Monthly Archives: February 2012

Besmoked Vodka Tasting note

Master of Malt, Tasting

“This vodka is liquid smoked pine wood. Really evil. Just Bloody-Mary-lovers pyromaniacs. ”

71
Besmoked Vodka
In the quest to create the perfect smoked vodka, dozens of species of wood were sent to their fiery deaths before the ultimate combination was settled upon. The final recipe included Maple, Apple, Cherry, Pecan and Hickory to which was added a sprinkling of aromatic Rosemary.

This dram has a white-like color.

Nose (72): average. alcohol, pine, smoke, wood.

Palate (71): light, powerful. smoked wood, wood, pine, alcohol.

Finish (70): average. smoke, pine wood.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Besmoked Vodka with 71 points over 100.

Thanks to the chaps at Master of Malt for this official sample.

Not being a cocktail man myself, what kind of cocktail would you make with this vodka?

Mackmyra Moment Norrsken Tasting note

Mackmyra, Tasting

“Really interesting Mackmyra whisky... although I have no clue about which type of cask is this whisky aged on. I like it!.”

88
Mackmyra Moment Norrsken

This dram has a gold-like color.

Nose (87): more than average. honey, citrus, floral, spices, wood, nail polish.

Palate (90): smooth, powerful, oily. honey, vanilla, citrus, floral, spices, pepper, anise, wood.

Finish (88): longer than average. spices, cardamom, honey, citrus.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Mackmyra Moment Norrsken with 88 points over 100.

Lots of thanks for @TheScotDreamer and @AngelasShare for inviting me to Mackmyra Blind tasting.

Blind Tasting with Dramming.com

News

Blind tastingOliver Klimek, the Malt Maniac behind Dramming.com is proposing a great idea: a blind tasting competition.

Oliver explains the idea at his blog:

«There will be consecutive tastings in two categories: Scotch Single Malt and Freestyle, both consisting of five 3 cl samples. Participants will have to pay for their samples based on bottle price as well as for shipment.

My intention is to give you as little information as possible. I want you to trust your palate and not to ponder about direct or indirect hints. Don’t expect that all bottles have or have not been reviewed on the blog. And here is a dilemma: Samples are supposed to be paid for, but knowing the total price for the set is already a little hint. To solve this problem it needs a bit of mutual trust.

Participants will only have to pay an initial down payment. I will then buy the bottles and send you the drams. I will charge you for the rest afterwards, when the results are in and I disclose the identity and price of the bottles. I will trust you that you are going to pay for the whisky I sent you, and you can trust me that I don’t charge more than I paid for the whisky. I will only tell you that the total for each 5 bottle set will be less than 500 Euro. This is the only hint you will get in addition to the category description, and I basically do this only to assure you that you don’t have to expect to pay monstrous amounts for samples of luxury bottlings.

The winner(s) of the competition will not have to pay anything and will get the down payment refunded !»

You can check the rules at http://www.dramming.com/2012/02/27/blind-tasting-anyone/

About the payment it is like this: you pay now 25€ for the samples that amount 15€ for delivery ( worldwide ) and 10€ for samples. After the tasting happens, Oliver disclose the bottles and the prices and you will have to pay up to 10€ more, as the total price of the samples won’t go beyond 25€, so in worst case scenario we are talking about 40€ for five expensive whiskies. Seems like a great idea. I am in!.

Hurry up as there are only 21 seats and more than 50% is now occupied.

Bunnahabhain 30 years old 1978 Murray McDavid Tasting note

Bunnahabhain, Tasting

“Forget whatever I have wrote about sherry and peat. I love this whisky! Superlative!”

92
Bunnahabhain 30 year 1978 Murray McDavid
Vintage Bunnahabhain selected by Jim McEwan (Master Distiller at Bruichladdich). This was distilled in 1978, matured in Oloroso casks for a whopping 30 years, and bottled at the Bruichladdich distillery in 2009 for Murray McDavid's Mission range. A release of 300 bottles of cask strength whisky.

This dram has a cooper-like color.

Nose (91): more than average. honey, peat, leather, spices, vanilla, tobacco.

Palate (93): smooth, dry, powerful. honey, peat, spices, leather, floral, raisins, cocoa, nuts.

Finish (92): longer than average. peat, honey, leather, citrus.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Bunnahabhain 30 year 1978 Murray McDavid with 92 points over 100.

Bunnahabhain 33 years old 1976 Celtic Heartlands Tasting note

Bunnahabhain, Tasting

“Nice Bunnahabhain with more peat than I am used from this distillery.”

90
Bunnahabhain 33 year 1976 Celtic Heartlands
Aged for a whopping 33 years, this is a single cask, cask strength Bunnahabhain from Master Distiller Jim McEwan's Celtic Heartlands range.

