Yesterday I hosted a group of audiophiles for a whisky tasting. We tried a number of special cask strength bottlings that have recently been released in Canada. These included:
Convalmore 24
Blair Athol 27
Brora 20
Brora 30
Port Ellen 24
Talisker 20
We started with a normal-strength Clynelish 14 that was thought very nice at first, but was handily shown off by the later drams.
The "winner" was a tossup between the Port Ellen and the Brora 20. Very different whiskies, each of which had as much to offer. The Brora was rich, full and warm, while the Port Ellen was more complex but austere. The other two top picks were the Convalmore and the Talisker. A number of them benefitted from adding a drop or two of water.
The disappointment of the batch was the Brora 30. It was over the hill and had started to fall apart, both in the nose and on the palate.
Three we didn't get to because it became just too much of a good thing was a flight of three Caol Ila bottlings - a 12, an 18 and an undated cask strength. We're saving those for a later date, possibly to comapare with a Lagavullin 12 cask strength that was also set aside.
Mixed with a generous helping of music, it was a memorable afternoon and a perfect way to kick off the Christmas party season!
