A Taste of the Orient

Amazingly, for the past 4 weeks the weather in Manchester has been turned on its head. An odd, yellowish disc has been frequenting the sky, engulfing the city in a warm, almost tropical glow. This months Whisky Club theme wasn't exactly tropical but certainly took us away from our usual safe haven of the British Isles to the Pacific and the temperate climate of Japan.

Japanese whisky is having a bit of a surge in sales at the moment. There has been an increasing demand for Japan's high quality offerings across the UK and Europe.

We had a varying choice of 5 drams on offer including malts and a grain. No blends this time round as we're going to go back and revisit Japan and its blends at some stage.

Yamazaki 12 - 43%

We started off with what can probably be seen as the most common of the Japanese bottlings available in the UK, Suntory's Yamazaki 12. This is probably one of Suntory's biggest sellers, matured in both ex
sherry & bourbon casks, this offering is quite similar in a sense to some scottish whiskies.

Nose: Lovely rounded fruits, a bit of pineapple, raspberry preserve, christmas nut mix, raisins.
Palate: A very light lychee syrup, more raisins and a slight dusting of cinnamon.
Finish:Wow where the hell did that come from! On swallowing an immediate harshness comparable to more of a new make spirit! Long and lingering with a slight note of toasted pistachio nuts.


Nikka Coffey Grain - 45%



Nikka, Japan's other 'Big' distilling brand alongside Yamazaki are renowned for producing some of Japans best blended malts alongside some of their single malt and grain portfolio. Nikka Coffey Grain is named as such due to the production method of using a coffey still. We saw good examples of coffey still production in some of our Irish whiskies a few months back. This is a type of still that can be operated constantly and efficiently, producing larger batches of spirit that a standard still and pot still.


Nikka also produce a 'Coffey Malt' range which is quite a high end offering. This grain bottling is relatively new and has no age statement. This was the club's first taste of a single grain whisky. In this case produced using mainly corn rather than the more commonly used wheat. This bottling is produced at Nikka's Miyagikyo distillery.

Nose: Light and delicate, honey, apple pie, vanilla, clean cotton and cut grass.
Palate: A continuing lightness to this, more vanilla -custard this time, lemon tart, caramelised pear
Finish: A lovely sweet warmth, reminds me of the base of a freshly baked cheesecake, pineapple fritters.


Yoichi 10 yr old - 45%


Yoichi is 1 of only 2 whisky distilleries that make up Nikka's portfolio. Set in beautiful mountainous surroundings on the northern island of Hokkaido, the Yoichi distillery uses the traditional method of direct fired stills using coal. The Yoichi 10 is a peated whisky, is the rest of the Yoichi range, the 10 is matured in sherry casks. The distillery was opened in 1934 and was Nikka's first active distillery.


Nose: Again a sweet element, possibly brown sugar, banana bread, then the sherry begins to peek through alongside a damp peat.
Palate: An oily yet thin mouthfeel, initial sherry influence with dark fruits and bitter chocolate with the peat making a brief appearance.
Finish: Blackcurrant and black pepper, toffee with a lingering finish.

Sushi - 0%

One of our members - Charlie of the Ginfuelledbluestocking blog, very kindly brought some freshly made Sushi along from her sushi making class earlier in the night. It went along very nicely with the lighter whiskies and reinforced the flavour of the evening. Thanks Charlie!

Some lovely fresh vegetable sushi!

Karuizawa - Spirit of Asama - 55%

Karuizawa whisky can be something of a rarity in the UK. There has not been much distillation taking place in the last decade and recently the owners have handed in their distilling licences so it is very likely that Karuizawa's stills will fall silent indefinitely sooner rather than later. So far the releases that have made it to Britain's glorious shores have predominantly been of a single cask nature and generally costing over £100. That is, until now.

A Norfolk based whisky importer, Number One Spirits which is run by a chap named Marcin Miller - contacted Karuizawa and purchased 77 single casks distilled between 1999 and 2000. Rather than importing them in another single cask format, they have vatted all 77 to make a unique, no age statement bottling, which incidentally is an extremely affordable example of this distilleries wares.



