New Year, New Home!

 

The line-up

Our 2025 programme of tastings got off to a bit of a different start for a couple of reasons. The first was a week's delay due to a previous booking at our new venue, meaning our January tasting actually took place on the first Thursday in February.

North British 18yo

But I've already given away the second. After spending most of our decade-plus history at the Britons Protection (longer serving members might recall our earliest days in the Lass O'Gowrie then the Castle, but these memories are understandably hazy), events at the start of January meant Star Pubs/Heineken finally took control of the place following a long battle. Changes afoot there, not least the departure of the whisky stocks that made it such an attractive place for us for so long, meant we were briefly homeless.

In stepped another Manchester landmark, the Seven Oaks in Chinatown. Their upstairs room is an ideal size for us, and so that's where we assembled for Martin to take us through six assorted bottles raided from the club's stocks.

The Holyrood

We started off with a single cask grain, an 18-year-old from North British aged in a refill sherry cask and bottled by Douglas Laing under their Old Particular brand. This had a sort of leather, waxy type vibe about it, the sort of smell you get when buffing up your car (I was taking others' word for this, I'm afraid my poor old Ford has never had a buffing, at least not from me). On the palate we got some toffee at the end, butterscotch too. Not too vanilla-y, as some grains can be.

This was good, although at our table we weren't quite sure it was worth the £67 we paid for it back in 2022. Others raved it about it though, declaring it "surprisingly good". Other tasting notes included struck matches and sulphur. It was 48.4%.

SMWS Tullibardine

Dram two went to the other end of the age scale, and a very young whisky from Edinburgh's new Holyrood distillery, which says it's the first in the Scottish capital for a century. Set up by Canadians in an old railway building, the distillery has a reputation for experimenting, and has employed an ex-distiller from Macallan to help them realise what they want to achieve.

We weren't so keen on the nose here - cheese and sweaty socks - but it was totally different when you actually drank it. Very creamy and interesting. We'd like to try more of their stuff, but not necessarily this precise expression again. It was 49.8% and cost us £70 including postage.

Arran 16yo

As someone commented on seeing the line-up of bottles at the start of the evening, "it's always a good night when you see one of these," gesturing at the familiar Scotch Malt Whisky Society livery of dram three. This expression - Blindfolds and Pipettes, 28.95 - was a 10-year-old Tullibardine.

This was straightforward and very good, we felt. Understated but chewy. Not especially memorable on the nose but it had a super long aftertaste, with distinct flavours of apple crumble, custard and a honeyed sweetness. There were mixed views on whether adding water did all that much for it. This bottle was £70 for SMWS members and it was 59%.

Aultmore

After a half-time break to recharge our glasses downstairs in our new surroundings, it was back for another trio of whiskies.

And we kicked off part two on the Isle of Arran, with a distillery exclusive 16-year-old single cask from 2022. We weren't quite sure what the cask was, although it could have been Sauternes, or fino - it was certainly very pale for something which had been aged for that long. 

It was very nice all round though, and Arran is a popular distillery among many club members who felt this particular expression helped the liquid shine. It was £95, which was perhaps a little at the top end of what we'd pay for it. The strength was 58%.

Glen Scotia

To another club for whisky five, this time the Cadenhead's Club and a 15-year-old Aultmore, the result of a vatting of several casks. This had an incredible nose and looked great too: it made you (or at least me) instantly want to drink it. 

And indeed, it lived up to expectations. Very nice, with classical old Speyside flavours, including dates and sticky toffee pudding. A great all-rounder and a favourite so far for many in the room. This was £70 and 54.8%.

Martin had a bit of peat lined up for us to finish with. A Glen Scotia bottled for Callander, this was matured in fresh bourbon then PX casks. My notes here indicate that it was billed as heavily peated, but didn't really taste all that peated, indeed I wrote "is it really peated at all?" so clearly this was causing some debate. More of a soft hint of smoke than anything else.

This was really delicious though. That hint of smoke brought to mind smoky bacon and Frazzles. "Stunning" and "terrific" were among the comments. Incredible value too, as we paid £59 for it back in 2021. It was 52.9%.

