#BTC30 #BlindDrams Tasting Notes

 These are my tasting notes from the Blind Tasting Consortium's 30th #BlindDrams evening.

These drams were picked by Mike @whiskyrover & Sam @ReviewsWhisky

Their theme was MIA, picking whiskies from distilleries never featured on #BlindDrams before!

So as usual the other 26 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 and fall as slow thin legs.

Nose: orchard fruit, cereal, citrus and honey. There's some stewed apples and pears drizzled in honey, a little shortbread, barley sugar and a bite of citrus zest.

Palate: sweet arrival, honey, golden syrup, dry icing sugar. There's some of the orchard fruit from the nose and a little of the citrus. A lot of oak - first fill bourbon aged for 10+ years. Nice ABV - around 50%?

Dram 2

Appearance: very pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a hairline crack, form small beads like an inverted crown and fall as slow thin oily legs.

Nose: back on the Speyside orchard fruit, honey and citrus here but a huge note of spice to come. Dried pineapple dusted in icing sugar, some pine cleaner and a hint of old sweet shop.

Palate: thick sweet arrival: golden syrup, honey, icing sugar. The fruit is moving more tropical: pineapple, mango, kiwi. There's some toffee apple and a lovely peppery spice as the liquid disappears!

Dram 3

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

Nose: blueberry jam, vanilla ice cream, marzipan, fresh cut grass. This is rather nice - a little sherry influence maybe? Some cinnamon hints and a little salinity.

Palate: Thick sweet arrival, tropical fruit, honey, coconut. There's some dried fruit, blueberry jam and a lovely cinnamon spice. Lovely gentle sherry finish or full maturation in a refill cask.

Dram 4

Appearance: gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, bead up and fall as slow thick legs.

Nose: back to the Speyside orchard fruit stable, a little honey and some spice - a bit closed - the ABV must be ramped up a bit. A little smoke maybe?

Palate: a little watery to start... orange marmalade, honey, icing sugar. A big bite of ginger and cinnamon spice. Some berry and cherry hints? Not ticking the boxes for me...

Dram 5

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

Nose: blue berry jam, strawberries drizzled in balsamic vinegar, black treacle. There's a little salinity, a little citrus and hints of spice to come. Nice!

Palate: thick mouth coating arrival, balsamic vinegar from the nose is back - loads of red fruit, cherries, dates and figs. Sticky Toffee Pudding! It's a sherry grenade rather than a sherry bomb.

The drams were:

Dram 1 was Dingle's Samhain 

Dram 2 was a Tormore 2010 11yo Single Cask #82801212 [DT]

Dram 3 was a Fettercairn 2009 13yo [SMWS] 94.33

Dram 4 was a Mortlach 15yo [G&M] 

Dram 5 was a Auchroisk 2007 14yo [SMWS] 95.60

 

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!