It’s amazing how the focus of most whisky drinkers is concentrated on Scotch, Bourbon or Irish whisky. We tend to forget that there are great whiskies being produced all around the world. That is why our February 10th tasting was themed “Whiskies from Around the World”.
The crowd was a little larger than normal with 20 tasters. And once again it was a blast. Another relaxing evening with great conversation and whisky. The following is a list of the whiskies tasted along with a few comments from the group. As always the tasters ranked the drams from 1 to 5, with 1 being their favorite, and the overall scores calculated.
#5 The Hakushu Single Malt – Japan
Sweet smell. Taste of vanilla and honey. Smooth. Peaty finish. No depth.
#4 Penderyn Single Malt – Wales, UK
Pleasant nose. Cigar aroma. Taste of copper and vanilla. Very thin. Short finish.
#3 The Belgian Owl – Belgium
Citrus smell. Banana/peach flavor. Very light and pleasant. Good hot-weather drink. Sweet finish.
#2 Amrut Single Malt – India
White wine scent. Great aroma and nice texture. Creamy and smooth taste. Taste is better than the nose. Sharp finish.
#1 Balcones Texas Single Malt – Waco, Texas
Caramel smell. Tastes of chocolate and toffee. Smooth, long finish.
Regarding our favorite of the evening, this whiskey from Texas ran away with the #1 spot. I don’t think we actually expected it to do that well since we have been disappointed in the past with new whiskies from our country. This was a great surprise. Be sure to put Balcones on your “to-do” list.
Doug, Member #1