That brought us to the dram of the night voting, and despite a strong challenge from the Glen Scotia, the Cadenhead's Club Aultmore got the most votes with 13. In third place was the Arran.

Thanks to Martin for putting together our new home and this great line up of drams, and to all at the Seven Oaks for giving us such a warm welcome!

Mysterious Drams for Hallowe'en

The full line-up, plus a pint.

October's tasting took place on Hallowe'en night itself. Club members took refuge from the ghoulies in the safe surroundings of the Britons Protection, where Rich P took us through a selection of mysterious drams: selected because they were all independently bottled without the original distillery name on the label.

Secret Irish

There are lots of reasons why distilleries might do this, from selling off whisky that doesn't fit their own flavour profile or simply to maintain control over their branding and how it's used. It means lots of interesting liquid is out there for us to try if you are able to explore beyond the better known labels.

Our own journey started with something bottled by Master of Malt, the online booze retail behemoth. Their 13-year-old Secret Irish (the number of distilleries this could realistically be from at that age is very limited, but nevertheless) came in pretty strong at 57.5%. And it was a proper vanilla bomb, very punchy but still eminently drinkable despite the strength and without adding water.

We got a real buttery, pastry taste. Like an almond croissant. But also butterscotch and, when some drinkers put a bit of water in anyway, some notes of creme brulee. At £70 we felt this was pretty good value. A bargain, even!

5yo rye

Dram two was the first of a couple of visits to Edinburgh-based indie bottler Fragrant Drops, run by erstwhile club members George and Rachel. We had an Indiana rye which, for those in the know, means distilling giant MGP. A 5-year-old, this was particularly rye-y, like rye bread. "Big caraway vibes" someone suggested. Grassy, minty, with notes of black pepper too.

This one divided the room a bit. Someone thought it tasted like carpet, but I was in the camp that absolutely loved it. It was 57.1% and cost us £68.

D Taylor Speyside

 we were heading to Scotland and a Duncan Taylor bottling from an unknown Speyside distillery. Part of its Octave collection, the expressions are all finished in smaller casks giving the whisky more contact with the wood over a shorter period of time.

This was a nice colour and smelt sweet. There was cereal on the palate, which came out a bit more with water. The thing that maybe lingered the most was a toffee apple taste, ideal for the time of year. It possibly paled a little in comparison to the others we'd already had, and there were mixed views in the room again. The suspicion was this may have been a Glenfarclas, although it curiously didn't really taste all that much like it. Just 89 bottles of this were produced, it was 54.2% and cost £86.

Grapefruit sour finish!

Following a half-time break to recharge our glasses downstairs at the Britons, we were back for four more drams.

Rich dubbed the second half 'trick or peat' and we kicked off with a bottling from Murray McDavid, with the liquid inside a Ledaig unusually finished in a grapefruit sour cask. The grapefruit came through more on the nose than the palate, but the finish really lingered for an absolute eternity. There was a peaty hit followed by a fruity, citrussy bit at the end. Fresh and zingy, we felt this worked well all round.

Some polarised views again but I have to say, I thought this was terrific. Good value again at £59. It clocked in at 54.4%.

An 18yo Highland

Closer to home for whisky number five, and Manchester's own indie bottler Chorlton Whisky. We had an 18-year-old from a Highland distillery to try. Smooth and creamy, this reminded someone of Juicy Fruit chewing gum. The best all-rounder of the night so far, we felt.

This was most likely to have been a Ben Nevis. It certainly tasted like it, according to the real whisky savants in the room. Very nice in general. It was 54% and there are still some left at £120.

10yo Orkney

It was back to Fragrant Drops for dram six, and this was a 10-year-old peated Orkney, which meant a Highland Park we thought. Fully matured in a red wine barrique, there were certainly high hopes for it.

Ooft, this was something. At 64.1% though, was this just a touch too much? It was extremely chewy but some felt it was a little too strong and not actually all that easy to drink. Some picked out an oiliness, for others on my table it was a bit confusing with the nose more satisfying than the palate. Lots of people really, really liked it though, so it was perhaps just my corner of the room that was a bit sceptical. It certainly cut through well, which is no mean feat at the end of the night.

