Tastes

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 09 April 2021). Nose: Floral, herbal, sweet (honey & granulated sugar, caramel Palate: Sweet, honey, dark toffee, gristy, leather and oak/wood, dark malt loaf. Velvet smooth and soft mouthfeel. Finish: Oily & viscous finish. Banana loaf / Soreen malt loaf, rum & raisin cake. A little hot/nippy on the aftertaste. Barrel number: 38551127 Ex-bourbon hogshead 1 of 342 bottles Very light visually, but concentrated on the palate. Lots of dark bourbon notes. Gristy and malty with a velvet smooth finish. Obviously ex-bourbon cask influenced but has a strangely dark sherry note on the palate. Came 4th out of the six drams, with 13% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 59% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 09 April 2021). Nose: Sherry, orchard fruit, sugar sweetness Palate: Ginger, spice, sherry, orchard fruit / plums, stewed fruit, coffee Finish: Long nutty/spicy finish. There's an oily weightiness on the finish, with earthy/leathery notes. Quite a lot of 'darker' notes on the finish. There's a nice spicy, dark fruit note throughout. Quite layered and complex. There's also a slightly earthy funkiness that doesn't quite match the nose to the palate, giving a slightly disjointed feel to the dram. Came 3rd out of the six drams, with 16% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 81% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 09 April 2021). Nose: Strawberry bonbons, boiled fruit sweets, caramel Palate: Very fruity, berries, kid's sweets. There's more than a hint of Calvados about this dram. Finish: Sweet, oily medium/long finish. Light citrus. A slightly burned/nutty note on the aftertaste. Creamy mouthfeel. This is a sweet, light and fruity dram. There's a fair amount of caramel and boiled sweets on the palate, with a background gristiness and warmth. A nice refreshing dram. It's possible that this came from a rather leaky barrel, as the cask only managed to produce 100 bottles. Came 6th out of the six drams, with 6% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 69% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 09 April 2021). Nose: Sweet, fruity (apple and berries), boiled sweets. Palate: Oily & sweet, caramelised fruit, oak, vanilla, pepper, hazelnut, orange zest. Very gentle hint of peat. Finish: Sweet, honeyed, peppery. Sours on the aftertaste. 5 years in 1st fill bourbon, then finished for 6 months in Madiera hogsheads. This tastes youthful, but maintains a good amount of complexity for a young dram. There's an odd - although pleasant - combination of souring, sweet wine and a peppery youthful whisky. Very easy to drink. Came 5th out of the six drams, with 9% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 53% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual ‘Fools Rush In’ Tasting, 01 April 2021). This was £18 for a 20cl bottle. The sister distillery to Arran are producing this peated new make to give a glimpse of the flavours the new distillery will be producing in their whisky in a few years time. So, we have a while to wait, but it’s looking promising at the moment. This tasting was for April Fool’s Day. The GSC set up an amazing line-up of drinks - each with their own ‘quirky’ nature. The line-up included Pino Grigio blush, Pinotage, Marsala wine, pot still vodka, botanical spirit, South African Whisky and a new make spirit. All great examples of their craft in their own right. Nose: Smoke, barley, sweet grist, peat, BBQ Palate: Peat! Peat! Peat! Alcohol heavy, very malty, char smoke, BBQ meat, chicory. There’s a green/herbal quality to the spirit. Finish: Ash/peat, BBQ meat. Moves towards charcoal on the aftertaste This new make tastes like a Mescal - with a kick!!! There’s a lovely ‘green’ hit to this that could easily be mistaken for an agave spirit. It already has more whisky notes than a typical new make, but if you’d told me it was a Mescal, I’d definitely believe it. Needs a little care when tasting, it’s 63.5% but tastes much smoother than its ABV. Fab! Came second out of the seven drinks, with 26% (5 votes) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 58% (11 votes) of those present said they enjoyed the spirit.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual ‘Fools Rush In’ Tasting, 01 April 2021). This tasting was for April Fool’s Day. The GSC set up an amazing line-up of drinks - each with their own ‘quirky’ nature. The line-up included Pino Grigio blush, Pinotage, Marsala wine, pot still vodka, botanical spirit, South African Whisky and a new make spirit. All great examples of their craft in their own right. Nose: Germoline, salt, light wood smoke, light peat Palate: Vanilla, oak, fruit/berries, boiled sweets, light spice (clove & white pepper) Finish: Slightly sour, wood, vanilla, light char. Sweet berries, souring on the aftertaste A fairly average dram overall. Very fruity on the palate, with a subtle wood note on the finish. This reminds me of a Tobermory without the waxiness. Distilled in 2007 using imported malt. Came joint third out of the seven drinks, with 5% (1 vote) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 74% (14 votes) of those present said they enjoyed the spirit.

Nose: Strong alcohol, barley sugar sweets, herbal (sage, bay leaf), peat Palate: Very sweet, boiled sweets (particularly lemon drops), strong alcohol, orchard fruit (apple juice), peat smoke Finish: Charred wood, spice (white pepper), citrus/sour aftertaste Very sweet throughout, with a long finish and a spicy and lightly peated aftertaste. There’s a somewhat old-fashioned taste. Very spirit forward and not much cask influence. Definitely a sipper to ponder over. Nice.

Nose: Smoke, herbal / black tea, campfire, wood, salt/saline, seaside Palate: Tobacco, dried fruit, dates, peat smoke, sweet and dry Finish: Leather, charred wood, slightly ashy. Souring on the aftertaste This is not as nuanced or layered as many of the Islay malts. It has a youthfulness that brings out some of the sweet smokey flavours. It's also not as smokey as the marketing would have you expect. This is a very easy drinking dram, it's more of a 'drink with friends' rather than a 'ponder and sip by the fireplace' kind of dram. A pretty decent entry-level smokey dram. I try not to consider price when I am reviewing a whisky - and I haven't let it influence my overall score. However, while the RRP on this is around the £35 mark, I have regularly seen this in supermarkets at around the £22-£25 mark which I would consider a bit of a bargain. I bought my bottle for £20 on sale while I was buying my weekly shop and couldn't resist giving it a try. I'm glad I did!

Nose: Biscuits, light peat, salt/saline, summer berries Palate: Light smoke, light peat, tropical fruit, citrus zest Finish: Warm, short finish. Pepper, sherry. Lightly sour on the aftertaste This is a lovely lightly peated dram. There's some lovely sweetness on top of the peat, and a refreshing peppery / souring finish. Delicious!

(The Spirits Embassy – The Bruichladdich Virtual Tasting Night, 26 March 2021). Nose: Light peat, fragrant sweet smoke, BBQ, bonfire. Hay and farmyard. Slightly ashy Palate: Very sweet peat, charred oak, saline, sea salt, caramelised fruit, green chilies Finish: Peat, bonfire, saline/salt, dark chocolate chili on the aftertaste 139.5 ppm This is a chewy and complex dram. It doesn't have some of the wilder notes of many of the other Octomores I've tasted previously, but it is a seriously lovely dram!