Rage Against The Maltchine 2

The full line up

For our August tasting we returned to a theme we explored last year: Rage Against The Maltchine.

Singleton of Dufftown

Club chairman Adam took us through three distilleries owned by spirits giant Diageo, and three expressions from the same distilleries released by independent bottlers.

First up was Dufftown, a Speyside chosen by Diageo back in 2006 to be marketed under the 'mega brand' Singleton. The opener of the duo - we were tasting each pair blind - turned out to be the official bottling, the Singleton of Dufftown. Easy to drink we thought, but at the same time a bit forgettable.

If anything, not really worth the £60 price tag, even for an 18-year-old. It's 40%.

The Cadenhead's

The other Dufftown had had was from (extremely) long-standing indie Cadenhead's, a firm favourite at the club. It tasted a lot stronger than the first whisky, and it took a bit of water which helped ease off any rough edges.

Perhaps surprisingly it was only 51% - some in the club had it pegged a bit higher than that. It's 51% and when we picked it up we paid £57 for it.

Mey Selections Glen Ord

The second distillery of the evening and second pairing of drams took us to another of the 'Singleton' distilleries, Glen Ord, situated in the Highlands on the Black Isle.

Whisky number three would turn out to be the indie this time around, a 12-year-old from Mey Selections, a brand name used for a wide range of products from salmon to gin. Launched by the-then Prince Charles in 2005, the whole enterprise is managed by Loch Fyne Oysters.

But how's the whisky? Not bad, ok on the nose certainly, but if anything a little blander on the palate than we'd expected. A bit metallic, was one tasting note. The 12-year-old was 51% and came in at £118, again not one we're likely to be investing in.

Singleton of Glen Ord

For once, the Maltchine had it, in the form of Diageo's Singleton of Glen Ord 18-year-old. More punchy all around, and we felt this had the edge on the Mey Selections. Having said that, it wasn't exactly cheap either at £130. It's 55%.

With Rage and the Maltchine level at one each, we went to the third distillery to act as the decider for the evening. And it was Blair Athol, a Perthshire distillery known for being a major part of the ubiquitous Bell's blend.

Blair Athol F&F

The fifth dram was the distillery bottling, a Blair Athol 12-year-old Flora and Fauna. A great drink, this got the thumbs up all round, even more so when it was revealed as costing a very reasonable £46. From a first fill sherry cask it was a very chunky dram, especially considering it was only 43%.

The 23-year-old

The last whisky of the evening, being tasted alongside, was another cracker. The indie in the spotlight this time was another long-time club favourite, Whiskybroker. This was a 23-year-old coming at 57.7% and, as ever for Whiskybroker, was reasonably priced at £87. Between both the distillery bottling and that last one, Blair Athol earned a few more fans.

This led us to the dram of the night voting. And although the Whiskybroker Blair Athol did well with ten votes (all drams got at least one - this doesn't always happen! - a sign of a strong line up), it was just one behind the Cadenhead's which took the honours.

Thanks to all club members old and new for attending another great tasting at the Briton's Protection, and of course to all at the Briton's for hosting us once again.

Rage Against The Maltchine

 

We went through the drams on Zoom

July's tasting was called Rage Against The Maltchine - a chance to try two different expressions from three lesser known distilleries.

Inchgower F&F

Each of the three distilleries is owned by spirits giant Diageo and their output mostly used in blends, so seeing them in their own right is a relative rarity. The main exceptions are for the company's Flora and Fauna range, which it uses to showcase several of its hidden gems, and a range of bottlings done by independents. So, for this tasting, we had three pairings of an F&F versus an indie to see which came out on top.

We started off with Inchgower, a Speyside that is a key component of Bell's. The F&F was a delicate dram, very nice, fruity and a bit salty as well. It was clear to see why it has been used for so long in a major blend, as we felt it had a little bit of everything and could accentuate other flavours really well. Or, as someone put it, "it's the whisky equivalent of Spanx". It's about £50 and is 43%.

Inchgower SMWS

Up against it was an Inchgower from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, a bottling called Depth of Flavour. There was certainly a family resemblance on the nose. Like the last one but a bit more, well, "more-r" as someone suggested.

