These are my tasting notes from the Blind Tasting Consortium's 31st #BlindDrams evening.
His theme was The Worm That Turned, picking whiskies from distilleries which use worm tubs!
Dram 1
Appearance: pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, take an age to bead up and eventually fall as slow thin legs.
Nose: stewed orchard fruit: apples, pears; vanilla, some shortbread and a hint of spice to come.
Palate: thick sweet arrival, a little salinity and a big bite of gingery spice. The orchard fruit from the nose is back with a little dry icing sugar sprinkled on top. There's a little sour grapefruit note as the liquid disappears - nice!
Finish: short sweet finish with salinity, citrus and ginger spice.
Dram 2
Appearance: dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up slowly and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose: loads of old wood - have I just stuck my head in an newly emptied cask? There's some peanut brittle, blueberry jam and sherry soaked tea loaf.
Palate: Thick spicy arrival, lots of chilli and nutmeg spice. There's some sherried dried fruit notes, damp wood, barley sugars and dry icing sugar.
Finish: long and spicy with a little more of that wood. Not doing it for me, got to be 60% but not sure where it is from.
Dram 3
Appearance: mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, bead up slowly and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose: loads of mixed fruit jam, a little smoke and some salinity. Pine needles and a floral note add some complexity. A little nutty chocolate and some BBQ steak - nice.
Palate: berries and cherries on a meringue bed sprinkled with dark chocolate and chopped nuts. There's a generous sprinkle of rock salt and peppery spice. There's a gentle smoke note blanketing everything - nice.
Finish: long dry and smoky, a little salinity and citrus.
Dram 4
Appearance: bronze in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, take a n age to bead up forming an inverted crown and eventually fall as slow thin oily legs.
Nose: straight into sherry bomb territory here: blueberry jam, black cherries, dates, figs. Some honey, brown sugar and shortbread. Yummy!
Palate: thick sweet fruity arrival, a little spice and immediately drying. Berries, cherries, figs, dates, ginger and nutmeg spice, icing sugar. There's a little salinity and some sour citrus at the end too. Nice!
Finish: long dry spicy finish: cardamom, nutmeg and chilli.
Dram 5
Appearance: dark gold with a little red tinge, swirls clings as a hairline crack in the glass, take an age to bad up and eventually fall as slow thin legs.
Nose: thick dirty meaty smoky hit - Ledaig even? There's some germolene, berries and cherries, pine needles and an interesting salted lemon note.
Palate: lovely sweet fruity arrival, the fruit and spice from the nose are back along with the salted lemon notes. The citrus is really strong on this one. The medicinal notes have gone leaving a lovely tasting dram - best so far for me!
Finish: short and spicy with citrus and a little smoke.
The drams were:
Dram 1 was Benrinnes Single Cask #303890A
Dram 2 was Craigellachie SMWS 44.156
Dram 3 was Talisker Distiller’s Edition 2011
Dram 4 was Cragganmore SMWS 37.138
Dram 5 was anCnoc (Knockdhu) 125th Anniversary Peat
The overall scores from our 28 members were:
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During the tasting Patrick also shared loads of information about Worm tubs:
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More information about the Blind Tasting Consortium and the scores for all of our tastings can be found here!
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