With attendance picking back up for the new year we decided to put on a broad selection of whiskies to satisfy a range of palette styles. That’s why our February tasting went on a journey through Ireland, the UK, and both traditional and unusual Scottish distilleries.
West Cork 10yo Single Malt
A typical Irish whisky, this had the light, sweet smell you would expect, leading on to a very easy drinking dram. To those more accustomed to scotch whisky, this was inoffensive and smooth, with not too much standing out.
For the Irish whisky lovers though, this was a well balanced spirit with faint citrus notes and even a little liquorice on the nose. It was considered a typical Irish sweet style whisky and a perfect starter for any evening.
With even the scotch favourers enjoying this, it scored an average 7 out of 10.
Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky
This single malt, yet to be released on the Australian market, was brought to us by the distillery’s Australian Rep, Steve Magarry. An English whisky that only started production in 2014, it has already received a score of 94 in both the 2016 and 2017 editions of Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible.
Keen to be amongst the first Australians to sample this dram, we found it to have a wonderfully thick, sweet nose carrying some subtle earthy notes and hints of vanilla. On the palette there were some floral flavours brought across from the red wine barrels used in aging. There was a strong taste from start to finish, with even some coffee flavours in the tail.
While this wasn’t everyone’s favourite, with some feeling it was a bit rough and could do with more time in the barrels, the fans felt it was very complex for its age and would be great as a mid to high end session whisky, especially as it’s expected to sell for approximately $90 a bottle when released.
It scored an average of 6.8 out of 10 and is expected to hit our shelves in September this year.
Deanston Organic 14yo Single Malt
The point of the QMWS is to try whiskies we may not otherwise have a chance to sample. So for something different we brought out a certified organic whisky from Deanston.
Expecting to enjoy something a little more old fashioned from before the days of commercialised production, we found it to have a rather acidic nose that seemed pretty rough for a 14 year old whisky. There were some creamy honey notes with vanilla undertones to the taste, but these disappeared rather quickly leaving nothing to the tail.
A drop or two of water opened it up and made it much more drinkable, but still not what you’d expect from a 14 year old highland whisky.
It scored an average of 6.2 out of 10.
Loch Lomond Inchmurrin 18yo Single Malt
While Loch Lomond has a reputation for a unique production method and resulting flavour, it is probably more renowned as Captain Haddock’s whisky of choice from the Tin Tin comics. Year round, the distillery gets more visits from Tin Tin fans than whisky enthusiasts.
All that aside, their 18 year old instantly grabs your attention with a wonderfully robust nose. To the palette there’s a complex blend of fruity citrus notes and a smooth, thick sweetness. It has a strong body and an incredibly long tail. There are hints of peat in there and even what feels like burnt apple.
Bringing the cores back up, it received an average 7.7 out of 10.
Highland Park 18yo Single Malt
A known favourite, the highland park was a welcome finally to the night’s selection. You could very quickly pick out the sherry and peat, yet it was carried across so smoothly that neither were too confronting. It had a wonderful nose that carried across to the palette flawlessly.
Some picked up smokey vanilla flavours, considering it sweet, smooth, dry and generally well balanced all round.
It scored 8.1 out of 10.
Keep your eye out for next months tasting as we dive into the world of Irish whisky in preparation for a dram good St Patrick’s Day.