Nose: Sherry! Sherry in all its Speyside-esque glory, Nutella spread, raisins, freshly oiled wood.
Palate: Lots of sweetness with more chocolate, dark this time, damp earth and rather herbal
Finish: Another example of a lingering finish from a Japanese whisky here, edging into savoury notes this time before tailing off with a glowing warmth.

Mike and Richard sampling the Karuizawa

Hakushu 12 - 43%

Our final whisky of the night was another of Suntory's range. This time, from the Hakushu distillery, built in 1973 and set among the forests at the foot of the Japanese Alps. A lightly peated offering, this has been matured in ex bourbon casks.

The Hakushu alongside Yamazaki is probably up there as one of the more popular Japanese whiskies widely available in the UK

Nose: A fantastic nose on this one. similar in a sense to the Nikka grain in that it is so light and floral, plenty of orchard fruits, sherbet lemons and yet with a slight breeze of peat tickling the nose.
Palate: Crisp, sweet apple again, before sliding into a delightful mix of vanilla and Danish smoked salt.
Finish: Relatively brief but again sweet with the peat making a reappearance, macadamia nuts, dried apricot. Lovely


Overall we had a good varying selection of Japanese malts (and Grain!) that certainly showed the potential of the country's spirit and why it has become so popular of late. We had a split in opinion as to the best bottling of the night with a rough split between the Karuizawa and the Hakushu with one or 2 going for the Yoichi as their dram of choice.

You can certainly tell that Scottish distilling practices have had an affect on the way Japanese distillers approach their production method. In some cases seemingly trying to mimic certain existing styles. Hopefully in the next few years Japanese distillers such as Suntory and Nikka will throw caution to the wind and finally begin to create a true Japanese style malt in its own right.

Living The American Dram

The night was the 27th June 2013, the place, the Castle pub on Oldham Street. A slow and constant drizzle had settled over Manchester but inside the Castle there was plenty of southern state sunshine courtesy of this month's whisky club lineup.

This was to be the club's first non- UK/Irish based tasting and featured some of the best Whisky and Whiskey the USA hd to offer.

Before we start all at the club would like to say a huge thanks to everyone at the Castle for making the club feel so welcome and Jonny in particular for providing us with the wonderful facilities.

The surroundings really did add to the atmosphere of the night, the Castle really is an incredible venue.



The Dukes of Hazard were kind enough to drop off some supplies!



We had a good turn out on the night with people from the waiting list and even the Castle itself in attendance. The room had a great buzz about it.



Above was the night's lineup. From Left to Right - Kentucky Vintage, Four Roses Single Barrel, Balcones True Blue, Sazerac Rye and Buffalo Trace White Dog Mash #1

Kentucky Vintage Small Batch Bourbon - 45%

When you think of traditionally styled bourbons you might automatically think of well known names such as Jim Beam, Four Roses, Bulleit, Makers Mark or Wild Turkey. This bottle of Kentucky Vintage Bourbon from Kentucky Bourbon Distillers Co is anything but well known and anything but mass produced. This bourbon is sold as small batch and individually hand labelled.

This whiskey itself is matured for longer than most standard bourbons at a whopping 8 years. Other bourbon expressions are matured for the minimum 2 year term in order for the spirit to be labelled as Bourbon Whiskey.

Nose  - Intense sharp sweetness, bananas and demarera sugar under the grill, oak, warm caramel, cinnamon and star Anise and some sort of citrus note such as lime rind.

Palate- Initial light brush of maple syrup, buttery, back to the sugar from the nose, treacle tart, lots of vanilla extract and sultanas

Finish- Medium length, very warm but then quickly fades to delicate notes of candy floss (or since we're going US cotton candy!) and slight oak and smokiness.

