#BTC23 #BlindDrams Tasting Notes

These are my tasting notes from the Blind Tasting Consortium's 23rd #BlindDrams evening.

These drams were picked by Duncan @socialdrammer

His theme was Imposter!

So as usual the other 27 of us worked our way through the 5 blind drams, sharing our thoughts and giving a score out of 5 before they were all revealed at the end.

Dram 1

Appearance: dark gold almost bronze in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, forms small beads which fall as slow thin legs.

Nose: orchard fruit, toffee, a little salinity. ABV is quite high on this one - tickling the nasal hair. There's some dried fruit, figs and dates but not a sherry bomb. Getting some bourbon or rye types notes on this one now, some spice notes too - cinnamon, nutmeg. Can't wait to dive in!

Palate: WOW - thick spicy arrival, loads of cinnamon and chilli spice - salted caramel, dried fruit, aniseed, balsamic vinegar. Got to be a bourbon? With water the sweetness comes through but so does more spice and salinity. The ABV needs taming on this one!

Finish: Lingering spice toffee and a little dry salinity. Not one for me I'm afraid

Dram 2

Appearance: mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin beaded line and take an age to fall as slow thin legs.

Nose: a little closed this one, some stewed orchard fruit, toffee, a little dried fruit and a bite of peppery spice. Fruit turning a little tropical now, honey, brown sugar and some pine needles.

Palate: thick spicy arrival, lots of chewy toffee, stale gingerbread person, prickly peppery spice and a bite of lime zest.

Finish: Lingering spiced toffee, dried pineapple and oak. Lovely this one!

Dram 3

Appearance: mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up slowly and fall as slow thin oily legs.

Nose: again quite closed, very woody,  orange zest, brown sugar and salted caramel.

Palate: Very dry to start, toffee, black treacle, coke, coffee, but then opens up with some tropical fruit and citrus zest. Interesting!

Finish: medium length black treacle, dry spice and brown sugar. Nice enough

Dram 4

Appearance: mid gold with a hint of pink? Swirls clings as hairline crack, slowly form small beads which fall as slow thin legs.

Nose: Musty dunnage warehouse, old leather jacket, cigar smoke,  dried fruit, blueberry jam. A little butterscotch and a hint of orange juice.

Palate: thick, slightly sweet arrival, immediately drying - wine or port cask maturation? Loads of spice, gingerbread, nuts and dark chocolate.

Finish: Lingering peppery spice, dry oak and some berries. It good, but not great

Dram 5

Appearance: mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, beads form an inverted crown and eventually fall as slow thick oily legs.

Nose: Ashy BBQ smoke, dried seaweed, petrol, tarmac, rubber gloves. Firmly in Ledaig territory here. There's a little stewed orchard fruit and hints of lemon zest, Yummy!

Palate: ABV hits you straight away, some sweetness, some sourness, lots of spice, lots of smoke. Black treacle, grapefruit, white pepper, BBQ burnt ends.

Finish: lingering dry treacle, BBQ meats and sour citrus - Yummy! Winner on the night for me!

The drams were:

Dram 1 was a Tomatin Distillery Exclusive Virgin Oak Cask @ 61.8% ABV

Dram 2 was a Glenlivet Distillery Exclusive Batch NAS (£40!!!) @ 61.4% ABV

Dram 3 was a Glen Moray 2006 15yo Single Cask #6008523 (Madeira) @ 53.9% ABV

Dram 4 was a Glenallachie 2012 9yo Single Cask #804369 (Red wine) @ 60.06% ABV

Dram 5 was a Glen Moray 2010 Single Cask #99916 (Peated PX) @ 55.9% ABV

The overall scores from our 28 members were:

More information about the Blind Tasting Consortium and the scores for all of our tastings can be found here!