Side by side : Under the radar : two indie Braeval

Braeval Distillery is very under the radar, a workhorse producing blending stock for Chivas Brothers.

There are no distillery bottlings but indie releases are fairly easy to get hold of.

Side by side: Two from Skene

A pair of drams from the same indie bottler arrived via a blind sample swap.

@SkeneWhisky isn't a name I'd heard of before - let's see what their whisky is like!

#MiniTasting - SWMS #2

The #MiniTasting gang have a second night of SMWS drams, this time two Speysiders and a peated Highlander.

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 ?