A little bit of water brought the pears out, along with a general fruitiness and a slightly tropical sense of banana. Most drinkers in the club seemed to think this was a bit better but, seeing as it was a cask strength SMWS and members generally prefer the high octane stuff, this wasn't exactly surprising.

The SMWS bottling was £61, and in the little mini vote of the two Inchgowers it won out 16-7.

Teaninch F&F

The next pairing was from the Teaninch distillery, a Highland which comes from a large facility in Ross. We started off with the 10-year-old F&F expression. There were cereal notes on the nose. Quite nice if a bit forgettable. As we got down to drinking it, we felt it was a bit sweeter than expected, but more of an orientation dram than anything else.

Not as good when you added water either. There were bits of barley sugar, a dryness, and a subtle and delicate creaminess going on, although even for the members who are fans of the more subtle drams this was on the delicate side. It didn't get a huge amount of love overall. £43 better spent elsewhere, we felt.

Teaninch Mey Selections

Next we had a 12-year-old independent bottling under the Mey Selections label. Oaky and dry, this was definitely better. There was something going on in the background on the nose but we couldn't quite put our finger on what. There was much more to get your teeth into on the palate though.

Cask strength for sure, and perhaps a bit too much of an alcoholic taste for some, there were some questions about whether it was really from the same distillery. One comment was: "One came out of the tap, the other was definitely whisky." It was 54% and £90, and although this got a general thumbs up, there was also agreement the price tag was a bit steep.

However, the Mey bottling beat the F&F by no fewer than 22 votes to 1!

Glenlossie F&F

Our last duo was from Glenlossie, a Speyside from close to Elgin. Much of it ends up in Haig Gold, a brand name which was particularly popular back in the 1970s. As for today's 10-year-old F&F bottling, this was great on the nose for a few of us, although some felt it was a bit 'meh' with less going on. Almost a bit reminiscent of the first Teaninch we tried, pleasant enough but a little nondescript.

It revealed itself a bit more after a couple of sips, so there was perhaps more going on than at first glance. Others also felt it was probably the strongest of the three F&F bottlings. It's £49.

The rival independent was a 22-year-old Carn Mor, under its Celebration of the Cask banner. This was certainly more popular, although a tougher choice than the other pairings because both it and number five were good in their own way.

Glenlossie Carn Mor

Leather and boot polish here, and a peppery flavour. It's 53.3% and £150: great but perhaps not three times as great as the F&F one we'd just had. Notwithstanding the price, the indie still took this round by 14 votes to 9 - the closest run battle of the evening.

In the overall dram of the night voting, dram 2, the SMWS Inchgower, took the title with eight votes, ahead of the Carn Mor which got six. And, as if all that voting wasn't enough, we found time for a tiny bit more democracy to finish the evening. In the overall consideration of Diageo v the Rest of the World, it was just two votes for the corporate Maltchine and 21 for Rage!

Thanks to Adam for co-ordinating the tasting and everyone who presented whiskies and took part. Another successful Zoom tasting.

Blends: The Devil Is In The Detail

The line-up.

In the middle of an incredible June heatwave and despite the competing attraction of England v Belgium in the World Cup, we gathered upstairs at the Briton's Protection for June's Manchester Whisky Club tasting, showcasing a selection of blends.

Our six blends.

Anna had curated the line-up and started off by telling us that she wanted to put a few myths about blended whisky to rest.

There's a long-standing misconception that blends are always that bit inferior to single malts. Frankly, single malts have for quite some time been simply a lot cooler. So Anna introduced six whiskies aimed at celebrating the best of blends, and shaking a few of us out of our single malt blinkers.

First up we were in Campbeltown and J&A Mitchell, maker of club favourite Springbank, for a blended offering called Spirit of Freedom 45.

Spirit of Freedom 45.

The '45' on this occasion relates not just to the 45% ABV but also to the 45% of Scots who voted Yes in the 2014 referendum, as well as the 45 different whiskies featured in the blend itself. Just in case you were in any doubt about the political subtext of all this, the bottle blazes a blue-and-white saltire flag.

The whisky itself was a sharp and summery dram, although it wasn't universally popular. Tasting notes in the room included vinegar and plantain. We thought that trying to knit together 45 whiskies in one was possibly something that was holding it back. It offers good value though, at £25.

