ANGELS WHISKY CLUB – AWARDS 2012

We gathered once again at the usual watering hole; Christies pub, Perth, Scotland. All the usual suspects were invited; Paul, Lizzie, Ming, Boab, Diageo Man, Ron, apologies from Kevin, still out on the rigs of the North Sea, Offaly man was in Ireland.  Now please bear in mind, we are no professional nose/tasters, we are a herd of whisky lovin people who enjoy a dram, why choose these drams?  Over the year we have “had a go” at these and many others, these were some real favourites.

We all brought at least one dram to try, Billy & Helen threw one in also. Beers started the event, as everyone dondered in, we perched at the usual end of the (newly refurbished) bar and brought oot the first award contender. At this stage let me introduce the contenders; Cutty Sark Storm, Isle of Mull blend, Ben Riach 1995 single cask, Springbank 15 yo 1997, Tyrconnell Single Malt.

We started with the easy to drink drams, Mull first, we all liked it. A wee dram of Irish next as we downed the Tyrconnell, we all liked that as well! Next was the Storm, strangely – we all liked that too! That left us two to try (again), well what can I say? They were both excellent drams, but the Springbank slightly edged it.  According to the panel, our whisky of the year is the Springbank 15 yo 1997.  Nose: Oaky, citrus, caramel, brown sugar and sweeties. Taste: spicy, citrus. Result: we all agreed, a really nice dram. A long finish.

So after an almost 100% decision we had to test again just to be sure (but we changed the order a wee bit). Cutty Sark Storm;  The creation of Cutty Sark Master Blender Kirsteen Campbell. She has used many of the whiskies used to create other expressions of the Cutty Sark range, including grain whisky from North British and single malts from Highland Park and Macallan. The differences are the single malts used in Storm, these single malts are older. A bright golden yellow with niff’s of brown sugar, raisins and sultanas, syrup. The finish is long and grabs your taste buds, easy drinking (too easy, eh slow down Boab).  Isle of Mull blend;   A blend of Highland Malt and Grain Whiskies. Sweet and fruity with a hint of shortbread. http://angelswhiskyclub.com/awc/isleofmull.asp   Tyrconnell Single Malt; This whiskey is elegant, sweet taste, fresh, malty, fruity bouquet, smooth sweet taste and delicate dry finish. A wee gem from the Cooley stable, always a favourite in the pub. Springbank 15 yo 1997; Nose: soy sauce. Water brings chocolate?  orange, sherry, touch of smoke. Fruitier with water, which we tried of course. Just a wee wetting. And so to the Ben Riach 1995 single cask; From cask 7164 distilled in May 1995, this 16-year-old bottled at 58.3% vol. On the nose, bananas, citrus and oregano, melons and lychee. 695 bottles, each bottle is hand-numbered – we had 693. We all agreed bananas, we ended up all do the “monkey!” hoppin aboot and hands under the armpit, what a right bunch we looked.

The second outcome? Same as before but only by a nose from the Ben Riach a very close second.

Awards took place at Christies Bar in Perth, Scotland. November 2012.

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