Blind Tasting No. 1 Recap
On April 25th, we kicked off NEAT’s very first virtual blind tasting.
I chose three of my favorite whiskies for everyone to taste: Compass Box Spice Tree Extravaganza Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, Noah’s Mill Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and Starward Nova Single Malt Australian Whisky. Everyone who participated received three 2 oz bottles labeled A, B and C, and I was the only one who knew which whisky was which!
For those who haven’t tried these whiskies, here’s a quick summary:
Spice Tree Extravaganza is a blend of different single malts from both Speyside and the Highlands, which gives the whisky it’s fruity and floral characteristics. Those single malts are then aged in ex-bourbon barrels and sherry butts bringing out creamy, herbal, rich, decadent notes. The whisky gets its name from the custom hybrid barrels (ex-bourbon barrels with toasted french oak heads) used to mature highland malt blends to bring out spicy characteristics.
Noah’s Mill is a blend of bourbons sourced from Kentucky and aged for at least 4 years in new charred american oak barrels. Being that it is a majority corn in the mash, it has sweet, candylike notes that can be accompanied by spicy, creamy, cereal notes depending on the other grains used in the mash. The charred american oak barrels bring out flavors of caramel, vanilla, almonds and butterscotch.
Starward Nova is produced using Australian malted barley and aged for two years in red wine barrels in the turbulent climate of Melbourne, Aus. The red wine barrels bring out flavors of red berries, orchard fruits, vanilla and caramel in the whisky. Melbourne’s climate causes the whisky to mature more like an American whiskey rather than a single malt Scotch making it very unique.
I started the blind tasting by describing the differences, and then we tasted through each bottle with an open group discussion. Each person took note of the whiskey color, nose, palate and gave it a score. I tried to keep a poker face as everyone talked about the notes they were picking up on. And everyone did pick up different notes. I should mention that most people participating in the tasting would identify as “whisky beginners.” You don’t have to have extensive whisky knowledge to unlock your senses! It was also so fun to see how there was not an overall favorite whiskey among the group. Each person's preferences stood out.
When it came time for the big reveal, only three (out of 16) participants correctly guessed all three whiskies! Seven correctly identified Starward Nova, eight for Spice Tree Extravaganza and five for Noah’s Mill.
It was a NEAT time, and now we’re on to Blind Tasting No. 2!