Four Roses Single Barrel - 50% Barrel 11-3

 Next up on our tour was an offering from renowned bourbon producer Four Roses. In this instance it came in the form of their premium bottling, the Four Roses Single Barrel. In this case the bottle was from warehouse NV and barrel 11-3 which incidentally is the same batch that Jim Murray of whisky bible fame scored a whopping 94 points.

The single barrel is a high quality offering and has been matured for 2+ years. The standard Four Roses Yellow label is made up of a selection of ten single barrels from the Four Roses stable. Incidentally if you're ever looking for a good bourbon to replace the usual suspects of Jack Daniels (which isn't actually a bourbon) Jim Beam etc check out the standard Four Roses Yellow Label bottling. For £20 it's a steal.

Nose  - An all together different beast from the Kentucky Vintage. Where the KV was delicate and light the Four Roses is deep and rich. So much going on here, intense plumb crumble, strawberry jam, créme caramel and warm parkin cake.

Palate- A lovely warmth & oily mouthfeel. Definitely feels older than it is. Oreo cookies, another breath of the plumbs from the nose, and a warming cinnamon fragrance leading to a wonderful hint of Peruvian chocolate (yes chocolate really can be that unique!) and finishing off before the tail with black cherry compote

Finish- The cherry lingers before being shouldered aside by a sweet yet powerful Oak.



Balcones - True Blue 50%

Now our next bottling is a very interesting dram indeed. Balcones you say? Who are these upstarts? Well, Balcones are making shockwaves throughout the Whisky/Whiskey industry. Founded in 2009 by a chap in Waco (yup a town called Waco), Texas named Chip Tate, Chip and a few friends purchased a run down warehouse, went on to make their own stills by hand and started to produce some of the most highly sought after small batch whiskies on the market.

As you can tell from the description above the entire Balcones range is lovingly crafted by hand and only produced in small unique batches. True Blue is one of the best whiskies in their range and is our first purely corn whisky of the night (its worth noting Chip has used the traditional Scottish spelling rather than whiskEy). In this case the corn used is blue corn, hence the name.

Nose  - Heavy and rich, spice, lots of spice, possibly nutmeg. Butter in a hot iron pan, honey, and warm fudge cake.

Palate- Starts off sweet more brown sugar here, then banana bread and Jamaican ginger cake followed by cinder toffee and honeycomb.
Finish- A long and warming finish with a return of the spices, there even starts to be a hint of sweetcorn with salt crystal butter before slowly fading away with a lovely warming glow.

 

Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey - 45%

We now move onto our first and only Rye Whiskey of the evening. Sazerac Rye, now produced by Buffalo Trace, was originally named after the famous coffee house in New Orleans where the Sazerac cocktail was invented.

Rye whiskey is named as such as the mash itself used to create it must contain at least 51% rye. This bottling is labelled straight rye as his has been aged for 2 years or over. In this particular case a 6 year maturation. Rye is fantastic in cocktails and is known to be a spicy and punchy offering. Sazerac is no different!

Nose  - Spiced oranges, ginger and rainbow peppercorns.

Palate- More orange, possibly blood orange this time, root beer float, cola cubes, very peppery again and finally a bit of Irn Bru can you believe!!

Finish- Liquorice root, more citrus and yet another heated kick followed by lingering vanilla and oakiness.

Buffalo Trace White Dog Mash #1 - 62.5%

White Dog Mash is a very interesting spirit. This is basically the very same mash used to create the famous (and great value for money) Buffalo Trace bourbon. The only difference is that this particular spirit has not been matured for 2 years to soften and mellow in virgin oak casks. Oh no no no. This bottle of wet death has been taken straight from still to bottle.

The mash itself consists of corn, rye and malted barley - the normal mix for a bourbon mash.

It's no wonder this is only bottled in very small bottles and again, very small batches!

Nose  - Initially thinking 'oh god what have I done' before realising there are layers here. Lychee syrup, cocoa dusting and bakewell tart.

Palate- Surprisingly smooth, obviously not to the extent of a matured bourbon but considering the mash involved and the abv there is more sugary syrup, a bit of rough cut marmelade and pepper.