It was off to Japan for dram number two and more from Ichiro, which has often featured at the club in the past for its single malts.

Ichiro's Malt and Grain

In this case we were trying Ichiro's Malt and Grain, a blend of whiskies from not just Japan, but also Scotland, Ireland, Canada and the US, making it a real world blend. The fact Japanese whisky is at the heart of it was fairly clear from the distinctive oily taste. This one also had a very dry finish, almost like sandpaper, which put some drinkers in mind of a decent dessert whisky.

At 46% and £72 we thought this wasn't the best price point, though, and that while it was nice, that price tag represents an element of paying extra for the Ichiro name.

Exotic Cargo.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was represented with whisky number three, Exotic Cargo. On this occasion the second batch released under this name by SMWS, clocking in at 50% and at £47 for members (although good luck finding one still available from a secondary source for anything like that).

While the first two whiskies were more conventional blends of malts and grains, this was the first of two blended malts - that is, a mixture of single malts only, and given the age statement of the youngest dram in the bottle (in this case, 11 years old).

A bit of a departure for SMWS, famed for their exceptional single malts, this really was very nice indeed. A Christmassy sweetness with flavours such as brandy butter, brown sugar and dried banana, it went down very well all round.

Poit Dhubh 12yo

After a half-time break it was time for Anna to try her best Gaelic and introduce us to the Poit Dhubh, which translates as 'black pot'. Another blended malt, this time a 12-year-old, it's made by the Praban na Linne company based on the Isle of Skye. The recipe is apparently a closely guarded secret although internet sleuths have detected neighbouring Talisker, along with Caol Ila and Tobermory.

This one wields a big stick. Hits you hard from the off, "like a Saturday night in Leith" as someone suggested. If you like Talisker you'll probably like this, but if you don't, you might well not be so keen. It's 43% and £38

Collectivum XXVIII

The most expensive bottle of the night was number five, the Collectivum XXVIII from Diageo, coming in at £150. This was part of the drinks giant's annual 'special release' range, and was the first time it had featured a blend. In this case, a bit from each of the 28 operational distilleries run by Diageo, ranging from well-known names such as Lagavulin and Royal Lochnagar to plenty of more obscure ones.

These releases are eagerly awaited each year. And for us, it certainly lived up to hype. Complex yet subtle while certainly spirity, club members thought this was very well made. All of the whiskies in this range are bottled at cask strength, and this was 57.3%.

Arguably the bad boys of whisky, Compass Box, were responsible for the last whisky of the tasting. As if to amplify their hipster credentials, this particular whisky officially has no name, somewhat in the manner of that Sigur Ros album.

Compass Box No Name.

The idea here is that the whisky simply speaks for itself, and doesn't need a name. On the other hand, you might regard this as pretentious nonsense. But this was certainly a good whisky. By far the peatiest dram of the night, it was all peat and smoke, albeit not quite on the levels of a Port Charlotte.

It's mostly Ardbeg with a bit of Caol Ila and Clynelish in there too, and even our resident Ardbeg-hater sort of almost didn't quite totally hate it, so that's something. It's £100 and 48.9% - some thought this represented great value, but for the money others would have shopped elsewhere. It's mostly sold out anyway though.

The dram of the night voting went the way of Diageo's special release, the Collectivum XXVIII, although both Compass Box and Exotic Cargo had their supporters too.

Thanks to Anna for picking out such a great and interesting selection for us, and to club members old and new for coming down and making it such an enjoyable evening. Thanks also to the Britons for their hospitality once again.

Cask Mania

This month's line up.

For May's meeting of Manchester Whisky Club we were treated to a selection of whiskies picked out by Anna and presented to the group by Martin, on the theme of cask mania - putting the spotlight on drams matured in a wide variety of different cask types.

Cask maturation is one of the most influential processes that define the taste of any whisky. The wood of each cask adds complex flavours to the character of the particular distillery already present in the new make spirit. And using different casks can make things very interesting.

The Carn Mor Glen Garioch 6yo.

We started off the evening in the north east of Scotland with a whisky from the Glen Garioch distillery, bottled by the independent Carn Mor. It was a 6-year-old matured in a sherry puncheon, with an ABV of 46%.

