Occaisionally we do what the President wants

And she wanted an Irish tasting. We gave her one on the 22nd of March. Unfortunately, I was incredibly ill and had to miss out. So no tasting notes. But here is a picture and the lineup!

Tullamore Dew
Kilbeggan
Greennore
Green Spot
Jameson 18 year old.

Affects of Age on the Spirit

In the course of one evening we manage to break a lot of society records.  In one tiny room in Teviot Row House we manged to pack in 28 whisky drinkers, 4 Balvenie Ambassadors, 2 Monkey Shoulder Ambassadors, and the oldest whisky that the society has ever tasted : 38 year old single cask, cask strength Balvenie. Needless to say, we were all doing happy whisky dances throughout the night.

Balvenie New Make 70%
Nose: pear, green fruits, red berries, sweet, grapes, meadow on a sunny day, cereal grain, bread dough, yeastings turning maltings
Taste: not entirely unpleasant

Balvenie 8 year old, 58% American Bourbon Cask
Nose: maple, vanilla, burned sugar, honey, four roses bourbon, muffins, cherries
Taste: apples, sugar, melons
Overall: Quite enjoyable, but the typical signature aspects of Balvenie were absent.

Balvenie 12 year old, 57.7% Re-fill Bourbon Cask
Nose: "smells cask strength", sugary, grassy, vanilla
Taste: honey, coffee finish "like Balvenie". Spiced honey coffee. The age "allows the spirit to talk". Pear drops also present. Needed water to fully develop
Overall: Very good. This is part of the double wood. Here we got the typical Balvenie flavors running throughout the whisky.

Sam swings the dog

Balvenie 30 year old, 49.2% American Oak
Nose: apple, plums, honey, pears and other dark fruits
Taste: Parmaviolet, woody, citrus notes still present 
Overall: Still Balvenie, a different kind of Balvenie (probably because most of us don't drink 30 year old whisky on a regular basis). Still a bit rough around the edges.

Balvenie 38 year old, 47.6% Spanish Sherry Butt
Nose: nice floor polish, jam, mint, grape, cinnamon
Taste: full bodied cooked red fruits. No citrus or honey notes at all.
Overall: a good whisky, a fine experience but it was not Balvenie in terms of typical expressions.

Balvenie 30 year old, Official Release
Nose: creamy, burned sugar, "smells like Balvenie", honey and spice, plums
Taste: cinnamon, oranges, honey with a coffee finish
Overall: The only way to describe this dram is elegant. It had all the elements of Balvenie and delivered them with class and grace.

There was so much amazing whisky present and it was awesome to have both Andy and Sam there to walk us through the affects of age on the spirit. We cannot express our gratitude for such an astonishing experience. Speaking of thanks, I would like to take this time to thank everyone who contributed to my birthday bottle of whisky, Glenfarclas 15 year old. I was thoroughly surprised and grateful to receive this gift for my birthday. So, thank you--to all of you. 

Thank you!

One Day You Will

It has almost been a month since Jamie took us on a tour through Glenfiddich's core range. One of the most well known distilleries in the world, Glenfiddich is a common brand of single malt scotch whisky. We discovered on March 8th that is a result of high quality whisky combined with the values held by the Grant family. The people behind this whisky make Glenfiddich what it is. The whiskies we had stand on their own without the intense marketing that comes with such a huge brand. That being said, the new commercials are pretty epic and awesome and I love them:

12 year old
Nose: pears, vanilla, toffee
Taste: candied apples
Overall: very drinkable, high standard house whisky

18 year old
Nose: mellowed pears, "amazing" green apples
Taste: hint of salt, buttery salted toffee
Overall: rounded off the flavors of the 12 year old. Obviously a more mature whisky and better for it.

15 year old, Solera Vat
Nose: honey, raisins, cinnamon apples
Taste: "Shandy!", spices (cloves cinnamon) rich alcoholic cream or milk
Overall: The society had tried this whisky previously at the finishes tasting, on this night it received a better reception in the middle of the Glenfiddich range.

Jamie surprised us with Glenfiddich new make

15 year old, Rich Oak
Nose: pineapple, mash tun, pencil shavings, ground up wood, cherries, toffee and caramel, "jigsaw puzzle with a 70's glam guitar", floor polish, marzipan, toasted hazelnuts
Taste: "Like whoa yo!", mulled wine, roller coaster of rich oak flavors
Overall: This whisky really surprised me on the night, the flavors it delivered were quite surprising.

15 year old, Distiller's Edition 51%
Nose: caramel, melon, biting and yet very fleeting taste. Hints of freshly ground pepper and vanilla.
Taste: Creamy, smooth notes of melon still coming through. Pear still present amazingly floral and seemingly delicate. A lingering finish that left you warm
Overall: This was many people's favorite whisky of the night. Its cask strength nature allowed it to develop a bit longer than many of the others.

Scott ponders the flavors of Glenfiddich

21 year old, Gran Reserva
Nose: intense and sweet, strong floral notes with hints of banana. Toffee, fudge, and figs all present as well.
Taste: Initially very soft and mellow, then almost on the verge of overwhelming with vibrant notes of vanilla, lime, ginger. The typical note of oak is still present as is the barest hint of smoke.
Overall: Wow. Just wow. An incredible balance of flavors are delivered because of the attention to detail during the maturation process for this incredible dram. The American oak casks deliver the Glenfiddich style while the Caribbean rum cask adds totally unusual flavors. Neither totally dominate, bringing a fully satisfying whisky experience.

Glenfiddich is the most awarded whisky in the world. After a night experiencing the dynamic flavors that they offer, I don't stop to wonder why.

Look at the smiles on our faces!