As usual the Post Office were under performing and my samples arrived just in time, some of the other tasters didn't get their's...... Note to distilleries : send them out with plenty of time to take into account our overworked Post Office!
Tonight's drams were two whiskies which are to be released later this month - the Triple Distilled and the red wine cask finished Chateau Cissac. Now I'm a big fan of Benromach so I added my Sassicaia into the mix as an extra comparison!
So first up was the Triple Distilled, the first of it's kind by Benromach and limited to just under 16,000 bottles.
Characteristics : 700ml, 50% ABV. Not Coloured, NCF
Distillery's info : "Light straw coloured malt, matured in First Fill Bourbon casks, tripe distilled the first of it's kind for Benromach"
Price : £45
Colour : Pale Gold
Nose : Pears and marzipan with a little smoke initially then developed with a little lemon and some ginger spice.
Palate : Smooth, slightly oily vanilla butter. A hint of smoke and a little kick from the alcohol but not as much as you'd expect.
Finish : Quite long, drying and spicy with a little smoke.
Overall : A really lovely dram, easily the best of the two Benromach send tonight! It had just the right balance of smoke and vanilla from the first fill casks.
Some thoughts from some of the other TweetTasters:
Next up was the 2009 vintage of the popular Chateau Cissac wine finish whisky limited to 4,200 bottles.
Whisky : Chateau Cissac
Characteristics : 700ml, 45% ABV. Not Coloured, NCF
Distillery's info : "Matured in First Fill Bourbon casks and finished for 25 months in hand-selected casks from the illustrious Chateau Cissac within the Appellation Haut-Medoc Controlee in South-Western France."
Price : £40
Colour : Gold
Nose : Winey, smoke - smoked cheese (Applewood or Bavarian)
Palate : Smooth and oily again but with the alcohol kick missing from the Triple. Red fruit in a bowl of porridge (but it needed some sugar - there was no real sweetness). A little more smoke than the Triple.
Finish : Again drying and lip tingling - showing the strength mor ethan the Triple did.
Overall : This one was OK, I tried it side by side with my bottle of Sassicaia - another of Benromach's Red Wine Finished drams - but from Italy this time; there was no comparison - the Sassicaia was in a different league - more fruity and balancing the smoke a lot better.
Some thoughts from some of the other TweetTasters:
Many thanks to Benromach for the drams and Steve for organising, his 110th Tweet Tasting, and to everyone who joined in a really enjoyable evening!
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