Single Cask Whisky Advent Calendar: Days 6-8

The Drinks by the Dram Single Cask Whisky Advent Calendar started out strong with five very interesting and well-contrasted drams. If you missed it, here are our tasting notes for those days. What lay in store for us for days 6-8? Higher proof whiskies, that’s what! 🙂

It’s a cold and (teeny bit) snowy night here in Seattle (very odd indeed). So it’s perfect that we have these three drams to savor, enjoy, and warm us this evening!

Day 6: Glenturret 14 Year Old 2001 (Bartles Whisky)

Single Malt Scotch (Speyside) 54% ABV

Nose: Milk chocolate covered raisins. Plums, and a hint of grapefruit (when water was added.)

Palate: Needs some water to smooth out the alcohol burn. Spices, cocoa powder, dark fruits without being too sweet. Described in the tasting notes as “very Christmas-y.”

Notes: Matured in a port pipe, which is always interesting. Sometimes I love a port finish (Westland Distillery Cask #201) and sometimes it’s just okay for me (Glenfiddich Quinta Ruban.) This Glenturret falls somewhere in between for me.

Day 7: Glentauchers 6 Year Old 2008 Cask 8511273

Single Malt Scotch (Speyside) 51.3% ABV

Nose: Creamy, sweet citrus, like a lemon meringue pie. Very bright.

Palate: Due to the ABV, it’s got a kick, and a more savory quality than expected. No citrus here! It needs some water to open up a grainier flavor. At the very end there’s a very mild suggestion of smoke. Not overly complex.

Notes: Matured in an octave cask (50 liters, and 1/8 size of a standard cask.)

Day 8: Tullibardine 9 Year Old 2006

Single Malt Scotch (Highland) 57% ABV

Nose: Alcohol smell comes through very strongly. Need to nose it a few inches away to spare your nose hairs! Caramel and crisp apple come through. Tasting notes say “massively chocolate-y” which baffles me a bit. “Massively chocolate-y” indicates a blissful scent like when you enter the Theo Chocolate Factory…(YUM). I don’t get that at all, but hey, everyone’s nose and palate are different.

Palate: Very hot due to the ABV – needs water! Chewy and thick. Has a heavy, grainy, almost herbal quality to it before the spicy finish.

Notes: The least dynamic of the three we tasted.

These three drams were good, and none of them we disliked. None really caught our fancy, but I’m glad we got to try these unique whiskies nonetheless. It’s always fun to try new whiskies when interesting casks (port and octave) are used.

Also…I peeked ahead to the next few days, and I can’t wait to try the next few drams!