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!