#BTC26 #BlindDrams Tasting Notes

  These are my tasting notes from the Blind Tasting Consortium's 26th #BlindDrams evening.

These drams were picked by Paul @Newckie

His theme was First Time as it was his first time picking the drams!

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

Nose: vanilla, stewed apples, buttered popcorn. There's a little peppery spice here too - a grain maybe? Some cherry notes and a little dried fruit suggest maybe some sherry?

Palate: smooth buttery arrival, dried fruit, cherries, apples & pineapple - all the fruit you can think of!

I think we are well into grain territory here! ABV isn't too high which may suggest a higher age or dilution? Popcorn, vanilla, some peppery spice - nice!

Dram 2

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

Nose: sweet toffee, maple syrup, lemon zest, rich vanilla ice cream. There's some blueberry jam hints too - more sherry? A big ABV prickle on the nose.

Palate: thick sweet arrival, cherries and berries - blueberry jam, orange zest. There's a bit bite of peppery spice on the tongue indicating a higher ABV. maple syrup, dark chocolate and some balsamic vinegar left on the tongue as the liquid disappears - YUMMY!

Dram 3

Appearance: dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as thin lines and immediately fall as fast oily legs.

Nose: pine needles, orange zest, drying paint, cinnamon, dried fruit and a hit of cloves. There's some walnuts, marzipan and a little date pudding. Yummy!

Palate: this is a weird one - very young or very old - new make / gin type notes or too long in the cask oaky notes. Thick sweet arrival: strawberries, cherries, dried fruit. There's some honey and caramel sweetness together with a little param violet rye spice. Weird!

Dram 4

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

Nose: bonfire on a beach - peat smoke, salinity, a little tropical fruit and some red berries. Peated wine cask? ABV seems higher on this one too. A little BBQ steak, banana leaves, toffee and some burnt rubber. Nice!

Palate: thin watery arrival, a little sweetness, some honey and toffee. The smoke is all but gone, the salinity dries the mouth as the liquid disappears. A little odd rye spice on this one too.

Dram 5

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

Nose: gentle peat smoke, a little heather, honey and lemon zest. There's a tropical fruit hit here too - pineapple, banana, peach. There's some rubber notes and a little BBQ fruit.

Palate: thick sweet arrival, brown sugar, gentle smoke, bitter chocolate, burnt bacon. There's a little tropical fruit, some rye spice and a some flat Coke.

The drams were:

Dram 1 was a North British 4yo Virgin Oak

Dram 2 was a Tobermory 2008 14yr Virgin Oak

Dram 3 was a Oxford Artisan Purple Grain Virgin & Moscatel

Dram 4 was a Ledaig 11yo Virgin Oak

Dram 5 was Octomore's 8.4 Virgin Oak

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!