Big Peat Hallowe'en

Well, it wasn't quite the end. We had one bonus dram left to enjoy, a Hallowe'en special Big Peat, a blend of Islay whiskies from Douglas Laing.

This was good but it was a bit late in the evening to take a real view on that, especially following the powerhouse last dram from Fragrant Drops. It was a 2021 version and cost £50 at the time, with an ABV of 48%.

This brought us to the dram of the night voting, and it was a narrow victory for...  the Fragrant Drops 10-year-old Orkney! The sixth dram picked up 11 votes, just two ahead of the Chorlton Whisky bottling, with the Murray McDavid grapefruit sour finish third. Perhaps no surprise that three big peaty drams would dominate the evening, as there are plenty of peat fans in the club, but three very worthy drams nonetheless.

Thanks to all club members for coming and to the Britons for hosting us once again. And special thanks to Rich for running such a great tasting!

 

Regional Malts

Johnnie Walker

For February's tasting we were online again, before a planned return to the Britons for March. And we marked the occasion with another trip right around Scotland, with Adam taking us to all five of the officially recognised whisky regions: Highland, Lowland, Islay, Speyside and Campbeltown, plus an extra stop at an island distillery for good measure.

We started off in the Lowlands, the southernmost region which roughly speaking covers Edinburgh, Glasgow and everything below. We got dried apricot on the nose of this one, with a light bit of vanilla and flowers, too - there was definitely something floral going on. The taste was quite soft, a Lowland all over in fact as someone suggested. Light, easy drinking, and a good session whisky, with a subtle and sweet aftertaste.

The Gauldrons

This was a blend, the Johnnie Walker Lowlands Origin. Given the relative ownership of those distilleries, we think this was probably a mix of Cameronbridge and Glenkinchie. A 12-year-old at 42%, this was £52 for a one litre bottle (so £36 for means of comparison with the usual 70cl bottles). Other tasting notes included biscuits and even a bit of rose Turkish delight. Not bad at all.

Next to Campbeltown, once the home of Scottish whisky and well on the road to a recovery thanks to the powerhouses of Springbank, Glen Scotia and Glengyle. We had a good try of these at a tasting last year, and were keen for another. This particular dram was very pale, and didn't have all that much on the nose. A bit of marzipan maybe, there was certainly an almondy vibe. The whisky was quite different on the palate though. Much more distinctive than the nose would have led you to believe. A bit of smoke in there somewhere, with coconut and banana too. Maybe even a bit of fennel.

Hector Macbeth 1997

What we had in our glasses turned out to be a blended malt, a term used to describe a whisky that is a blend of various single malts. It was The Gauldrons, from indie bottler Douglas Laing. Billed as 'the marriage of the finest Campbeltown malts' (and let's be honest, there are only three so that does rather narrow down the options as to what that might involve), it's 46.2% and £49. Again, a good drop.

Speyside may be the best-known whisky country in Scotland. It's certainly got the most distilleries in it, clustered around the banks of the fast flowing River Spey on its journey north from the heart of Scotland to the Moray Firth. The Speyside we had was a bit bitter on the nose, maybe cacao or green apples too. Quite a contrast to the floral notes we'd had earlier in the evening. The taste wasn't all that strong and it didn't need any water. A rich sweetness, "one note" as someone suggested, albeit one note that it does really well. Not the most Speyside of Speysides some thought, but others thought it was a 'classic Speyside' which just goes to show it's basically impossible to get anyone to agree on anything.

Meet the Beast

This was a Hector Macbeth. Another blended malt, this time from Hunter Laing, a company created as the 'other half' of the Laing business when the brothers when their separate ways almost a decade ago. A 24-year-old distilled in 1997, it was 51% and cost £128. Bourbon cask, which came as a bit of a surprised as we'd assumed a sherry cask given the rich colour (sadly I can't show this to you as I had drunk mine before remembering to take the photo, as you can see).

To the Highlands, a large whisky region including just about 'the rest' of Scotland that isn't covered by one of the other named areas, whether or not there are any actual hills nearby. Toffee and butterscotch on the nose of this one, almost like Werther's originals.

