The following impromptu tasting took place during a get-together with friends. Initially, the goal of the meeting was to play around with blending whiskies, but so many excellent drams appeared that the blending was lost to all but a handful of fellows that soldiered on.  Instead, drams circulated around the table as people ranged through a crowded field of whiskies. I did not get to try everything I wanted, such is life when you have a tasting with amazing whisky people, but that did not stop me from enjoying some fabulous drams— onward to the whisky!

Whisky Details: Yuza 3 Year (2019), SMWS 158.1 “Shirley Temple and a ‘grown-up’ limeade”

Nose: Dried plums and citrus peel, hints of cream and lime transitioned toward guava chiffon cake, green apple, more wood resins and pepper with time.

Palate: Medium-bodied with salted plums, guava jam, metal polish, and hints of bubble gum; more ginger spice and pickled ginger toward the end with cracked black pepper.

Finish: Medium-length with ginger, a touch of cream, and woody stone fruit pits.

Score: 7 (83)

Mental Image: Afterschool Snacks

Narrative & Notes: For something so young, this was remarkably well-composed. It featured a lovely evolution from fruits to woody spices with clear transitions between the elements. I remain excited by the whiskies coming out of Yuza, though I will wait to see a bit older product before I start picking up bottles— I want to see how some of these flavors evolve or shift with time.  There were hints of bubble gum on this, a note I rather dislike on whisky, but I could not decide whether that was a product of the cask or just the fruity nature of the malt. Overall, tasty fare— though as the first cask from SMWS and a Japanese whisky, the price for it has predictably only gone up.

Whisky Details: Springbank 7 Year (2016), Distillery Cage Bottle Rotation 397

Nose: Clean and citrusy, gentle maritime brine with plenty of dissolved minerals, tide pools and citrus peel, tropical margarita.

Palate: Medium to full-bodied, citrusy and floral like pomelo or jabong, grapefruit sorbet, a touch bitter around the edges and spirited with some youthful burn, maritime with tide pools and dissolved minerals, more floral fruits at the end.

Finish: Long and lingering with mellow salty, citrus.

Score: 6-7 (80)

Mental Image: Chic Cocktails on the Beach

Narrative & Notes: A local whisky buddy shared several of the bottles he brought back from Scotland during his last visit, including the two cage bottles his wife and he grabbed at Springbank. This was about as clean a Springbank as I ever encountered with a more mineral than metallic profile— it was all tide pools rather than copper top batteries. The bourbon cask elevated some of the fruitier aspects of the whisky, and even though this was quite young, it was friendly enough with plenty of classic character.

Whisky Details: Burnside 28 Year (1994), Whisky Age Cask 5135

Nose: Light and gentle, orchard fruits, apples and pears, straw, buttery pastries, white flowers, more caramel and digestive biscuits with time.

Palate: Medium to light-bodied, nougat and caramel opened to brown sugar with cooked apples, apple fritters and pastries, straw and dried grass, pressed flowers at the end.

Finish: Medium-length with caramel, digestive biscuits, and a touch of dried grass.

Score: 7 (83)

Mental Image: Forest Gnome Cookie Shop

Narrative & Notes: I have come to really appreciate these old tea-spooned Balvenie, which typically carry the trade name “Burnside.”  While this one did not have the same juiciness and depth as the best, it was still enjoyable with plenty of the mellow and delicate flavors you want from such a mature malt. The whisky delivered all of the orchard fruits and grassiness you expect from Balvenie, with a big maltiness that veered between caramel and digestif biscuits. Hints of florals kept things interesting though they occasionally came off as a touch bitter at the end— a downside to something so old. Overall, a delightful whisky and something to kick back and relax with.

Whisky Details: Caperdonich 21 Year (2000), Signatory Vintage Cask 29489

Nose: Apples and orchard fruits with musty old newspapers and old schoolroom chalk boards, more hay and dried grass further in.

Palate: Medium-bodied with apple blossom, pastries— old fashioned donuts, apples, honey, old newspaper in the background, more herbal toward the end with coriander and peppery dandelion.

Finish: Medium-bodied with buttery pastries, grass, and a touch of pepper.

Score: 6 (78)

Mental Image: Orchard School Field Trip

Narrative & Notes: This was fairly typical for Caperdonich nearing the end of operation, with plenty of orchard fruits running rampant alongside some buttery pastries. Perhaps a bit more ‘anonymous Speyside’ than the more distinctive whiskies the distillery produced in earlier decades, but there were some interesting chalk and blackboard notes and then a rather old-fashioned herbal twist at the end.  It reminded me a bit of a less austere Glencadam, which is no bad thing.  Overall, not a complex whisky, but not an unpleasant one either.