Feasgar Math,
Our second tasting of the year saw us attempting to show off some different ways of finishing whisky, a process where whisky which has been matured in one cask for the majority of its life is transferred to another cask, which usually has previously contained something with a stronger flavour than before, to 'finish' it, with the aim being to add another dimension to the whisky. This started off with the Grants Ale cask, which was matured in casks which formerly held Innis and Gunn beer. Next was a Glen Moray 10 year old, which while not technically a finish, had spent its life maturing in a chardonnay cask. To help prove that the wine could tasted, this was served with some white chardonnay wine as a reference. We found it rather difficult to keep the wine cold in the run up to the meeting, so it perhaps was not at its most flavoursome! The third whisky was a MacNaMara, from the blenders The Gaelic Whisky Co. based on the isle of Skye. This was a rather pleasant rum finish, with a characteristic spice, and was served with a tipple of Mount Gay rum from Barbados. The Glenfiddich 15 followed, which had matured in a Solera Vat. This is similar to a huge cask - we are talking about it holding thousands of litres at a time - and is added to regularly, resulting in some whisky remaining in the vat for longer than other additions. As the solera vat used to contain sherry, this was accompanied by an Oloroso sherry. To finish up we had a port finished GlenCadam 12 year old, with some port on the side.
I can only apologise for this post being so late, but I know that you whisky folk are an understanding bunch!
Slainte,
Scott
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Saturday, 24 September 2011
Regions Tasting 22nd September 2011
Welcome to the new WOLS blog. This is where we will keep a record of what was sampled and what occured during our tastings and events, so if for any reason your memory of events is slightly blurred (I can't possibly imagine why), then this where you will find all that lost knowledge.
We kicked the year off with our regions tasting, giving the inexperienced whisky drinker an oppourtunity to get to grips with the variety of styles and flavours whisky has to offer.
The first whisky was an Auchentoshan 12 year old, a lowland whisky which exemplified the light and floral style of the region. This was followed by an Aberfeldy 12 year old, which represented the Highlands. This is the largest and most diverse region, so one whisky cannot really represent so many distilleries. It was, however, a very popular dram, and notes of honey and its' general sweetness made it a very easy drinking whisky. Next up was the Islands, with the Arran 14 year old representing. This was a winter whisky, with the typical island spice and warmth, but without any noticeable smoke or peat. Our fourth whisky, a Speyside, was a bit of a special one - the Macallan Directors' Edition. This came without an age statement, but did the region justice with its' overtones of oak and the nutty influence of the sherry cask which Macallan is famous for. Number five was the first cask strength whisky of the night, a Springbank 12 year old Cask Strength from Campbeltown. Spicy, with a hint of salt and an oily texture, the region was well served by this whisky. Finally was our Islay whisky, the Laphroaig Quarter Cask. This had the peated edge which characterises whiskies from this particular island, but with a delicate sweetness which perhaps made it a good introduction for those who had not yet experienced the distinctive heavy smoke of peated whiskies.
We also had a small presentation from the committee and a few friends to our current president, Eimear, who turned 21 last Monday. Those who know her will be aware of her love for one specific Islay distillery, Ardbeg, and a whisky born the same year as her probably won't last long on her shelf!
That pretty much rounds up events from our first meeting of the year. Please feel free to leave plenty of comments here, and we will be uploading some photos, especially of the fantastic doodles and poems which were drawn on the tablecloths. Please keep it up, and we hope that everyone had a great night.
See you again soon!
Scott
We kicked the year off with our regions tasting, giving the inexperienced whisky drinker an oppourtunity to get to grips with the variety of styles and flavours whisky has to offer.
The first whisky was an Auchentoshan 12 year old, a lowland whisky which exemplified the light and floral style of the region. This was followed by an Aberfeldy 12 year old, which represented the Highlands. This is the largest and most diverse region, so one whisky cannot really represent so many distilleries. It was, however, a very popular dram, and notes of honey and its' general sweetness made it a very easy drinking whisky. Next up was the Islands, with the Arran 14 year old representing. This was a winter whisky, with the typical island spice and warmth, but without any noticeable smoke or peat. Our fourth whisky, a Speyside, was a bit of a special one - the Macallan Directors' Edition. This came without an age statement, but did the region justice with its' overtones of oak and the nutty influence of the sherry cask which Macallan is famous for. Number five was the first cask strength whisky of the night, a Springbank 12 year old Cask Strength from Campbeltown. Spicy, with a hint of salt and an oily texture, the region was well served by this whisky. Finally was our Islay whisky, the Laphroaig Quarter Cask. This had the peated edge which characterises whiskies from this particular island, but with a delicate sweetness which perhaps made it a good introduction for those who had not yet experienced the distinctive heavy smoke of peated whiskies.
We also had a small presentation from the committee and a few friends to our current president, Eimear, who turned 21 last Monday. Those who know her will be aware of her love for one specific Islay distillery, Ardbeg, and a whisky born the same year as her probably won't last long on her shelf!
That pretty much rounds up events from our first meeting of the year. Please feel free to leave plenty of comments here, and we will be uploading some photos, especially of the fantastic doodles and poems which were drawn on the tablecloths. Please keep it up, and we hope that everyone had a great night.
See you again soon!
Scott
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