Corner Bistro Tasting
At least once a year we go out somewhere as a club. Todd was contacted by the owner of Corner Bistro in Tapestry Park and expressed some interest in our little collective. That led to our tasting at his restaurant on this evening.
Normally we know at least the names of the whiskies we are tasting. This evening our host blind-poured them for us. We had to guess. Without the thirty or more years of tasting/blending that a master blender would have, our skills at pinpointing the name of the dram were lacking, in fact pathetic. We did resort to ruling out what they were not by looking at the whisky list in the menu. Donna did guess one correctly.
Here is what we tasted:
Whisky # 1 (Lismore 12 yr 40% ABV)
-smelled very light with tinge of rubber
-tasted chalky with wood
-with water the smell is almost gone
-tasted dry wood
-trailed light oak with pepper/salt/rubber
I'm glad to have started with a light whisky.
Whisky #2 (Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 yr 43% ABV)
-smelled sherry with tinge of pepper
-tasted sherry/pepper - trailed oak
-with water smelled slightly oak
-tasted more oak than sour
I am not as disappointed with this as the first time I tasted it and knew what it was.
Whisky #3 (Peat Monster 46% ABV)
-smelled peat smoke - surprisingly no pepper/alcohol
-tasted peat smoke with oak
-with water - did not lighten the smoke much
-tinge of oak
All smoke and no flavor.
Whisky #4 (Gordon and MacPhail -Macallan 21 yr 1990 43% ABV)
-smelled wood/oak with a tinge of floralness
-tasted light oak pepper with Fino
-with water - all sweetness gone - bitter oak
Being a Macallan I can see how one might enjoy this more over ice. It would certainly remove the bitterness. The intent of Gordon and MacPhail may not have been for that at all. I am enjoying the slight bitterness in Bruichladdich Rocks as I write this.
At least once a year we go out somewhere as a club. Todd was contacted by the owner of Corner Bistro in Tapestry Park and expressed some interest in our little collective. That led to our tasting at his restaurant on this evening.
Normally we know at least the names of the whiskies we are tasting. This evening our host blind-poured them for us. We had to guess. Without the thirty or more years of tasting/blending that a master blender would have, our skills at pinpointing the name of the dram were lacking, in fact pathetic. We did resort to ruling out what they were not by looking at the whisky list in the menu. Donna did guess one correctly.
Here is what we tasted:
Whisky # 1 (Lismore 12 yr 40% ABV)
-smelled very light with tinge of rubber
-tasted chalky with wood
-with water the smell is almost gone
-tasted dry wood
-trailed light oak with pepper/salt/rubber
I'm glad to have started with a light whisky.
Whisky #2 (Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 yr 43% ABV)
-smelled sherry with tinge of pepper
-tasted sherry/pepper - trailed oak
-with water smelled slightly oak
-tasted more oak than sour
I am not as disappointed with this as the first time I tasted it and knew what it was.
Whisky #3 (Peat Monster 46% ABV)
-smelled peat smoke - surprisingly no pepper/alcohol
-tasted peat smoke with oak
-with water - did not lighten the smoke much
-tinge of oak
All smoke and no flavor.
Whisky #4 (Gordon and MacPhail -Macallan 21 yr 1990 43% ABV)
-smelled wood/oak with a tinge of floralness
-tasted light oak pepper with Fino
-with water - all sweetness gone - bitter oak
Being a Macallan I can see how one might enjoy this more over ice. It would certainly remove the bitterness. The intent of Gordon and MacPhail may not have been for that at all. I am enjoying the slight bitterness in Bruichladdich Rocks as I write this.
Aly, the club photographer, takes an action shot of our high pressure tasting. 
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