Tastes

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 08 January 2021). Distilled at Glenburgie distillery Aged for 12 years Finished in French Oak ex-Burgundy Pinot Noir barrels Special edition to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath Packaging artwork by students at the Glasgow School of Art Nose: Strawberry, rhubarb & custard, berries & cream Palate: Sweet fruit & spice, light white pepper, cranberries, plums. A slight farmyard funk in this from the influence of the wine cask Finish: Sweet, spice (pepper), sweet and fruity, chili pepper on the aftertaste. The aftertaste is a little sour at the very end, a little like a dry vermouth Not a bad dram at all. A little hot on the finish. There's a lot of fruit upfront, think berries and plums, but at the sour/unripe end of the scale. It's a nice dram, but a little too sour on the aftertaste to be a session whisky. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend the tasting on the night, but the folk at GSC kindly sent me a copy of the video to watch later. This meant I couldn't see the results of the poll at the end!

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual ‘Spirited Women’ Tasting, 06 March 2021). This tasting was in honour of International Women's Day 2021. The GSC set up an amazing line-up of drinks that had been produced by women in the drinks industry. The line-up included red and white wine, American whiskey, Scottish whisky, rum, gin and amaro. All great examples of their craft in their own right. Nose: Alcohol heavy. Fruit (peach/stone fruit/ pear and apple). Sweet and bright, but with gentle hints of tobacco and leather Palate: Fruit, berries, sweet ephemeral smoke Finish: Medium long, numbing finish. Herbal and floral. Slightly creamy. This has a lovely, chewy mouthfeel. Very nice and easy to drink. Light smoke upfront that disappears almost immediately. Lots of layers of flavour, which are all beautifully integrated. Came first out of the seven drinks, with 41% (9 votes) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 86% (19 votes) of those present said they enjoyed the spirit.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual ‘Spirited Women’ Tasting, 06 March 2021). This tasting was in honour of International Women's Day 2021. The GSC set up an amazing line-up of drinks that had been produced by women in the drinks industry. The line-up included red and white wine, American whiskey, Scottish whisky, rum, gin and amaro. All great examples of their craft in their own right. Nose: Sweet, acetone, apple/orchard fruit Palate: Sweet apples, berries, green. Slightly artificial. Zingy. Finish: More fruit, apple flavoured sweets (Jolly Ranchers). Moves to oak and wood on the aftertaste. This has a clean, fresh taste that is unlike many American whiskies available in the UK, which often tend towards caramel and vanilla. A little sweet for my palate, but a very easy dram to drink. Came joint second out of the seven drinks, with 18% (4 votes) of the final vote for favourite of the night. 73% (16 votes) of those present said they enjoyed the spirit.

Nose: Sugar and tropical fruit Palate: Banana, marzipan, apple Finish: Vanilla, orange, citrus, oak/cedar The finish is short and sweet. Orange and fruit dominate. It tastes much younger than it’s age. Zingy and fresh. Nice.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 08 January 2021). 1 of 1,260 bottles Bourbon, PX sherry & Oloroso sherry casks Nose: Peat and burned wood Palate: Sweet peat, orchard fruit (apple and pear), nutty Finish: Dark chocolate, clove, coffee beans This has a lovely, soft, peaty mouthfeel. A very nice, warming dram. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend the tasting on the night, but the folk at GSC kindly sent me a copy of the video to watch later. This meant I couldn't see the results of the poll at the end!

Nose: Acetone/chemical. Woody Palate: Smooth, tropical fruit, oak & vanilla, woody Finish: Creamy, black pepper. Citrus and sour on the aftertaste. This has a very long, but exceptionally dry finish.

Nose: Smoke, seaweed and salt Palate: Woody, oaky, nutty/hazelnut Finish: Short - disappears quickly. Salty, earthy, smoky and almost muddy This is a little disappointing from both Bunnahabhain and BBR. It’s a very average dram, watery and ultimately forgettable. On the positive side, it smells fantastic- it just doesn’t live up to the nose on the palate.

Nose: Wood smoke, vanilla, light peat, floral Palate: Herbal/green, fruity, orange, oak & spice, vanilla Finish: Sweet, floral, charred Overall, this is a creamy and peppery dram with a very dry, ashy aftertaste.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 05 March 2021). Nose: Caramel, acetone, orchard fruit, sweet liquorice Palate: Mocha, toffee, caramelised fruit, sulphur and mud(!?!) Finish: Peat, moss/earth/funk. A bit of sweetness but mostly a numbing, mouth coating, funky dram! There’s a funk to this that I really like. It was described on the tasting as a ‘grumpy’ whisky - it makes total sense when you taste it! Chewy, funky, bad tempered and delicious! I went online and bought a bottle before I’d even finished the tasting dram. 1 of 1013 bottles Label artwork by Karon Mabon features a cat and a ramen noodle bowl - what’s not to love! Came third out of the six whiskies, with 20% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 77% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 05 March 2021). Nose: Small amount of smoke, caramel/toffee pennies, vanilla, boiled sweets (pear/lemon drops), candies fruit. Palate: Nutty, chilli chocolate, salted caramel, ginger, black pepper Finish: Sweet moist smoke, tobacco, leather, liquorice Quite full bodied, medium long finish, a little artificial sweetness on the aftertaste. While it’s a decent dram overall, underneath the smoky dampness, there’s an artificial note (reminiscent of boiled sweets) that I wasn’t too keen on. The nose is not any indication of what you’ll get on the palate. It leads you to believe it will be zingy and sweet, but it’s much peatier and darker on the palate and finish. 1 of 191 bottles Came sixth out of the six whiskies, with 5% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 61% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.