Finish- Quite short but peppery and warm, this is everything that the Baijiu could only wish to be!

We had a great selection here tonight, 2 bourbons, a unique corn whisky, a wonderful rye and finally a little bit of white lightening! I think overall the vote was ties between the Sazerac and the Four Roses but all the drams both Whisky and Whiskey alike stood up to the scrupulous tastebuds of the MWC members.

Until next time!



Emerald Explorations

May 30th saw the MWC meet for the 5th time as a club. On a side note a huge thanks to those that made it down on the night both members and non-members alike!

This was the clubs first tasting actually hosted by a distillery rep so expectations were high. Luckily that rep was Jameson/Pernod Ricard's Stephen Carberry and we weren't disappointed.
Due to a low turnout we opened up to the general public and we had 5 people in one group turn out to sample some of the Emerald Isles' offerings alongside our members.

As we had a mixture of complete whisky newbies and the usual amateurs (we're far from pro's in the MWC!) Stephen started off explaining the differences between Irish and other world whiskies as well as distilling processes and a really useful Whiskey ABC style of presentation.

As part of the presentation, Stephen passed round samples of barley to smell and look at and a particular favourite was that he also passed around a sample of new make pot still spirit and new make coffey still spirit.

Onto the tastings themselves, boy did Stephen come prepared!

First off he set up 3 drams, to show the difference between the varying styles of USA Whiskey, Scotch and Irish.

Jack Daniels Old No7 - 40%

Possibly the most popular Whiskey in the world. Often mistaken as a bourbon but is actually classed as a Tennessee mash Whiskey!

Nose -  Lots of smooth caramel with fresh sugars cutting through. Oak character as well as oil a and nutty element.
Palate- What 'Jack' is famous for, smooth palate with more toffee and charred oak and cream
Finish- An overly sweet finish with the slightest hint of ginger and all spice

Johnnie Walker Black Label 12 - 40%
An immensly popular blended Scotch whisky that adorns many an enthusiasts shelf across the world.

Nose  - Peppery with treacle toffee, orange zest and caramel.
Palate- Full and punchy, raw in a sense. Heavy spice notes, oak, slight dry smoke and toffee
Finish- Much longer than the Jack Daniel's, sultana's, more smoke and fruit bread.

Jameson- 40%

The standard Jameson expression that can be found in bars the world over

Nose - Very light and floral with hints of vanilla
Palate- Creamy but again very light showcasing pot still characteristics. Fresh orchard fruits, peanut brittle and a coppery tang
Finish- Slight spice with honey and more vanilla

There were mixed reviews of the 3, with a majority choosing the JW Black. While they are what could be classes as 'bog standard' offerings they did succeed in highlighting the unique differences between American, Scotch and Irish whiskies.

Next up we went into a bit more detail on the history of the Jameson Brand and sampled 2 more of their more unique bottlings compared to the standard.


Jameson Select Reserve Small Batch - 40%

What could be seen as the next step up from the standard expression, the Small Batch is a much more unique Whiskey in the sense that it uses a contributing grain spirit. The grain used to make this spirit is only available 2 weeks per year hence this becoming a very small batch whiskey from a mass capacity distillery!

Nose - Much richer than the standard expression, lovely stewed apple, clementine, cereals and spices
Palate You can tell there is sherry here. Reminiscent of Speyside hints here with Walnuts, ginger snaps, vanilla cream and dates.
Finish- Very warm and long





Jameson Gold Reserve- 40%

The Gold Reserve has a large amount of pure potstill whiskey and currently heads Jameson's range as their flagship bottling.

Nose - Sugars and so many bourbon-esque notes. Vanilla, elderflower syrup
Palate - Initially delicate and sweet but opens up in the middle to a spicy richness alongside the grain.
Finish - Quite short, signs off with a big thud of vanilla custard
They certainly have taken a very pro- bourbon approach to this one!