This dram has a amber-like color.

Nose (91): more than average. honey, wood, peat, spices, a little mango, candies. Rather good lovely nose.

Palate (90): smooth. peat, floral, spices, pepper, wood, honey. A bit woody but quite fine.

Finish (89): longer than average. peat, earth, citrus.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Bunnahabhain 33 year 1976 Celtic Heartlands with 90 points over 100.

Bowmore 7 years old 2002 Murray McDavid Tasting note

Bowmore, Tasting

“Good Bowmore whisky not bad at all for such young whisky. Thumbs up!”

88
Bowmore 7 year 2002 Murray McDavid
7 year old Bowmore, bottled for Murray McDavid. This was distilled at the Bowmore distillery in 2002, aged in bourbon barrels and then finished in casks from First Growth Bordeaux winery Château Latour. Bottled at Bruichladdich in 2009 as part of an outturn of 1,700 bottles.

This dram has a amber-like color.

Nose (89): more than average. peat, salt, honey, dried fruits, dates, wood, cinnamon.

Palate (87): powerful, oily. peat, salt, raisins, wood, spices, a bit cocoa. Maybe sweet sherry cask? Not bad at all.

Finish (87): average. honey, peat, wood.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Bowmore 7 year 2002 Murray McDavid with 88 points over 100.

Fifty Pounds Gin Tasting note

Fifty pounds, Tasting

“Fine gin but it won't shake your world neither.”

74
Fifty Pounds Gin
A very handsomely-presented London gin, made by Thames Distillers. Thankfully the product lives up to the stylish packaging - this is excellent stuff.

This dram has a white-like color.

Nose (72): weak. floral, juniper, citrus.

Palate (77): powerful. juniper, herbal, floral, citrus.

Finish (74): short. juniper, herbs, citrus.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Fifty Pounds Gin with 74 points over 100.

Buy this bottle at

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Bulldog Gin Tasting note

Bulldog, Tasting

“Floral gin where outstandingly juniper isn't the dominant profile.”

78
Bulldog Gin
A delicious English gin made with poppy, dragon eye, lotus leaves, citrus, almond, lavender and various other botanicals (12 in total). This is four times distilled in copper pot stills, and Bulldog had the highest rating ever received by a gin from Wine Enthusiast Magazine. It was also voted a Top 50 spirit!

This dram has a white-like color.

Nose (78): average. juniper, honey, floral, citrus.

Palate (78): light, smooth. floral, juniper, citrus, lemon zest, herbs.

Finish (77): short. floral, citrus.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Bulldog Gin with 78 points over 100.

Buy this bottle at

Save money when you buy Gin online. Check for the best prices from best online shops below:


Lagavulin Distillery Only Tasting note

Lagavulin, Tasting

“Rather interesting dram that you can only taste at the distillery ... or with the chaps of Master of Malt. I prefer though the raw power of the 12 years old.”

91
Lagavulin Distillery Only
A very special Lagavulin, this "distillery only" bottling is made with the remnant of whisky from a previous bottling run of Distiller's Edition. It is then re-casked and left for a few extra years.

This dram has a amber-like color.

Nose (90): more than average. peat, honey, vanilla, fruits, a little pears, salt. More complex than 12 years old but not as much as 16 years old. Rather interesting.

Palate (92): powerful, oily. peat, salt, peach, honey, vanilla, pepper, rubber, espresso.

Finish (91): longer than average. peat, salt, pepper, honey, citrus.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Lagavulin Distillery Only with 91 points over 100.

Lagavulin Feis Ile 2011

Lagavulin, Tasting

“This Feis Ile whisky is a sea christened Lagavulin: Laph-gavulin!”

91
Lagavulin Feis Ile 2011
An amazing and very rare Lagavulin, distilled on the 23rd February 1998 and aged in cask 1715 for 12 years before bottling for the 2011 Feis Ile.

A limited release, aged in warehouse 1 in a single refill butt, selected by Iain McArthur. A real crack!

If you liked this Lagavulin, you may want to try some Laphroaig whiskies.

This dram has a gold-like color.

Nose (90): more than average. peat, rubber, salt, iodine, honey, citrus, fruits. It doesn't start like a Lagavulin. It it more maritme but then you get that characteristic Lagavulin aroma.

Palate (93): smooth, powerful, oily. peat, salt, fruit, honey, wood, smoke, burnt wood, coffee. Now it tastes more like a 16 year old Cask Strength. Really nice.

Finish (91): longer than average. peat, pepper, citrus, honey.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Lagavulin Feis Ile 2011 with 91 points over 100.