#TBWCturns5 (with a little help from some older toddlers)

At my age it's not very often you get invited to a 5 year old's birthday party, and it was with some reluctance that I accepted the invitation from @BoutiqueyDave, and as expected there was jelly and ice cream all over the walls, cake stamped into the carpet and lots of excited children running around like... well like 5 year olds and this was just the DM before the party!

Of course this was no regular 5 year old's party - this was That Boutiquey Whisky Company's 5th birthday and 20 of us 'older toddlers' were invited to a Twitter Tasting Party!

After the usual issues that this kind of thing causes the Post Office in this country - my parcel arrived 5 days late, on the day before the party.

Inside were 5 marvellous drams spanning the five years the company has been bottling and selling their wares.

So at well past all of our collective bedtimes, well 7.30pm, we all gathered to sample them!

As usual with TBWC, all the labels were created by Emily!

First up was a whisky not much older than those of us at the party - Speyburn 7yo Batch 1

Whisky : Speyburn 7yo Batch 1. 49.5% ABV. 233 bottles
Nose : Vanilla, honey, pear drops.
Palate : Warming spicy mouth feel with a big kick from the alcohol.
Finish : Long and spicy with a hint of digestive biscuit.
Overall : Although quite a young dram it had pretensions to be older - like the rest of us at the party! We were a little disappointed that the fish pictured on the label didn't appear in the taste!

Other toddler's thoughts:

Second up was the 'secret' Irish Single Malt 14yo  Batch 1

Whisky : Irish Single Malt 14yo Batch 1. 48.6% ABV. 357 bottles
Nose : Airfix glue, red apples and oak (the glue disappeared after a while).
Palate : Sweetness, chocolate covered in sprinkles of dark brown sugar.
Finish : Drying with chocolate overtones.
Overall : A rather pleasant dram after getting past the initial glue on the nose! There were a few guesses at the 'secret' distillery but most of us settled on Bushmills.

Other toddler's thoughts:

 

Third of the evening was the Blended Scotch Whisky #3 Batch 1

Whisky : Blended Scotch Whisky #3 23yo Batch 1. 48.2% ABV. 463 bottles
Nose : Charcoal in a bag, salted caramel, chocolate orange.
Palate : Smooth creamy vanilla with some spice.
Finish : Long and smokey - some Islay influence?
Overall : I was really interested in this one as I've bought a bottle of the #1 Batch 5 Fifty year old for my 50th birthday next year. If it's anything like this one it won't disappoint! Beautiful on the nose and palate and I loved the long smokey finish. The chrome bar stretching into infinity is to show the long finish!

Other toddler's thoughts:

Fourth of the evening was the Invergordon 43yo Batch 11 Single Grain

Whisky : Invergordon Single Grain 43yo Batch 11. 48.2% ABV. 186 bottles
Nose : Toasted coconut then some red fruit : strawberries or raspberries - just like a good Manchester Tart.
Palate : Smooth as silk - maple pecan slice with a little sprinkling of the toasted coconut.
Finish : Long toasted coconut finish.
Overall : WOW - this was a surprise right from the beginning - an absolutely wonderful nose, sublime on the palate and an infinitely long finish - longer than the Blended. This one blew me, and most of the rest of us, away it was absolutely wonderful. Easily the best of the night and probably one of my top 3 of the year. And it was a grain whisky! I've written previously about grain whiskies and about the Douglas Laing Strathclyde 25yo I tried at @MaltmanMike's #GBMM2017 which was also excellent and completely changed my view of grain whisky! If you can find a bottle of this Invergordon buy it immediately (and split it with me!)

Other toddler's thoughts:

The final dram of the evening had a lot to live up to - it was the Macallan 29yo Batch 6

Whisky : Macallan 29yo Batch 6. 43.5% ABV. 293 bottles
Nose : Rich strawberry jam, sherry developing into plum sauce.
Palate : Dry, sherry tones, hint of sweetness
Finish : Long smooth coffee / chocolate finish.
Overall : To be honest I was disappointed with this one, maybe from being spoilt rotten by the Invergordon Grain (but isn't that what birthday parties are all about!). It just didn't live up to expectations, yes it was complex, yes it was from Macallan but ultimately it disappointed.

Other toddler's thoughts:

Huge thanks to Dave for guiding us (and helping to get my parcel here on time!), TBWC for supplying the drams and all my fellow party goers for a fantastic evening! Here's to the 10th Birthday Bash!