There seemed to be a 50/50 split in opinion between the Small Batch and Gold Reserves with some preferring the bolder Select compared to the lighter more delicate bourbon styled Gold. These bottlings offer more than the standard Jameson product and you can really tell the difference in quality and change of style.


Green Spot - 40%

Our first single pot still of the night. Green Spot has become very popular in recent years.
Green spot is named after the method of painting spots of different colours onto barrels of whisky to identify them.

It is one of the only remaining bonded Irish whiskeys, and is currently the only brand specifically produced for and sold by an independent wine merchant in Ireland - Mitchell & Son. Only 1200 bottles are produced annually (approx).

Nose - Crisp green apple, spanish heather honey, chopcolate sponge and menthol!
Palate- Cleaner and crisper than you might expect from the nose. Predominantly honey here with lovely balance and mouthfeel.

 Finish- A gentle exit with hints of the honey and menthol from the palate alongside cinder toffee.

Redbreast 12 - 40%

Onto the final whiskey of the evening. Redbreast 12 is possibly one of if not the most reknowned Irish single pot still whiskies in the world.

This little beauty comes in both the standard 40% and cask strength (57%) expressions. We sampled the 40% on the night.

A nice touch is thast the bottle is actually formed to represent an irish pot still!

Nose - Very rich compared to an irish blend. There seems to be an oily feel to it even on the nose with citrus fruits, caramel and warm corn on the cob with salt butter.

Palate - The palate is quite deceptive, the delivery is delicate, stroking the tongue with a marzipan/ almond paste quality. the mouthfeel is oily but thinner than you might expect. More citrus now, seville oranges, a slight tickle of sherry and warm cheesecake base

Finish - The light oily texture adds to this whiskey's charm as a wave of cream decends carrying delightful small boats full of ginger crystals and ground hazelnut.

I can safely say Stephen brought along a fantastic array of Whiskies and really highlighted the differences between Irish and other world whiskies that in turn put the spotlight on Irish Whiskey's charm. Pot still character is a phrase that can often be found in whisky blogs and books alike but you can really appreciate what that means here with some of these fine drams.

Overall a fantastic night and many thanks to Stephen for doing a great job in showcasing such a fantastic range.

Check out Stephen on Twitter @CarberryStephen

Old & Rare

April was a very special month for the club that saw us meet for the 4th time for this was the night that we held our first 'Old & Rare' night showcasing a selection of rarer and more.. unsual bottlings.

We welcomed 2 of our newest members into our midst on this evening which was a nice addition to the night.





The night's lineup

 So, after everyone got settled in we kicked off with dram 1

Glen Keith 16yo 1996 - Gordon MacPhail - 46%

First up was the Glen keith 16yo bottled by indy bottler Gordon MacPhail. Glen Keith is in ownership of Chivas bros of Regal fame. The Speyside distillery is currently mothballed and has been since 1999.

Andy's Tasting notes were:.

Nose: Slight creaminess, malt,  hazelnuts and dried cranberries, all spice, oak and lemon sherbet.

Palate: An instant tang similar to a sour green apple, sugared pastry, nutmeg and cream again. Quite a waxy mouth feel.

Finish: Relatively long with lots of the aforementioned cream that seems to have covered my tongue! Sticking plasters, quite a dry tail.

Ok so an interesting introduction to the range of whiskies above which was received with a consensual 'Meh'

Next up, another Speysider

Linkwood 24yo 1985 - Mackillop's Choice - 43%

Mackillop's aren't a bottler that you would normally associate with independent whisky releases however they apparently take a vintner's approach to hand selecting the casks they bottle. In this case a 24 year old from Speyside distillery linkwood. Adding to the rare factor, turns out we'd purchased bottle 001!

Nose: Oodles of caramel, boiled sweets, straberry jam, black pepper and citrus fruits

Palate: Initially more black pepper, then moves on to grapefruit, caramel, a slight hint of cocoa powder and vanilla.

Finish: Quite short but during the brief foray there are more citrus fruits that are well balanced alongside a touch of oak and custard keeping them in check.

I can see how this might have been selected in a very wine-like manner especially with the degree of complexity and delicate citrus aromas.