Mossburn

Certainly a bit of sweetness, almost like that heather honey so beloved of National Trust for Scotland gift shops. An easy drinker, it soon stopped being as fiery as it was at the start on the palate. A good one for round the campfire, someone suggested, with notes of dark chocolate, and a creamy, thick, mouthfeel. Others were less keen, though.

Another Bourbon cask, and another from Douglas Laing, this was an expression under their Timorous Beastie brand, called Meet The Beast. A no age statement blended malt, it was 54.9% and just £50. Great value, we felt.

That left just an island and an Islay to try, and with the peatiness of Islay inevitably kept for the end, it was off to a different island first. Still smoky though, peaty but very drinkable. It had a pleasant softness. As someone commented, "people who don't like peat would tolerate it." Better without the water we felt, with a hint of sweetness overall.

Big Peat Black Edition

This turned out to be a bottle under the Mossburn brand, from Torabhaig, the Isle of Skye's long-awaited second distillery (after Talisker). Called Signature Casks 1, it involved three different bits of cask wood in the ageing process. Another blended malt it was a no age statement dram at 46% and just £42. Really nice, we thought.

And so to Islay. To no great surprise, this had the typical medicinal character straight from the off. We also got salty, cough syrup, but perhaps not a wide range of sensations on the palate. "Not bad but not amazing" said someone, and others felt it was a touch one dimensional, by comparison to a few of the earlier drams.

This was a Big Peat, another of Douglas Laing's range of brands. Specifically, we had the Black Edition in our hands, a blend of Islay malts and a 27-year-old that was certainly different from the Big Peat we'd had previously. At 48.3% but a costly £185, we probably wouldn't necessarily be queuing up to buy it again.

That left only the dram of the night voting, and it was an easy win for... dram number 4! Meet the Beats took more than half the vote, with the Mossburn in second.

Thank you to Adam for preparing another great tasting for us, and to all club members for attending remotely and continuing to support us!

Whiskyology: The Science of Whisky Tasting

The evening's six main whiskies (bonus drinks not pictured)

After another highly enjoyable Christmas party for the members, during which we brought back all of the unfinished bottles from 2018 and had a decent go at putting that right, we had to wait until the last day of January for the club's first tasting of 2019.

11yo Dalmore - with water

And it was chairman Adam who presented an evening dedicated to two of his main interests - chemistry and top quality booze - as introduced us to a tasting he called Whiskyology: The Science of Whisky Tasting. With the weather outside below freezing,  this was something we were all looking forward to evening more than usual.                                                                                                                Adam explained that he wanted us to reflect a little on how the appearance of whiskies can influence how we perceive their taste: whether that's to do with the marketing, price tag, or even just how it looks in the glass. And with that, he kicked us off with a pair of whiskies tasted blind.

The Dalmore again, but with caramel

The first looked light and tasted "a bit creamy" according to some early tasting notes. While the second appeared to be a totally different proposition. A much darker colour, as if it had been sherried or, as someone suggested, "it's certainly been in something" and was a lot sweeter than the earlier dram.

Adam revealed that they were both the same whisky, more or less. An 11yo Dalmore from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, called Chocolate Melting in the Greenhouse, Adam gave us the first with water already added, diluting the strength down to 43%.

Our third Dalmore in a row

The second had a drop of caramel for colour and was also 43%. Despite their shared origin they certainly seemed to taste very different, underlining Adam's point about the visual effect making such a difference.

As a bonus whisky we then had a drop of another similar dram, so similar in fact it was bottled from the same distillery on the very same day. Also from the SMWS, it was Gardener Takes a Break. This was much stronger tasting, again sweet and spicy, and certainly packing all of its 60%.

Next came something completely different. Or rather two things, as we had a pair of drinks from one of the few distilleries in the world known to produce both beer and whisky from the same brew.

It's Belgian whisky!

This producer in question is in Belgium, probably nobody's idea of a whisky heartland, but we're all about exploring new things at Manchester Whisky Club. The drinks came from the Het Anker brewery in Mechelen, under the Gouden Carolus brand.