And what a great start to the tasting it was. Very rich, dark and sweet, while some drinkers picked out aniseed and liquorice on the palate as well. Quite oily, quite heavy (even "chewy") and with that distinctive sherry flavour, perhaps one better suited to a winter's night rather than a very warm May evening. But at just under £40 we thought this was excellent value.

SMWS Full of Vim and Vigour

After that crowd pleaser we moved on to a bottle from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, the subjects of last month's tasting. This particular dram, Full of Vim and Vigour, was from the Glen Moray distillery in Elgin. It was matured in a first fill French wine barrique (these are also known as 'Bordeaux barrels') and really took things up a notch in terms of strength, at 61.5%.

As ever for SMWS bottlings there was an array of unusual tasting notes on the label, and some of us thought that pineapple fritters was actually pretty close to the mark with this one. It was a little on the strong side for some - "almost bourbony it's got so much oak on it" - but in general people really liked it, in particular after a drop of water when it became sweeter. At £51.40 to Society members, again this was something of a bargain.

Starward 10th Anniversary bottling.

We went much further afield for whisky number three. In fact, about as far away from Scotland as it's possible to get in the world of whisky, as we tried a bottle from the Starward distillery in Melbourne. Not just any bottling this, but a special 10th anniversary expression to celebrate a decade of operation. With some recent investment from Diageo, Starward has grown from being a tiny craft distillery into being a still-quite-small craft distillery, now operating from slightly larger premises than before.

Anyway, how about the whisky? Well, this was created from a mixture of the eight cask types used across the company's short history, with 28 casks of different ages used in all, focusing on those previously used for Australian wine and fortified wine. It's a no age statement whisky coming in at 52% and, perhaps surprisingly given the complexity involved, just £80. And this really was quite something. Rich and woody, with a touch of the chemistry classroom on the nose and some pepper on the palate. If anything, there was maybe a bit much going on here for some drinkers, but a lot of people in the room completely loved it.

Chichibu IPA Cask.

After a half-time break we were back for the fourth whisky and this time we were in Japan for an Ichiro's Malt Chichibu finished in IPA beer casks from a local craft brewer. This kind of finish has, in the past, been considered somewhat disappointing when tried elsewhere. But we were led to believe this would be an exception.

And so it was! There was no disputing the IPA finish, this was quite a dry whisky on the palate with malt loaf one of the suggestions for a tasting note, and custard another. This divided the room a bit though, with some very much enjoying it and others, while appreciating it, saying that it just wasn't for them. It's 57.5% and if you can find a bottle, it'll cost you £145. In truth there were probably some better value whiskies elsewhere in the line-up.

G&M Connoisseur's Choice Caol Ila

It was back to Elgin for the fifth whisky, and our old friends from that famous bottler Gordon and Macphail. This time they were working their magic on an Islay whisky in the form of a 13yo Caol Ila, released as part of their Connoisseur's Choice range (now sporting some new-look packaging). This 45% whisky spent the last three years of its maturation in Hermitage wine casks.

Again this divided opinion a little. On the one hand we picked up some lovely notes of barbecue and wine gums, but for others this was the least favourite of the evening. It's £70.

Kilchoman Port Cask 2014

Another Islay whisky rounded off the tasting, and it was a Kilchoman which had a distinctive reddish colour, betraying the fact it had spent its full maturation in port hogsheads. Admittedly, they'd only been in there since 2014, making it a three or four year old only. But apparently when the port casks turned up later than expected, the distillery workers were in such a hurry to get them filled they didn't realise until later that there was still a bit of port lurking in the bottom of the casks. So that certainly helped account for the unusual colour.

"Have you ever seen red diesel?" someone asked as we got down to tasting. As with drams four and five, this got mixed reviews. Creamy in a cream soda sort of way, but with a surprisingly short finish, this was possibly a case of high expectations not quite being met rather than it being a particularly mediocre whisky. It's 50% and costs £77.

So that brought us to the dram of the night voting. And while a few had their supporters, there was a convincing victory in the end for whisky number three - the Starward from Australia. Strewth!

Thank you to all club members and guests from the waiting list who joined us, both old and new, for another successful tasting, and thanks also to all the staff at the Britons Protection for looking after us once again. We're already looking forward to June's tasting, which will be all about some great blends.