Littlemill 27yo 1985 - Cooper's Choice - 46%

Next up is our first bottling from a now defunct distillery. In this case the late Lowland distillery Littlemill. Littlemill was demolished in 1994 after having a bit of a turbulent history including a fire in 1989. Littlemill took its water from above the highland line despite it being a Lowland whisky. The stocks of Littlemill are yet to run dry so there should be plenty more independent bottlings coming up over the next few years.

Nose: Peppermint tea, vanilla, almond paste, then fresh candy floss with a delicate vanilla and floral note.

Palate: Sharp at first with green fruit and a very new make spirit element despite its 27 years. Sprightly if you will. Then mellows out after time in the mouth to baked apple and cinnamon bread, banana, and toasted granary bread.

Finish: The finish is of medium length but initially quite bitter. However, there are then spiced orange and mulled wine notes with charred oak and caramel that round off a lovely experience.

The Littlemill went down quite well with some giving this their 'Dram of the night'

Chinese Government/Teaching Issue Baijiu - 52%

The glittery label and plastic display case draws you in....

Ok.. now this is where it all gets a bit interesting/hazy. Fellow club member David (who I've since removed from my Christmas card list) brought us a very rare bottle of Chinese Baijiu to try. This particular bottle is rather rare as David says that you can only get hold of this in China and you must be involved in some way with the Chinese Government or teaching....

 

To give you an idea of what this stuff was like I've included a snippet of my original tasting notes from that night below:

Nose: Inexplicably like a vodka & redbull with an intense sour sweetness

Palate: Grim

Finish: No finish of sorts but felt several teeth melting

And the face of evil who supplied this spirit of unquestionable quality:

David knew what we were in for...

After tasting this Baijiu I'm not sure if that bodes well for the future of Chinese global relations or whether this is a testament to the hardship of being part of the Chinese education system.. If you come across this stuff on your travels, then we at The Manchester Whisky Club wish you good luck.

Tormore 28yo 1984 - Master of Malt/Whisky Broker - 60.2%

With everyone now back to normal after reeling from the experience that was the Baijiu we returned to normality. Thankfully this came in the shape of a bourbon matured 28yr old Tormore that was literally a sight for sore eyes. Tormore is one of the lesser well known Speysiders with a majority of its malt contributing to blends including the well loved Ballantine's range.

Nose: Dried herbs, mint leaves, bourbon vanilla extract, thyme and aromatic warmed fruits including brandied pears.

Palate: More fruit from the nose with an immediate transition to a more woodied tang that leaves you with a warm feeling inside, think reading Sherlock Holmes infront of an open fire on a trsuty old leather wingback chair with rain pattering on the windows. Ahem, anyway, back to reality now

with notes of heavy vanilla and blackcurrant fruit pastille alongside a deft touch of plumb crumble.

Finish: Long and silky, notes of Eton Mess and some festive spices. Delicious

This Tormore was a delight to behold. Get one quick before it's too late at an irresistable £99.95 from www.masterofmalt.com

Talisker 21yo 1986 - Gordon Macphails Secret Still Range 1.2 - 45%

We finished off the tasting with a rather special independent Talisker release. This is part of Gordon & MacPhail's 'Secret Still' range where they bottle whiskies from various distilleries without hinting at their origin. However since there is only 1 active distillery on the Isle of Skye, this 'Skye' release oalso known as 1.2 could mean only one thing!

Nose: Sweet and rich nose with a more refined background to Talisker's standard offerings. Tinned peaches, honeycombe ice cream and masses of sherry character and barley. In the midst of these wonderful notes comes the trademark peat and almost savoury like smoke.

Palate: The sherry from the nose reins supreme here alongside charred wood like that from a fire bucket in summer, a fresh and cleansing sea salt note comes through followed by salted caramel.

Finish: The smoke slowly fades with more toffee and apricot preserve ending in a well rounded delicate wooded note.