On tasting them both, you wouldn't have them pegged as being from the same source. The whisky had a bit of a punch on the nose but was at 46% was quite mellow when compared with the beer, which was 8.5% but didn't really taste it. Instead, it was dark, juicy and highly drinkable.

The beer.

If we were going to have one of these again it would probably be the beer to be honest.

After a half-time break it was time to return to Scotland and some highly peated whiskies. The next drink was one of the Big Peat blends produced by Douglas Laing, marrying together various whiskies from Islay. This particular bottling was the 2017 Christmas edition, an 'all-Islay' edition featuring at least a bit from each distillery on the island, including the long-shut-but-soon-to-restart-production Port Ellen.

About half of the whisky was Ardbeg, and more or less everyone loved it: "spicy" and "gorgeous". With Islay going through an expansion, and other new distilleries joining Port Ellen, there'll be plenty more peated whisky where this came from in the future.

The Big Peat.

If there's one distillery most associated with the peaty taste of Islay, it's Laphroaig. The classic 10yo, traditionally considered a bit of a love-it-or-hate-it dram, is usually likened to TCP. But for Adam it brings back linseed oil, putting him in mind of his grandad who used to enjoy a drop: the taste of a particularly whisky can vary for each of us, depending on times and places we associate with it.

The Laphroaig we were enjoying here was the 2017 Cardeas quarter cask, one of an annual series of releases the distillery does under that name. We very much liked this too, although so did plenty of other people as you'll be lucky to find a bottle anywhere online for less than £180.

The evening ended with something out of the ordinary: a little bit of homebrewing, or at least home spiking. This involved taking Aldi's standard Islay single malt, apparently a perfectly reasonable 7yo Caol Ila, with phenols.

The Aldi whisky with added phenols.

This is a chemistry thing that has something to do with making something taste peaty, although by this stage of the evening my notes were becoming even less extensive than usual. In fact, beside this drink I've only written: "wheeeee!" so I'm afraid what it actually tasted like may well be lost to history.

There was just time for some dram of the night voting, and the winner was the bonus dram from SMWS, Gardener Takes a Break.

Huge thanks to Adam for such an expertly-led evening full of information and fun, which I've only just scratched the surface of here. There's much more on Adam and Kate's blog. Thanks also to everyone who attended plus the Briton's Protection for hosting us once again.

The line-up of whiskies, mostly drained.

Wish You Were Beer

August's line-up of whiskies.

New club chairman Adam led the tasting for the first time in August, and he had a selection of paired whiskies and beers for us all to try. He also produced a club first - a PowerPoint presentation - to showcase the research he had put in to each of the chosen drinks, which Adam ran through after we'd tasted everything blind.

Teeling / Galway Bay

The effort was much appreciated as we got stuck into the first of the evening's 12 glasses. The opening pairing got us off to a stout beginning. The beer was clearly something black and chocolatey, although not all that strong. And the whisky, which tasted kind of familiar to many in the room, must have been finished in stout casks, we guessed.

This was a particularly close pairing as it turned out. The whisky was from club favourites Teeling, finished in casks from Galway Bay stout. The beer was also Galway Bay, their milk stout called Buried at Sea. The members' noses were certainly on point at this early stage of the evening, as sure enough the stout is a certainly drinkable 4.5% (it's £2.49 a bottle) while the Teeling Stout Cask is 46% and available for £40, again offering decent value. Perhaps best of all, nobody felt the need to break into a few bars of the song Galway Bay, although if Adam had saved this pairing until the end no doubt someone would have had a go at it.

Weller / Welde

Pairing two gave us a whisky that immediately put us in mind of a bourbon, with that classic sweetish, vanilla sort of flavour. The beer was what got more of us talking, in so much as it smelt terrible. Lots of people didn't like the nose at all, and that extended to the palate as well. "It tastes of regret" was one of the more charitable tasting notes, but certainly not inaccurate.

The bourbon in the bottle was from the Buffalo Trace family. As Adam explained, this is quite an extended family, with a huge range of brands familiar in the US (although perhaps less so here) all being produced at the distillery in Frankfort, the historic capital of Kentucky. This one was under the Weller name, and we liked it a lot. It's 45% although the price is highly variable because it's so scarce over here, so good luck getting hold of it. The beer, which evidently went down less well, was Bourbon Barrel Bock produced by German brewer Welde which spent time in bourbon, rum and tequila casks. At 6.6% and £2.49, you can probably give it a miss.

