2nd Semi-Annual 'Scotchtoberfest' - June 22, 2012 - Blended Scotch Whiskies

[dan_the_tax_man]

Last night Jeff and I co-hosted our 2nd Semi-Annual 'Scotchtoberfest' Scotch Tasting Evening.  The first event, held in December 2011, was fun.  This one was better.  More people, fewer whiskies, which is a good thing, believe me; last time we had seven people and seven whiskies, and by the end of the evening I was feeling more than a little buzzed.  This time around we decided to do things differently and divided the invitees into four teams.  Each team was to decide amongst themselves which whisky they were going to bring and what food they were going to bring to pair with it.  We ended up with 12 people (plus two non-drinking spouses) and five whiskies...but other than the cake that I'd made to go with my selection, no additional food pairings arrived, so it was a good thing that Jeff and I had also provided crackers, cheese (blue cheese, extra old cheddar, old cheddar), chocolate (dark chocolate with chili powder and dark chocolate with sea salt), olives, bread, and some Polish sausage (all the food was gone by the end...I cut the cake into 16 servings, and it all went).

The theme for the evening was Blended Scotch Whisky, and the entries were as follows:

• Team Jeff - Compass Box Peat Monster (46% ABV, $59.95)
• Team Blaine - Ballantines 17 year-old (43% ABV, $89.50)
• Team Hugh - Te Bheag (pronouced 'chey veck', not 'Tea Bag') (40% ABV, $36.95)
• Team Dan - Compass Box Spice Tree (46% ABV, $67.25) and The Black Grouse (40% ABV, $34.95)

Five whiskies in total: two blended malts, three blends of single malt and grain whisky.  We debated for some time what order to drink them in, trying to balance age with peat levels, but ultimately decided on the following order:  Te Bheag, Ballantines, Black Grouse, Spice Tree, Peat Monster.  Food was consumed, conversations were engaged in, and whisky was sipped.  I'd also managed to find a scoring sheet, so people were taking notes as we drank and actively comparing the whiskies.  The scoring consensus was as follows:

• Ballantines 17 year-old - 'meh', not great, not that bad, but it is certainly not the "World's Best Whisky", a title given to it by Jim Murray in his 2011 Whisky Bible, and definitely not worth the $90 price tag.  For more detailed reviews of this whisky, see Jason Debly and the ScotchNoob;
• The Black Grouse - to me, this tasted like someone just took The Famous Grouse (a blend that I enjoy, and makes a phenomenal 'Godfather' when mixed with amaretto) and added some peated whisky to it.  No subtlety to it at all.  Just a brick of peat and smoke overlaying sweet grain whisky, and while the sweetness of the grain whisky works well in The Famous Grouse, it just doesn't here.  For another opinions on The Black Grouse, see All Things Whisky and the ScotchNoob;
• Te Bheag - unchillfiltered, youngish, and ridiculously good for the price it sells for.  You can certainly smell the influence of the Talisker, backed up by grain whisky, but here the sweetness of the grain props up the peat and the peppery scent of the Talisker and works well with the saltiness of the palate.  See Jason Debly and All Things Whisky for other thoughts on Te Bheag;
• The Peat Monster - this whisky made an appearance at the first event, and it was good, however, it was not quite as great as I remembered it, partially because I've since been introduced to Laphroaig Quarter-Cask (a review to come later).  That being said, it was still quite good.  Gentle, subtle smoke layered on peat, not aggressive like the Ardbeg 10, and certainly more balanced than The Black Grouse (as a blended malt, there is no grain whisky to give it sweetness).  Second best whisky of the evening;
• The Spice Tree - Wow.  I'd made a ginger-pear upside down cake to pair with this whisky and the combination was devastatingly awesome.  I don't know what else I can say about this whisky, other than 'Wow'.  Spicy, Spicy, Spicy.  Cloves and nutmeg on the nose, nutmeg and cinnamon on the palate, sweet, but not as artificially sweet or cinnamony as the 'Fireball Cinnamon Whisky' you can get at the LCBO.  The bottle is pretty much gone, as people came back for a second dram.  I'll likely finish it on Sunday night when we have some other friends over.

We're now discussing whether we should move the 3rd Semi-Annual 'Scotchtoberfest' to the end of October, rather than having it in December.  If we do move it to October to coincide with the real "Oktoberfest" celebrations, then the thought is that we'll make the theme 'World Whiskies' (specifically, non-UK whiskies) and see if we can get some Armorick (Breton), Mackmyra (Sweden), Nikka or Suntory (Japan), or Amrut (India) to make an appearance.