Overall a lovely whisky and a fantastic showing of what this Diageo distillery can be capable of. The mouthfeel was surprisingly thin but this still offered a lot of depth and flavour.

In some cases I think some of the line up went to show that just becasue a whisky is older or more expensive then it doesn't necessarily make it taste better than a younger or cheaper bottling or offer a more well rounded experience. However there were a few corkers with the Tormore and Talisker going down particularly well closely followed by the Littlemill.

In the case of the Baijiu this certainly puts credit to the phrase 'all that glitters is not gold'

'Battle of the Blends' - Round 1

The most recent meeting of the MWC saw us focusing on blended whiskies.

Blends are often overlooked and seen by some as being inferior to single malts. So we went out of our way to showcase some of the best and most unique blends on the market.

Part of the nights lineup

Over all we had 7 whiskies in the lineup as we had 2 bonus bottles this month kindly provided by member Dave Marsland who brought along a bottle of Monkey Shoulder and Chivas Regal 12.

Monkey Shoulder 40%

So first off we cracked open the Monkey Shoulder which is a blended malt whisky from famous blenders William Grant. Composed of 3 Speyside single malts and bottled at 40%, Monkey Shoulder is often seen as a great introduction to whisky.

Andy's tasting notes were -

Nose -Boiled Sweets, caramel in the pan, slight malt and Butterkist popcorn

Palate - Sweet again, a bit of treacle toffee, plums

Finish - Quite short, flourish of malt with a bitter tail.

You can see why this is such a good introductory whisky due to its simplicity and sweetness. I always have a bottle at home for cocktails too.

Chival Regal 12 - 40%

Next up is the Chivas regal 12. An immensely popular whisky in the States and Asia. The Chivas bros owned a grocery shop in Aberdeen in 1801 and started to blend their own whisky. Chivas was said to be the preferred tipple of both Jim Morrison and Frank Sinatra. Groovy.

Andy's tasting notes were -

Nose - Short toffee, the club thought I was mental but I also got plastic carrier bags, sawdust and salt

Palate - Flat, white pepper, thin fruit syrup from the end of a fruit tin, extremely smooth.

Finish - Very short with the only noticeable flavour being a tart metallic tang

A bit underwhelming I think but you can see why it is popular in the US and Asian markets due to the light sweetness and smoothness.

The tasting gets underway!

The Tweeddale Blend 12 yo Batch #2 - 46% NCF

The Tweeddale blend produced by Alisdair Day is a 50/50 Grain/Malt split. Originally produced by his great grandfather back in the 1800's the Tweeddale 12 sticks to the same recipe as it did almost 200 years ago. There are 9 whiskies in the blend and all whiskies contained are drawn from single casks making each batch unique. Out of the 9, only 1 is a grain whisky with 8 malts following.

Andy's tasting notes were -

Nose - Very light and delicate, similar to the Bladnoch we had in January. Vanilla fudge, pear drops and cinnamon with the slightest hint of dried herbs.

Palate - Such power from nowhere! A sudden ensemble of Spice, black pepper, lemon sherbet, peanut brittle and baked apples.

Finish - A long lingering finish of toffee, brandy snaps and Jamaican ginger cake.

Overall a lovely blended whisky that really sneaks up on you! The nose is so delicate and almost floral and then the palate contains so much complexity and spice! If Alisdair keeps this up I think you'll be hearing a lot more about the Tweeddale brand over the next few years!

Black Bull 12 yo - 50% NCF

Black Bull 12 is part of indie bottler Duncan Taylor's famous blended range. First produced in 1933, Duncan Taylor took over production in 2001 and continued to win accolade's with their high quality range. The 12 has a few older brothers in the 30yo and 40yo, who knows, one day we might be able to try them too!

Another 50/50 grain/malt blended scotch Black Bull 12 yo has been kept to a whopping 50% which is fantastic to see in any arena of whisky let alone blends where 40% is sadly common place. 

Andy's tasting notes were:

Nose -  Red grape, Brasil nuts, Dark chocolate, sherry, vanilla and apple pie filling.