Glen Moray / Windswept

We finally visited Scotland for pairing three, and while the whisky seemed a little bland, it was certainly highly drinkable. "A young Speyside" was one guess from the membership, and indeed the distillery in question was also correctly identified! The accompanying beer was a strong brown ale, and we liked this one too.

Indeed, it was a bit of a surprise to discover the beer was 9%, because it again seemed nice and easy to drink. The common thread between these drinks was the Glen Moray distillery, with the whisky a 40% expression finished in port casks and available for the very reasonable £25. The beer was made by brewery Windswept in nearby Lossiemouth and called The Wolf of Glen Moray. It's £8 plus postage though so it's probably one to save for when you happen to be passing, unless you're ordering a job lot.

Highland Park / Harviestoun

After a half-time break and a chance to get further refreshment, as if it were needed, from the bar at the Briton's Protection, it was on to pairing number four. And what stood out immediately from the two was the beer. Sticky and meaty, this was like an intense, spicy barbecue. The whisky was perhaps a touch less immediately memorable, lightly peated, and a little more pleasant on the nose than the palate.

The beer we enjoyed so much was an Ola Dubh black ale produced by Harviestoun, and finished in whisky casks from Highland Park. Sure enough, the accompanying whisky was indeed Highland Park, on this occasion the standard 12-year-old bottling that you can probably pick up in your local supermarket for £30 or so. The beer is 8% and £4.49, and Harviestoun has been something of a pioneer in cask aged brews so there are plenty of versions to try if you want to investigate.

Double Barrel / Wild Beer

There was another distinctive taste to beer number five. On this occasion it was salty, "like being hit by a wave in the sea", or munching on some salt and vinegar crisps. This did divide opinion a little, but overall this was the first beer of the night to actually be preferred to a whisky (although given we're the Manchester Whisky Club, this probably wasn't entirely surprising). The whisky was a bit peaty, but overall certainly seemed more conventional.

As it turned out, the whisky was not exactly conventional, being a 'double barrel' blended malt concoction of Ardbeg and Craigellachie, bottled by Douglas Laing. At 46% and £48 this got a general thumbs up. The beer, a Belgian Dubbel from the Wild Beer Co. called Smoke 'n' Barrels involved casks of both Islay whisky and red wine, which helps to explain the real mixture of flavours on the go. Certainly worth trying once even if you don't like the sound of it, it's £5.49 and 7.4%.

Smooth Ambler / KBS

As is often the case, by the last dram of the night the tasting notes that I managed to record had become somewhat less expansive. All I really ended up putting was that the beer seemed quite treacly, and that the whisky tasted like a bourbon. But these were both accurate statements so there's no harm in leaving it at that.

It turned out that both of these were American. The whisk(e)y was a blended bourbon from the Smooth Ambler brand, sourced from the huge MGP distillery in Indiana. At 50% and £70 this was certainly good, but not as memorable as the beer, which was Kentucky Breakfast Stout. Whether anyone would actually drink a 12.3% bourbon-finished beer for breakfast or not is another thing, but at £6.99 it's worth trying at any time of the day.

Overall the whiskies won the day, but within that it was a triumph for the whiskey over the whisky. The voting revealed our top choice was the Smooth Ambler after it initially tied with the Weller, while the leading beer was the Smoke 'n' Barrels despite the love-it-or-hate-it reception it got from the membership.

Thanks to everyone for attending another successful tasting and in particular to Adam for choosing and then explaining such a fascinating selection of drinks. Thanks also to the Briton's for hosting us once again.

The full line-up!

Independent Bottlings Night

The line-up.

At our June tasting we were delighted to welcome several new paid-up members to the club, and they had five whiskies from a variety of independent bottlers to enjoy, as yet more summer rain lashed down outside the Britons Protection.

The Inchmurrin 19yo.

