Tasting Reviews

2018-02 – Philip C.

by webnoser

Twas a BLIND tasting night! Thank God it was the bottles that were hidden and not the patrons that were blindfolded. That could have been dangerous.

Round 1: Glenlivet 12 year Old

Cost: $58 CDNRegion: Speyside

Fun Facts:

  • Off-dry malted barley and light toffee smells greet the olfactory sense along with flowery fragrances of heather, rose petal and pine. Entry features sweet grain and candied apricot tastes; the midpalate is mellow, malty, fruity (white raisins, apricots) and sophisticated. Ends on a buttery note. Remains the Speyside benchmark.

NSC Comments:

  • Some toffee, or carmel, light, no bite for the majority, or at most, a slight edge for some.
  • A little sweet with a fruit hint.
  • Unlikely to be the first choice when purchasing to pick from the shelf.

Round 2: Glenfiddich 14 year

Cost: $67 CDNRegion: Speyside

Fun Facts:

  • Finished in new oak barrels

NSC Comments:

  • Stronger, likely Bourbon age, and preferred by all to Round 1.
  • No real peat, no smoke, cleans up well.
  • The team I think agreed that the 2 single malts were entry level, non offending drops lacking in depth and character compared to some of the high octane we’ve had before.

Bonus Round: Jack Daniel’s

Cost: $35 CDNRegion: Tennessee

Fun Facts:

NSC Comments:

  • Pepper, dark color, an odd taste, citrus, more than one guess that it was a bourbon.
  • Nobody identified the Jack…and didn’t know that it was a Tennessee mash and not a bourbon.
  • Evening finished with some comment about Keith sucking water from his hot tub through a straw.