Old and Rare Night 2016

The line-up. 

It was a busier-than-usual Manchester Whisky Club crowd which gathered upstairs at The Briton's Protection this month, for our semi-regular Old and Rare evening. Committee member Martin had

picked out five unusual and hard-to-find drams for us to knock into, many sources from online auctions, and there were certainly some interesting stories behind the whiskies in the line-up.

Dram 1: Shackleton Journey

None was more interesting than the opening drink, the 47.3% Mackinlay's Shackleton Journey Edition. It's a recreation of the whisky taken by polar explorer Ernest Shackleton on his 1907 expedition to Antarctica, cases of which were discovered more or less in tact a century later.

The Mackinlay's brand is owned by Whyte & Mackay, and it's they who analysed three of the original bottles before putting together the new blend although, as before, the main component is whisky from the Glen Mhor distillery in Inverness.

Dram 2: 18yo Tomintoul

Unfortunately, the story behind the whisky proved to be rather more appealing than the whisky itself. Most seemed to think it was ok as far as it went, but not worth the RRP of £110. Looking on the bright side, one member commented that it was the sort of whisky "you'd expect to taste like absolute arse, but it doesn't". So there's that.

Up next was an 18-year-old Tomintoul, a 40% bottled in 1985, back in the days when it was still branded as a 'Tomintoul-Glenlivet'. The bottling was done by an independent that no longer exists, ABC of Dundalk in Ireland, which was mainly known for bottling Guinness as well as soft drinks, which could help explain the unusual screw top on this particular bottle.

Dram 3: 20yo J&B

This one certainly had an unusual taste, but it was disappointingly flat for an 18yo. It did improve with a bit of water, and there seemed to be a hint of sherry in there, although some suggested that given the nature of ABC's other work it might have been matured in Vimto casks. Another one to pass on if you see it for sale anywhere.

The evening picked up considerably with the third dram, a 20yo J&B at 43%. Again the branding gave away the age, as it was produced during the days when J&B was still known as Justerini & Brooks, a company with roots going back to 1749.

Little information was available about this bottling so Martin got in touch with J&B's present day owners, Diageo, to see if they could shed any light on it. According to the archive team there, the bottle we had was probably produced in 1969 and contained Knockando single malt, a precursor to the early 1970s when bottlings under the Knockando name began to be released. They added that they had no tasting notes and had never heard of anyone who had drunk it, so were keen to find out what we thought!

Dram 4: 23yo Imperial

This won lots of plaudits. It's recognisably a Speyside whisky, but a Speyside from another era, as befits whisky which would have been produced in the late 1940s. There were muted sherry notes, potentially a legacy of having to re-use sherry casks from before the war.

After our mid-evening break, another rarity came our way with a 23yo Imperial, bottled by Mackillops. There won't be too many more of these available, as the Imperial distillery (another Speyside) was mothballed in 1998 and demolished three years ago. This particular one was bottled in 2014 and was 58.4%.

Dram 5: 20yo Laphroaig

Again, this went down well, with enthusiastic comments ranging from "a nice drop" to "very good" and even a "superb" or two. Some members thought it went well with a bit of water, but it was perfectly fine as a cask strength whisky as well: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" as someone said.

Martin saved the best for last though, with an interesting and unusual bottle of a club favourite, Laphroaig. He queued up at a recent show to get his hands on one of just 516 bottles of The Whisky Exchange's latest Masterpiece bottling, a 20yo Laphroaig which spent its full maturation in Pedro Ximinez casks.

To say that this gave the whisky a few sherry notes would be quite the understatement. In fact, it looked browner than some of the glasses of real ale dotted around the room.

The dram of the night voting.

On the nose and then on the palate, the big question was: "Where's the peat gone?" It was still there, but was largely masked by the sweetness of the PX, and it was more of a smoky flavour which remained prominent. "An exceptional drink" and "a bit of class" were sentiments which propelled this to a virtually unanimous triumph in the dram of the night voting.

So, the end of another successful tasting, and it was one of the busiest ever with an excellent turnout of members old and new. Thanks in particular go to Martin for taking the time and effort to source such an interesting selection of whiskies for us, and of course to everyone at the Briton's Protection for hosting us well as always.