Tom acted as whisky master for the evening, and he started us off with a 19yo Inchmurrin, bottled by Signatory. As Tom revealed, Inchmurrin is made at the Loch Lomond distillery and is named for the island in the middle of the loch, which is possibly best known for being the home of a naturist colony.

Not that the dram itself was naked. It's finished in sherry casks, something clearly in evidence just from the nose. That sherried sweetness won quite a few approving nods on first taste, but if anything this whisky disappointed a little thereafter, just sort of fading away after a strong start. However, at £40, it's not bad value.

That TBWC label.

Up next was a no-age statement dram from That Boutique-y Whisky Company from the Allt-á-Bhainne distillery near Dufftown. Somewhat tenuously, because Allt-á-Bhainne sounds a bit like House of Pain, the label features cows listening to old school classic Jump Around, while standing next to a river of milk (which is what Allt-á-Bhainne actually means).

But enough about the packaging, and on to the whisky. This one's herby on the nose, vaguely reminiscent of dandelion and burdock. And we got a range of opinions from the membership, although most could at least agree that this was an "interesting" drop. It retails at a shade under £50, which would be fine if it was in a proper 70cl bottle!

The Glenburgie 19yo.

The most expensive whisky of the night was next and, perhaps unsurprisingly, it turned out to be our favourite. It was a Glenburgie 19yo, not just sold by Master of Malt but also bottled by them.

Appropriately enough for Wimbledon fortnight, this one had strawberries if not cream, along with distinct notes of butterscotch and a bit of citrus later on in the finish. Despite general warm approval, this wasn't a bottle that got the membership reaching for their phones and credit cards - purely because of the price at more than £90.

This led to the quote of the evening from Nic: "I'd buy it, but I wouldn't share it!"

Douglas Laing's Double Barrel.

After a mid-tasting break, we were back with bottle four and a mash-up of Ardbeg and Inchgower in the form of Douglas Laing's Double Barrel. If this was a marriage of Islay and Speyside, it was clear on both the nose and the palate that Islay was the dominant partner, with a peatiness and saltiness that really took over the drink.

It was felt that the Inchgower got a little lost up against its distinctive bottle-mate. While decent value at £45, some of Douglas Laing's offerings which we've had at the club in the past - Scallywag in particular - are probably a better bet for a slightly lower price.

The Paul John 6yo.

We finished with a passage to India and the 6yo Paul John, another bottling by Master of Malt. A young whisky, but not by Indian standards where, it's said, the heat makes six years equivalent to three times as long in rainy old Scotland.

Reactions to this one can be divided into those who drank it before and after adding water. Initially, it tasted very strong, as well it might at 59.7%. In the words of one member, it tasted "like cardboard". But when we started to put a few drops of water in there, things opened up considerably and it became much more palatable. That dreaded word again - "interesting" - but probably not worth splashing out the £78 retail price for.

The vote at the end of the night when decisively in favour of the Glenburgie. No chance of a 52/48 split here! Thanks to Tom for leading another great tasting, and to the faces old and new who came down.

The vote. No secret ballots here.

Highland Fling

Our 9th club meeting was dedicated to Scotland's Highland region.

Some of the world's most popular brands stem from this large and picturesque area and quite rightly so. Highland malts often have a reputation for big chunky flavours but can also offer very delicate and rounded treats in some cases.

This time though we did things a bit differently. We were going to taste the malts blind so nobody knew what was being tasted until each had been finished and revealed. This is a great way to really get to grips with a whisky. Sometimes opinions and even the tastes themselves can be affected by previous experience or even prejudice with a brand.

So when everyone was assembled we cracked on.

#1

The first dram we looked at was light in colour, whisky boffins might refer to it as 'golden straw'

Nose - Strong malt, orange peel, bitter chocolate, lots of seasonal spices, Tom got apple and Adam picked up on some nutty notes.

Palate - Initially the malt from the nose dominates the palate, however as Matthew pointed out, some green fruits begin to make an appearance with toffee.

Finish - Quite long, more toffee with lingering notes of digestive biscuits and cream.

Suggestions for what distillery this might be from included Edradour (Adam), Old Pulteney (Katharine) and Glen Garioch (Anna), so, what was it?...