Palate - Surprisingly mellow and delicate on the palate, treacle toffee, vanilla pods and more apple

Finish - Heavier fruits now, vanilla and distinct creaminess.

A great offering from Duncan Taylor here with a lot of depth of character thanks to that whopping 50%

Compass Box Spice Tree - 46% NCF

Compass Box are a renowned and boutique blending company who offer consistently high quality and award winning products. Spice Tree is no different. It's not all been plain sailing for the Spice Tree. It was banned from production in 2005 by the SWA as they didn't appreciate Compass Box's practice of adding high quality toasted french oak staves to the cask that gave Spice Tree its unique flavour.

Compass box eventually compromised by using the same oak as cask heads instead. Spice tree is a Blended  Malt whisky as opposed to a grain/malt blend and is made up of only Highland Malt whisky including a big dollop of Clynelish.

Andy's tasting notes were:

Nose -  Ginger, cinnamon, clove and vanilla, deep.

Palate - Well rounded, very full and rich, brandy snaps, caramac, nutmeg, more vanilla, rainbow peppercorns.

  Finish - Warm Biscuits, cocoa and raisins.

One of my personal favourites, you can feel the love and attention that goes into every bottle. These bottling's become a signature of the true quality that John Glaser and the team are producing.

Sheep Dip Amaroso Olorosso - 41.8%

Every so often you come across a whisky that is so unique you can't help but buy a bottle. The Sheep Dip Amaroso Olorosso is one of these. Originally blended and matured in Scotland for 3 years in a Bourbon cask, the whisky was then sent over to the Sherry capital of Spain, Jerez where it was transferred into a Spanish sherry cask and warehoused  there.

9 Years passed as the Spanish company warehousing the whisky went bust and left it there! Once the company was bought out the new company discovered the barrel and contacted the Spencerfield Spirit co ( a subsidiary of Whyte & Mackay) who retrieved the cask. Since this whisky spent the majority of its life maturing outside Scotland it can no longer be referred to as Scotch Whisky.

Andy's tasting notes were:

Nose -  Holy cow! So much chocolate here! Dairy milk, coco pops with warm milk, buttered popcorn, vanilla frosting and almond.

Palate - Nesquick milkshake, chocolate digestive, baked apple, vanilla cream, raisins, 

Finish - There it is! The sherry tail alongside warm porridge and lovely warm banana bread.

Such a unique whisky, a few exclamations of surprise went round the room when this was being tasted. If only this was in constant production, worth owning just for the novelty!

Feárr Cuideachd - 40% whiskyblender.com

Feárr Cuideachd was the bespoke club blend that I made on Whisky Blenders website.

I used all 7 whiskies on the site including 2 grains and 5 malts in the following amounts. BURNT PUDDIN'

100ml, SMOKE ON THE WATER 50ml, TOUCH OF SPICE 140ml, SOFT & FRUITY 80ml, COCOA-NUTS 110ml, VANILLA FUDGE 120ml, TASTE OF THE SEA 100ml

Nose -  Initial fruit nose including Greengage and apple, followed by toffee, spice and granola.

Palate - Spice, a sea air freshness cutting through and a pleasant buttercup syrup-like overlay. Nice mouthfeel

Finish - A long and lingering finish, a bit more spice here and the 50ml of peat finally makes it appearance with a soft and warming glow.

Personally I'm pretty chuffed with how well this came out, it's not easy blending blind so to speak. I've since transferred the remainder to a smaller bottle and we will revisit in a few months once it has had more time to marry together. I think this will go from strength to strength.

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Overall I think we had some great blends on offer, from the entry level Monkey Shoulder to the higher-end and small batch blends such as the Tweeddale & Spice Tree. Personally my favourite was the Tweeddale which has a lot going on and shows the true quality of the ingredients within.

Have you had a good blend experience recently? Is one of your favourite drams a blended whisky? Let us know in the comments!

Many thanks do Dave Marsland of Drinks Enthusiast for a selection of the photographs.