And on the day it was sadly announced that Vine is to close, here's the line-up of whiskies in, what else, but a Vine!

Tonight's line up at the @mcrwhiskyclub Old and Rare night, as recorded on a soon-to-be-obsolete platform. https://t.co/4rXCPUUaKZ

— Richard Jones (@rlwjones) 27 October 2016

Lowlands Night: How Low Can You Go?

The line-up.

With several of the group fresh from taking the high road to Loch Lomond for Dramboree 2016, we all took the low road to this month's tasting with a series of whiskies from lowland distilleries.

The Ailsa Bay.

Our first stop was the Ayrshire coast and a bottle of Ailsa Bay, the first release from the distillery of the same name, owned by Grant's.

What's inside is of course always more important than the packaging, but this particular bottle won some early plaudits for a stylish, straight design and a bit of the famous Ailsa Craig granite, better known as the source of the world's entire supply of curling stones, as part of the stopper.

Surprise new club member.

The drink itself is a no-age statement peated whisky. Martin, acting as whisky master for the evening, noted that it was unusual to begin a tasting with something peated, but this certainly isn't the sort of heavy peat monster you'd want to save until the end.

Nice and light, it also tasted on the young side, and there was widespread agreement it would improve further with future expressions. Costing around the £55 mark and bottled at 48.9%, it's one to keep an eye out for.

The Littlemill.

That's not something that can be said for our next whisky, the 12yo Littlemill. This particular distillery on the banks of the Clyde was in and out of mothballs down the years, but finally closed in the mid-90s and eventually burnt down. So to find a bottle is relatively rare these days. Indeed, ours was sourced from a whisky auction site.

Unfortunately, it didn't get a rapturous reception from the members. Good on the nose, it sadly disappointed many with a lukewarm showing on the palate, although it did improve a little after a few sips.

This 40% dram has been well-reviewed elsewhere, so there was some suspicion that this particular bottle's curious history - it had been to Greece and back - may have affected the taste by the time we finally got our hands on it.

Place mat.

Whiskybroker - also known as Martin Armstrong - has long been one of the club's favoured independent bottlers, with an Aultmore of his a particular hit last year.

This month's dram number three was a bit of a family occasion as it was an 8yo Bladnoch, from Scotland's most southerly distillery which was run for some time by Martin's dad Raymond (it's now been acquired by an Australian yoghurt entrepreneur - fill in your own punchline).

The Bladnoch.

The nose on this was quite something, and not really in a good way. "Baby vomit" was about as close to a consensus as we got. It had many of the most experienced club members racking their brains to think of a time they'd smelt something quite so pungent in a glass.

It was much better on the palate, although as someone pointed out, that was setting the bar pretty low. Wine finished, a bit buttery maybe and certainly not unpleasant at 43%. It had its supporters in the room but it didn't really do enough to send anyone online to snap up a bottle for £55.

There were high hopes for the last two bottles of the night though, and they lived up to the billing.

The Glenkinchie.

The fourth dram was a limited release 12yo Glenkinchie, a Diageo distillery near Edinburgh. As Martin pointed out, the standard Glenkinchie bottling is also a 12yo and it's probably available in your local supermarket. But this particular expression is a cask strength 58.7%, produced as part of the Friend of the Classic Malts offer and again on this occasion bought from an auction site for just over £60.

And despite the strength, it was very drinkable. This one got murmurs of approval all round straight away. With 5,000 bottles produced it's certainly worth tracking down, even if it may take a bit of searching.

Auchentoshan excitement.

It was back across the country to Clydeside for the final bottle of the night, a distillery cask sherried dram from Auchentoshan. And it was well worth waiting for.

This is officially a no age statement expression, although the dates on the back gave it away as just over 11 years old. Aged in Oloroso sherry casks, this had a lovely, deep colour with a taste to match, all fruitcake and Boxing Day regret.

For dram of the night it came down to the Glenkinchie and the Auchentoshan and, although there was a good deal of support for the former, the sherry lovers of the club won the day.

Thank you to Martin for running another successful tasting and for everyone who came, it was another busy evening with barely enough whisky to go round. And thanks as ever to the staff of the Britons Protection for being generous hosts.

The voting.