This was revealed as being an 11yr Dalmore! Bottled at 46% by by Douglas Laing & Co for their Provenance range with no added colour and being non chill filtered this is one Dalmore that shows what this distillery is capable of without adding bucket fulls of E150a colouring and keeping the spirit above 40%!

#2 

Onto the second dram. This was a very rich and playful golden colour in the glass.

Nose - We had lots of people mentioning various types of fruit, pears, orange, citrus, but quite a few claiming some tropical fruit notes including mango and pineapple. Interesting. Again, lots of spice content here alongside perhaps a slight wisp of smoke and honey? A very complex and satisfying nose.

Palate - More spice here, Stina noted the salty/brine notes and then came the fruit again, some still maintaining it's tropical edge. Again is that a slight hint of smoke in there? Not peat but smoke itself.
Hmm

Finish - Again, long and spicy with notes of nutmeg.

Suggestions for this distillery included - Balblair (Stina) Old Pulteney (Katharine), Clynelish (Matthew) among others..

The prize goes to Matthew! This was revealed as being a 15 yr old Clynelish single cask (#6470) from London Wine & Spirit Merchants Berry Bros & Rudd! Again bottled at 46% without added colour and no chill filtration.

Matthew (left) Partying like its 1899 after nailing the Clynelish

#3

After the delicious Clynelish everyone was looking forward to what appeared to be one of the darkest drams of the night. This appeared in the glass as a lovely deep copper.

Nose - Wow, Speyside alert! We had cries of raisins! (Tom), Brandy butter (Stina)! Nuts (Richard), Soreen, and lots of milk chocolate. 

Palate - Spicy, vanilla cream, again some comments of tropical fruit also oak and cinnamon.

Finish - Medium length, leading with a nutty undertone, Almonds (Richard)

Suggestions for this one.. Glen Garioch (Anna.. seeing a pattern here), Ben Nevis and Oban

This was revealed as the Glencadam 21 yr old. The distillery bottling and bottled at 46%, this displayed impressive depth and was very well rounded.

Chemist Corner after the ban on words ending in 'eyne' 'ite' 'thol' etc

Stina getting expressive about grain barns

#4

The next dram appeared a lot lighter in the glass so straight away raised a few eyebrows.. surely lighter means not as deep and flavoursome yes?..

Nose - Lots of pepper (various), spearmint/menthol,
milk chocolate, a grain barn aroma (Stina), cistrus peel and ginger.

Palate - Return of the pepper (various), also pepper similar to rocket leafs (Simeon) toffee (Clive), honey, peach syrup and became creamy over time

Finish - Quite long again with that slight cream note carrying a lot of lovely spice and a wave of fruit.

Nobody really had any ideas as to what this dram might be.. so this was revealed as being a 19 yr old Deanston from Master of Malt's single cask range. Bottled at 53.4% with no chill filtration or added colour. Yum


#5

Now came our final dram of the night. With a colour akin to the Glencadam this was still relatively light compared to most whiskies.

Nose - For a start there were lots of muffled noises of appreciation and 'hhmm' 'oof' and 'aah'. Honey, biscuits (Martin), a very savoury edge to it, some sort of gamey meat? An unusual quality ina  whisky. Herbal again, heather all the while a playful apple strudel note phasing in and out.

Palate - What's this, a partner in pepper crime? Pepper seemed to be the order of the day again here with rainbow peppercorns noted (Peter), a delightful deep rich fruityness akin to a black forest gateau and brandy soaked raisins.

Finish - Looooong, I can still almost taste it as I type this. Oak influence creeping in here but retains a lot of its fruity character pulling through with vanilla cream with apple & blackberry crumble.

Now again this one was a bit of a mystery.

Its a Glen Garioch (pronounced 'Glen-Geery') Another single cask offering from Master of Malt, this time a 20 yr old bottled at a whopping 58.8%. Nobody could believe its strength and all agreed that it can easily be sipped at its bottled strength.

Overall a fantastic and varied line up that really showed why Highland whisky is so popular. On another note it was great to see household names (such as the Dalmore) in a much more natural way without any chill filtration or added colouring! That's how things should be.

We'll be back with another blog post soon covering our Paul John whisky tasting back in September!