7% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 57% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 07 May 2021). Nose: Toffee, banana, golden syrup, dried fruit Palate: Sweet, dried fruit (sultanas & raisins), caramel, orange, butterscotch Finish: There’s a ‘hotness’ on the palate, which is softened by the sweet & fruity sherry finish. 1 of 716 bottles Distilled: 2013 Bottled: 2021 Lovely weighty intensity. This is a punchy dram, but it comes across softer and lighter than you’d expect from its 60%. This is a very clean, fruity and juicy dram. Tastes to me like a Glenrothes, but with a lot of fruit from the sherry. Nice. Strangely, I didn’t give this the highest score of the tasting but I did vote for this as my favourite. I think the Thompson Bros Caol Ila was a better whisky for one dram, but I could definitely drink more of this and would probably go back to this one more regularly. Someone else at the tasting delivered an almost perfect tasting note: “Caramel, orange, butterscotch, celery and flamethrower!” Came first out of the six drams, with 50% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 86% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 07 May 2021). Nose: Dusty, acetone/hairspray, orchard fruit (pear/apple). Caramelised sugar, macaroon bars, lightly toasted Palate: Juicy orchard fruit (apple and plum). Caramel, gristy, hay. Citrus notes. Quite a powerful dram. Finish: long finish. Caramel, black pepper, salt, red chillies, wood, leather and a little vanilla. Sours on the aftertaste. 1 of 276 bottles Obviously quite an active cask with the vanilla and spice notes. It packs quite a punch for its 55.2%! The sourness on the aftertaste is a little off-putting, but all-in-all not a bad dram. Came joint last out of the six drams, with 0% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 79% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 07 May 2021). Nose: Sweet, toffee, sherry, fruit (pears), honey Palate: Sherry, nutty, green, floral. Very light grass/hay Finish: Medium long finish which is sweet throughout. Toffee, sherry, light leather & tobacco notes, and a little wood smoke. Slight bitterness on the aftertaste. It’s has quite a typical Speyside character, although somewhat old-fashioned with it. Well balanced, with nice layers of sherry, light leather and nutty notes. A very easy to drink and tasty dram. (Tastes a little like a Mortlach). Came joint last out of the six drams, with 0% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 43% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 07 May 2021). Chinquapin oak from Missouri. Most of its life the spirit was in American bourbon barrels, with an 18month finishing period in the virgin American Chinquapin oak cask. Casks were air dried for 48 months before use. (I have copied my tasting notes from the last tasting, I had taken notes during the tasting and they were almost identical!) Nose: Honey, orange, herbal Palate: Heather honey, buttery mouthfeel, barley sugar, spices (cumin, green spices), black pepper Finish: Floral, black pepper, baked biscuits As with the rest of the virgin oak range, you can pick out the distillery signature note of honey and a little spice. A good, well made dram with some real depth and layers of flavour. Came joint last out of the six drams, with 0% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 86% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual James Eadie Whisky Tasting, 29 April 2021. Hosted by GSC, with Hugh Barron, Sales Manager at James Eadie, as guest speaker). Nose: Sweet, liquorice, caramel, salt, kids sweets Palate: Oily/smooth/syrupy mouthfeel. Sweet, fruit jam (apricot), spicy (black pepper & ginger). Buttered Soreen maltloaf. Finish: Creamy mouthfeel. Dark & oily, leather & tobacco, chewy, sweet & fruity, dark chocolate. There are spicy and dark (burnt) notes on the aftertaste. Sweet, fruity and punchy. There is a lovely syrupy, fruit jam note throughout. This is a delicious dram, although not one I’d consider to be ’entry level’! Cask: #3887 Finish: 25 months in first fill European Oak Sicilian Marsala Hogshead Distilled: 2007 Bottled: 2021 UK Exclusive Came joint third out of the five drams, with 12% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 78% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky. This got my vote for favourite of the tasting. I liked it enough to buy a bottle after the tasting.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual James Eadie Whisky Tasting, 29 April 2021. Hosted by GSC, with Hugh Barron, Sales Manager at James Eadie, as guest speaker). Nose: Sweet, grassy, vanilla, orchard fruit - pear & apple Palate: Oily/waxy mouthfeel. Apricot jam, very sweet & fruity, nutty, oak, orange peel, sweet Sherry, toffee, burnt caramel Finish: Dark chocolate, leather, tobacco, candied orange. This is a strong, sweet and jammy dram. Unctuous and decadent. The sherry finish is an unusual one and adds a further layer of interest. Cask: #354554 Finish: 13 months in first fill European Oak Amontillado Sherry Hogshead Distilled: 2008 Bottled: 2021 UK exclusive Came first out of the five drams, with 46% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 95% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual James Eadie Whisky Tasting, 29 April 2021. Hosted by GSC, with Hugh Barron, Sales Manager at James Eadie, as guest speaker). Nose: Sweet smoke, BBQ, bacon (frazzles crisps), seaweed/salt Palate: Light sweet flora peat, tropical fruit, icing sugar, slightly grassy Finish: Medium/short finish. Warm, peppery, ashy on the finish. Nicely sweet. This has most of the typical Caol Ila notes, but is sweeter and without the citrus. Nice. Casks: #303558, 303559 & 312141 Wood: Re-charred & refill hogsheads Distilled: 2011 Bottled: 2021 Label artist: Annabel Pope 2x 9y/o, 1x 10y/o casks Came second out of the five drams, with 20% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 93% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual James Eadie Whisky Tasting, 29 April 2021. Hosted by GSC, with Hugh Barron, Sales Manager at James Eadie, as guest speaker). Nose: Apple, barley sugar, sweet berries, cream Palate: Oily/waxy mouthfeel. Sweet, apple, Campino sweets, strawberry/berries. Slightly artificial sweet note - children’s sweets Finish: Medium / long finish. Sweet, spicy, white pepper, leather. This dram has a summer feel to it. Very easy drinking, nicely layered and with some darker notes on the finish. Lovely. Casks: #2930, 6389 & 10877 Wood: First fill Bourbon & re-charred hogsheads Distilled: 2010 Bottled: 2021 Label artist: Annabel Pope 1 of 923 bottles Came joint third out of the five drams, with 12% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 66% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual James Eadie Whisky Tasting, 29 April 2021. Hosted by GSC, with Hugh Barron, Sales Manager at James Eadie, as guest speaker). Nose: Sweet fruit, moist peat smoke, BBQ meat, candied fruit, grassy & gristy Palate: Berries/red fruit, sugar, a very light hint of peat, earthy, salt/brine, bacon flavour crisps. A nice spice kick. Finish: Short/medium finish. Apricot, lingering sweet peat smoke which sours on the aftertaste. This is a well thought out blend. It is sweet and smoky, and overall fairly well integrated. Quite a significant ex-bourbon cask influence evident on the palate. Blend consists of 60% grain & 40% malt. This is a blend of 14 whiskies. The original version of this whisky had 16 whiskies in the blend, the 14 in this reimagined version were also components of the original blend. Came last out of the five drams, with 10% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 73% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.