Blind Tasting No. 11 Recap
Holiday Spirits
It felt like the holidays just came and went, so this weekend we kicked off the first blind tasting event of 2021 with whiskeys that taste just like holiday treats! Whether that means Christmas cookies, mincemeat pie, toffee, mulled wine or coquito to you, all of those flavors could be found in these whiskeys (more or less). Now, I’m sure you’re wondering “what the heck did they taste?”
We started the tasting with The Glendronach 12 year Highland single malt scotch whisky. This is a classic sherried scotch produced using “long” fermentations, “slow” distillations and aged in oloroso and pedro ximenez casks. Long fermentations tend to give scotches creamy notes, slow distillations bring forth more refined characteristics from the wash and sherry casks are known for developing sweet notes of dried fruits and nuts. The members picked up aromas and flavors of green apple, black raspberry, honeycomb, oatmeal, graham cracker and tree bark.
Next was Rowan’s Creek Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. This bourbon is produced by Willett Distillery using an undisclosed mash bill, however it’s speculated that it’s a high-rye bourbon. It has no age statement (it once was 12 years), meaning it’s a minimum of 4 years old. High-rye bourbons tend to have rich caramel, vanilla and spice notes that derive from the interplay of grains and new charred oak barrels. The members got notes of dough, rosepetal, acetone, white pepper, curry, cocktail cherries, milk chocolate, honey, maple and brine on the nose and palate.
We finished the tasting with A Midwinter Nights Dram produced by High West distillery. Every year High West releases a new “act” and we tasted their 2020 release (Act 8). This is a blend of straight rye whiskeys, which is the same as High West’s Rendezvous Rye recipe, that’s then finished in french oak port casks. Both rye and french oak casks tend to bring forth tons of spice characteristics to a whiskey, while port adds a touch of rich fruitiness. The members identified bold fruits, manderine orange, grape cough syrup, butter pickle, clove, syrup and molasses in the nose and palate. This was the whiskey that tasted the most of the holidays.
Remember, the members tasted these completely blind. And even though these are all different styles of whiskey, blind tasting is challenging! A handful guessed all three whiskeys correctly and everyone picked out some really great tasting notes. I know I had a very merry time!
