#BTC38 #BlindDrams Tasting Notes

These are my tasting notes and results from the Blind Tasting Consortium's 38th #BlindDrams evening.

These drams were picked by Andrew @PadWhisky

His theme was Wee Beasties - all the drams were 5yo

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

Dram 1

Appearance: very pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a hairline crack in the glass, bead up slowly and take an age to fall as slow thin legs.

Nose: loads of orchard fruit to start: apples, pears, apricots. Some honey and vanilla before a giny / new maky note - a young dram? There's some dried seaweed, lemon zest and a hint of some spice to come.

Palate: thick sweet arrival. All of the orchard fruit from the nose are back, the honey is a little sweeter & then a dry salted lemon note. All moisture stripped from the mouth. Ginger spice and a little rum & raisin ice cream lingers as the liquid disappears.

Finish: sweet and salty, a little dry citrus and a bite of ginger spice.

Nice enough - scores a 3 from me.

Dram 2

Appearance: dark gold in the glass, almost bronze. Swirls clings as a thin line in the glass, forms small beads and fall as slow thin oily legs.

Nose: sherry bomb notes without the dunnage funk: dried fruit, cherries, dates, figs. Toffee Pennies, Chewing Nuts and toffee apple notes. There's a little treacle, dark chocolate and stewed apple. Yummy!

Palate: thick sweet arrival. Berries and cherries, balsamic vinegar drizzled strawberries, very dry - red wine finish?  There's some marzipan and chewy toffee notes here too - a gentle peppery spice to end.

Finish: dry lingering spice, salinity, liquorice and bitter dark chocolate. Some berry notes.

A solid 3 from me here!

Dram 3

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

Nose: a little dunnage funk, dry sawdust and dried fruit and plums. A little Christmas spices note. Blueberry jam, sweet orange zest and some milk chocolate. There's a little dried pineapple in icing sugar note to finish.

Palate: a little thin maybe? The ABV has come down a bit. This is full on sherry notes: dried fruit, cherries, dark chocolate & sweet blueberry jam. There's marzipan, a little salinity & some Cranachan. A little dry spice to finish. This is YUMMY!

Finish: lingering berries, dry spice and orange juice. Yummy dram - a 4 from me!

Dram 4

Appearance: light gold in the glass, swirls cling as a hairline crack in the glass, take an age to bead up, forming and inverted crown and eventually fall as slow thin legs.

Nose: smokin! Gentle heathery peat smoke, no real salinity - so I'm thinking Highlands? Tropical fruit notes of pineapple, kiwi and mango - maybe a little banana? There's a lovely browning apple note - almost cider-y here too.

Palate: thick sweet arrival - loads of tropical fruit and spice. This is a little dirty - rubber, fresh tarmac - Mull rather than Highlands. A little salinity that wasn't on the nose, a little citrus. The liquid disappears and then the smoke comes back - Yummy!

Finish: salted lemons, tropical fruit and smoke. Lovely dram, a 4 from me! Caol Ila maybe but possibly Ledaig?

Dram 5

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

Nose: more dirty smoke - this time tuned up to 11. Burnt rubber, fresh tarmac, engine oil - defiantly Ledaig territory here! There's some tropical fruit hints trying to get out but they don't have a chance! Meatloaf would have loved this dram!

Palate: thick sweet arrival - a little salinity, engine oil, rubber, fresh tarmac, ashy smoke - Ledaig funk! There's an interesting berry note and some dry tannins here - wine cask finish? This is like the Sinclair Rioja on steroids.

Finish: dry and spicy with red wine tannins, berries and a ginger spice. Good but not as good as #4, a 3 from me.

The drams were:

Dram 1 was Kingsbarns 5yo Single Cask #1712007

Dram 2 was Dalmunach 2017 5yo [FiB Whisky] (PX)

Dram 3 was Starward 2006 5yo Single Cask #1870 (Wine)

Dram 4 was Islay Blended Malt 5yo Dun Dearg [Chorlton Whisky]

Dram 5 was Caol Ila 2018 5yo [Murray McDavid] (Madeira)

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!