#MiniTasting - Blind Comparison #2

Blind Comparison #2 - the #MiniTasting gang take on 3 blind drams for our 10th #MiniTasting.

John had send 3 drams for us to try as our 10th #MiniTasting along with a tasting mat to record our notes, so what did we think?

Dram		BC1	BC2	BC3
Appearance		Photo: John
		Light gold in the glass, swirls leave a thin line which beads up slowly and falls as slow thin legs.....	Pale almost white wine colour, swirls leave a thin line hanging on to the sides of the glass, very slow legs develop.	Another pale white wine coloured dram, gravity defying swirls. Thin slow legs after a while.
Nose	Brian	Floral, heathery, lots of stewed apples, pears and some hints of tropical fruit. The ABV on this one is obviously high, it's attaching the nasal hair! A little time in the glass is revealing more sweet fruit notes - dried pineapple. As Scott suggested there's a dryness too - icing sugar.	Huge peat smoke! I'm in heaven! It's a huge smokey bacon note on this one, not much room for anything else. Not medicinal or heathery just plain peat smoke. A little while in the glass, a few swirls and maybe, just maybe a hint of some seaweed? Yummy!	Again huge peat smoke! Maybe hints of medicinal peat this time? There's a little seaweed too. This was isn't as peaty as BC2, a lower PPM and a little more maritime influence. Further east than the previous one maybe hoping across to the mainland?
	Paul	Warm dough, some boiled sweets, a bit of apple but not lots, quite sweet and floral.....I have a theory already! Probably a wrong one	Peat of course, but not ashy strong peat. But the peat that is there is quite strong, like a sharp peat hit! Still some fruity spirit in there and a slight bit of sweetness. Oaky	It's a similar type of peat, but more malty. Slight burnt pastry apple pie. Burnt hay type of peat, not getting anything seaside from it
	Scott	Dusty, grimy and oily but with a icing sugar sweetness too. Wee hint of limes. Very well rounded. Liking this	Smoke, feinty, sea spray and ozone, wet rocks and sand. Seaside dram	Smoke, like burning grass with some of those werther originals flung on for added sweetness
Palate	Brian	Thick syrupy arrival, huge ABV kick, loads of dried pineapple and icing sugar sweetness, instantly drying. The spice dominates on this one, ginger or chilli notes. Maybe a drop of water will open it up a little? With water the nose reveals more of the heathery floral notes. the palate offers much more sweetness and reduces the spice - a much nicer dram with the water.	Smoky water initially, a slight sweet edge then more smoke. Not as thick or as strong as I was expecting..... A few more sips reveals fruit notes - apples, pears, peaches. Not strong but hiding there underneath the blanket of smoke.	Surprising : a nice balance of fruit, spice and smoke - not at all what I was expecting. Getting the burnt grass note, bonfire on the beach stuff and a a little tropical fruit. A strange little dram.... but yummy!
	Paul	Big abv, Lots of fruits, oranges, pear, apple, citrus and nice and sweet. Sherbet sweet. Little bit of chilli and black pepper as it goes down. Very tasty	Layer of smoke, moving to frazzles. Salty sea spray. Tiny tiny bit of green fruit lurking around in there somewhere.	Lots of smoke, burnt green fruit pie. Agree with Scott on the burnt grass and a bit of hay for me. Highest abv of the night?
	Scott	Thick, oily arrival. Dry, grassy hay, but also a sweetness like buttercream icing too. In fact it is buttery. This is a big whisky	Not as full on as BC1 in terms of alcohol hit. Thin/Medium mouthfeel. Briney smoked fish, mineral like. Not sweet or dry. In the middle. I have an idea on this but probably wrong	Yep sweet, smokey and dry. Same as the nose. Medium mouthfeel, runny honey and lemons. Cough medicine. This reminds me of something we all had a while ago
Finish	Brian	Sweet, spicy and lingering - loads of vanilla and oak notes. Yummy!	Peat PPM is high on this one!
	Paul	The fruits stay with you. Slight chilli, bit of vanilla. Creamy. Bit of milk chocolate. Lovely dram, enjoying this one.	Slightly ashy, salty, engine oil. Still getting some tiny sweet green fruit.	Sweet smoke, little bit of frazzles. Quite bitter, grapefruit. Once the smoke is gone, im sure there is some fruit in there. For not being much of a peaty person, I enjoyed that one very much.
	Scott	Bitter finish for me, grapefruit, limes, lemon mixed with a big spoonful of icing sugar. What an opener John. Top dram	More of the same as the palate, maybe slightly drier but nothing else. Long though. A winter sipper
Guess	Brian	9yo Glen Moray 59%	7yo Port Charlotte 50%	18yo Caol Ila 46%
	Paul	15yo Inchmurrin 55%	10yo Bunna 48%	12yo Glen Scotia 58%
	Scott	10yo Glen Scotia 56%	18yo Talisker 45.8%	13yo Ardmore 54%

So what were the drams?

Surprisingly they were all from Caol Ila

Photos: John

Dram		12yo (Unpeated)	1993 (23yo)Montgomerie's	2008 (9yo) Gordon & MacPhail
Characteristics		64% ABV, NCF, Natural Colour, 1st Fill Bourbon Barrels	46% ABV, NCF, Natural Colour, Single Cask #631	58.6% ABV, NCF, Natural Colour, Single Refill Bourbon Barrel
Distillery info		Nose: is fresh, then oaty, with beached dried seaweed. Palate: is rich, oily and sweet to taste, with saltiness and fresh acidity to add balance. Finish: tongue-tingling.

My final scores.....

A brilliant night of whisky tasting - John had us all completely fooled!