Intro's and Intrigue

Thursday 31st January saw the first meeting of the Manchester Whisky Club.

We had a strong attendance with the majority of the club's members managing making it to The Lass to sample the 5 drams on offer. These were 5 single malts representing 5 of the Scottish whisky producing regions, the Lowlands, Islands, Highlands, Speyside and Islay. These were kept a secret until the members turned up and saw what was on offer.

At 7.30 the tasting began.

Photo courtesy of Jack Brown

Lowlands - Bladnoch 10 yo

We started off in the Lowlands and to Scotland's southernmost distillery with the Bladnoch 10yo. Bladnoch is only allowed to produce 100,000 litres of the water of life a year so this was selected to give a bit of a change from the usual Lowland suspects such as Auchentoshan and Glenkinchie.

This bottling was matured in Bourbon casks for the 10 year period. This is bottled at 46% and provided a fresh and bright start to the evening.

Andy's tasting notes were:
Nose - Freshly cut hay, malt, golden syrup, elderflower cordial, and pears
Palate - Lovely light sweetness, digestive biscuits, light caramel and vanilla
Finish - Refreshing yet lingered, malty aftermath with subtle underlying hints of the previous vanilla and fruit.

The Islands - Arran 14 yo

Moving on from here we went straight into the next dram and headed across the choppy sea to one of Scotland's many surrounding islands and in this case to one of Scotland's newest distilleries. The Isle of Arran and the Arran 14. This is finished in bourbon and sherry hogsheads for the last 2 years prior to bottling and bottled at 46%


Andy's tasting notes were:
Nose - Oodles of tropical fruits and malt alongside salt and boiled sweets
Palate - Caramel, vanilla extract, greengages and gooseberries alongside more biscuity malt
Finish - Sweet and long with a salty tail

Highlands - Dalwhinnie 1992 Distillers Edition (18yo)

Moving on to the Highlands we tried and tested the Dalwhinnie 1992 Distillers edition (18yo) 43% finished in Olorosso sherry casks. Dalwhinnie is a fully functioning weather station and the distillery manager must take daily recordings of the weather!


Andy's tasting notes were:
Nose - Rich demerera sugar, heather, oak, fresh wood and cinnamon
Palate - More of the oak from the nose, nutmeg and mum's bread and butter pudding
Finish - Quite spicy with dried cranberries and baked apples

Speyside - GlenDronach 15 yo 'Revival'

Now onto the incredible whisky sweetshop that is the region of Speyside. We had the Glendronach 15 'Revival' on offer bottled at 46% and what a dram this is. Matured in Olorosso sherry casks for the full 15 years of maturation this whisky takes on a deep and rich mahogany hue.

Andy's tasting notes were:
Nose -  Heavy sherry, custard, preserved fruits, brasil nuts and christmas pudding
Palate - Brown sugar, sherry, currants, sulatana's, heavy malt, toffee, and clementine
Finish - Long and satisfying with more sherry, and hints of espresso coffee and dark chocolate.

Islay - That Boutique-y Whisky Company, Bowmore Single Cask

We finished with an Islay dram and a rather unusual one at that. This was a single cask Bowmore from Master of Malt's 'That Boutique-y Whisky Co' range. Limited to 260 bottles and bottled at a healthy cask strength of 48.7% this little 50cl beauty went down a storm before it was even tasted as the label was much talked about (see below!) . . This was matured in a sherry cask, although a NAS (no age statement) bottling this is estimated to be over 14 yrs old at least


Andy's tasting notes were:
Nose -  Wow what a beauty! Lovely sweet peat with underlying hints of pine sap and menthol, dried fruits and manuka honey
Palate - Thick mouthfeel, a sweet and seducing peat that perfectly intertwines with each other, citrus peel, honey roasted nuts and sugared Shreddies, heavy wood ever present.
Finish - The wonderfully dry yet sweet smoke comes to the fore with hints of macadamia nuts and apricot jam



I think overall the general consensus was that the Bowmore stole the show with others preferring the fruity Arran and some the other 3 so it was good to see a wide range of tastes and preferences which is what this club is all about.

It was fantastic to finally get the group together and was great to see that everyone enjoyed the drams on offer.
February's meeting will see us looking at 4 of the Highland distillery Tomatin's range