Last week I had my first opportunity to be involved in a Tweet Tasting organised by Steve Rush of the Whisky Wire, with the theme being this year’s edition of the Drinks by the Dram Advent calendar.
The whiskies were a good mix of styles, countries of origin, the familiar and the slightly more obscure. It was a good representation of what the calendar is all about.
The five whiskies on offer were (in order of tasting):
Macallan 12 Year Old Sherry Oak (Scottish Single Malt)
Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky (South Africa Single Grain)
The Lost Distilleries Blend Batch 10 (Scottish Blended Whisky)
Mackmyra Brukswhisky (Swedish Single Malt)
Kilchoman Sanaig (Scottish Single Malt)
Without any further preamble, let’s get into the tasting notes.
Macallan 12 Year Old Sherry Oak – 40% – £70
Nose – heavily sherried, very rich with dried fruits, mostly raisins but there is some dried fig as well. Quite leathery, just manages to stay the right side of sulphury. Some freshness with red apples. Treacle with time, moving towards a date studded sticky toffee pudding. 7
Palate – a touch thin, symptomatic of the abv and presumed chill filtration. It is a proper Christmas cake whisky though, the sherry casks working hard. Orange marmalade and the leather returns alongside some ground ginger, as well as milk chocolate. 6
Finish – medium, tannic and drying. 6.5
Total Score: 19.5 / 30
There’s lots of sherry, so this whisky does what it sets out to. For the price though, there are similar and/or better whiskies that can be bought.
Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky – 40% – £30
Nose – very light, slightly solvent like initially, a trait of a few grain whiskies I’ve tried. There’s some bubble gum and, owing to the double maturation in first-fill bourbon casks, lots of vanilla. There’s just a lot of general sugary sweet shop smells. Cookie dough, coconut and banana follow, as well as raw pastry and freshly sawn sandalwood. 7.5
Palate – really sweet on the palate too, white chocolate, dolly mixtures and milk bottle sweets. The oak influence is there but never quite strong enough to dominate the other flavours, it’s well balanced. A touch of cinnamon into the finish. 7.5
Finish – a touch short, but a welcome bitterness with grapefruit counteracts the inherent sweetness. 6
This single grain is almost a Scotch single grain/bourbon hybrid that delivers great sweet flavours. My pick of the evening.
The Lost Distilleries Blend Batch 10 – 51% – £350
Nose – initially quite odd. Green apples and some vanilla suggesting a healthy helping of grain whisky in the mix. There is also a little earthy peat and some butter, but that was about it for traditional whisky notes. I also encountered stilton, green olives and chlorine. The nose become sweeter with time, the grain certainly coming through strongly. 5
Palate – powerful arrival, lots of alcohol. The flavours are kept light with sandalwood as well as plenty of pepper spice. There’s some salt too and I come back to green olives again, marinated in chilli oil. 3
Finish – really strong salt and pepper, remarkably savoury. 3
Total Score: 11 / 30
A whisky that really wasn’t to my tastes, it was just too savoury. Quite similar to a single cask Ardbeg I tried at the distillery. The cost is due to the finite nature of the liquid, but is that enough reason to warrant vatting it all together?
I seemed to be in the minority with my dislike on the night. A clear reminder of the differences between individual palates and to never take one person’s opinion as gospel.
Mackmyra Brukswhisky – 41.4% – £43
Nose – very fresh and light. There’s eucalyptus, as well as lemon and line. Certainly elderflower wine, you can almost smell the fizz. Slightly hoppy too. 6.5
Palate – still very floral, more elderflower here too. Mulled wine, as well as menthol cough drops. Unripe bananas and Olbas oil. 6.5
Finish – medium, a little spirity but still holds the dominant flavours of elderflower and is nicely mouth coating. 6.5
Total Score: 19.5 / 30
An exceedingly fresh and floral whisky, though there is an almost medicinal vibe to things throughout, just not in any way like Islay whiskies. Quite individual, which should always be applauded.
Kilchoman Sanaig – 46% – £53
Nose – starts off a little dirty, a sure sign for me of peated spirit meeting sherry casks. Smokey raisins, as well as lighter notes of vanilla and pear. Grilled pineapple too. Coastal, some salt and a little oily. Still some youth, but it works well and adds freshness. 6.5
Palate – the peat romps steadily into view now, it just keeps coming like a great dane charging over the beach, all the way until it jumps up and is licking your face. Like that, but its peat, thick and dirty. Things then switch to a medicinal style, all TCP and iodine. Some chilli heat, coastal salt and dark chocolate. 6
Finish – peat, medicinal and chocolatey. 6
Total Score: 18.5 / 30
Another solid and youthful release from Kilchoman. The balance between youthful spirit heavy with peat and cask influence is particularly enjoyable.
It was a great evening for my first Tweet Tasting. Getting people’s opinions in real time allows for a direct comparison to your own and more flavours can be discovered this way. If nothing else, it’s a lot of fun. Thanks to Steve and Drinks by the Dram for organising everything, let’s do it again soon!
Peak Whisky 