#BTC47 #BlindDrams Tasting Notes

These are my tasting notes and results from the Blind Tasting Consortium's 47th #BlindDrams evening.

These drams were picked by Matt @thedramble

#BTC45 #BlindDrams Tasting Notes

 These are my tasting notes and results from the Blind Tasting Consortium's 45th #BlindDrams evening.

These drams were picked by Ben @WhiskyWithMolly

Signatory Vintage 100 Proof

Signatory Vintage have been releasing a series of 100 Proof bottlings over the last 6 months or so...

Let's find out a little more.

Fisherman's Retreat Edition 13

I've written about @FishRetreat many times before, a restaurant in the Twine Valley at the edge of the Pennine Hills around 15 miles north of Manchester. They are also an Independent Bottler selling whiskies matured in wine casks.

Their latest release is a 4yo from @WhiskyBenNevis Distillery - let's see what it's like!

#BTC33 #BlindDrams Tasting Notes

 These are my tasting notes from the Blind Tasting Consortium's 33rd #BlindDrams evening.

These drams were picked by Ben @WhiskyWithMolly

Review of my whisky year - 2022

Firstly thanks to all of you who have read my blog (c147,000 up from 114,000 last year) and followed me on Twitter (c5,300 up from 3,800 last year).

This blog has been going for 6 years now and this is the 600th blog post! In that time I've reviewed over 1,620 whiskies! Let's review 2022!

Side by side: Five from Ben Nevis

The Japanese distillery in Scotland - @WhiskyBenNevis is very under the radar.

Famous for it's blends Dew of Ben Nevis and Macdonalds of Glencoe there are some single malt releases.

The Whisky Cellar @TweetTastings

@whisky_cellar chose @TheWhiskyWire to launch their 4th Batch with a @TweetTastings - those who were successful received a lovely package through the post.

Four bottles from the new range along with a a new Blend and a Single Distillery Scalasaig - let's see what the drams were like!

Side by side : Six Blended Malts

Blends and blended malts often get a bum wrap from whisky geeks but often they are as good as, if not better than, some single malts.

Blended Malts are just that a combination of single malts from different distilleries distilled from malted barley without any grain whisky. Here I try 6 different bottles.

BTC12 #BlindDrams Tasting Notes

These are my tasting notes from the Blind Tasting Consortium's 12th #BlindDrams evening.

These drams were picked by Matt @thedramble

Whisky 'machinery' - the Mash Tun

A new series looking at some of the 'machinery' used in a distillery to create whisky - this time the Mash Tun.

I've covered the basic process of creating whisky here, but I'm going to explore the machinery a little more in this series.

That Boutique-y Burns Night Tasting

That Boutique-y Whisky often run invite only tastings to showcase their latest batch releases. Often led by their brand ambassador Dave Worthington @BoutiqueyDave you are taken through some amazing whiskies and, this time, some poetry!

For Burn's Night 2021 a selection of 4 drams were showcased, accompanied by some unique poetry!

The Sipping Shed @TweetTastings

There's a new Independent bottler on the scene and Steve introduced them at his latest @TweetTastings

A plain looking box revealed an interesting use of some biodegradable packaging and four single cask bottles.

Side by side : Three TBWC Highlanders

Heading up into the Highlands for this side by side, the biggest 'whisky region' in Scotland, three drams bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company.

These three all featured in the TBWC 12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar - lets see how they compare:

Mini-review: French No.63?

Blind sample from @GregsWhiskyG

In the glass : Interesting brown coloured bottle so I had no idea of colour before I opened it. But it is quite a dark coloured dram, swirls cling to the glass and not much in the way of legs.... High ABV?

Nose: This seems quite complex - there's a little dunnage warehouse, some damp hay, maybe even a hint of smoke? After a little time in the glass there's some honey and toffee coming through too.

Palate: Lots of honey, very sweet, a little toffee. Not getting any of the smoke from the nose and not much in the way of spice. I think I'll reverse my thoughts on a high ABV - this seems to be a low 40s% ABV. From the honey notes I'd suggest a Speyside or maybe a Highlander?

Finish: A hint of spice on the finish, and again maybe some smoke? Lovely malty finish - very warming. I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest a Benromach ?