The FINAL FOUR…..that was the theme to this month’s tasting.
As you may have heard there is a little event each March in the United States called “March Madness”. During this event the top 64 college basketball teams compete to see who the best is.
Here at the River City Whisky Society we held our own March Madness competition. Each member who wanted to participate submitted their favorite whisky. Mark #1 them paired them and the competition began. Each day he sent out one pairing and we voted on our favorite. That favorite got to move on.
The competition moved on until one was crowned the favorite. The Final Four placed as follows:
Fourth: Glenlivet Nadurra Oloroso
Third: Bowmore 15 years old, Darkest
Second: Aberlour a’bunadh
Winner: Macallan 18 years old
This month’s tasting consisted of these same Final Four whiskies. Our tasting results, however, where slightly different.
But before we got to these four, we had a treat. Or, maybe not a treat. Scotch in a Can! That’s right folks, 12 ounce cans of scotch @ $6.99 per. How could you go wrong with this? Actually, in many ways.
This is a blended scotch with the words, Veni, Vidi, Vici” on the front of the can. This is Latin for, “I came, I saw, I conquered”. I’m not exactly sure what it would take to conquer a whisky like this but none of us could. Some of the taster’s comments included: A little rough, Probably better with Mountain Dew, Better than Ron Burgundy scotch, and (my favorite) Good float trip whisky!
For us this is more of a novelty but I am sure there are folks who truly like this….may the good Lord take pity on their soul.
Anyway, on to the true tasting. Our Final Four tasting went well and each of these are fantastic drams. Below they are listed in the order the taster’s voted them in, along with some tasting notes.
Fourth Place: Bowmore 15 Years old Darkest ($65): Very rich nose, Great peat taste, Good smoky taste, Smooth, The peat was not over-baring, Heavy finish, Perfect touch of peat.
Third Place: Glenlivet Nadurra Oloroso ($65): Fantastic sherry nose, Smell of fruit, Tastes of cinnamon, caramel and citrus, Light spices, Full and robust, Strong finish, Lasting finish.
Second Place: Macallan 18 years old ($180): Very balanced, Extremely smooth, Hints of vanilla, Notes of cinnamon, Clean, Finish includes tastes of fruit. Probably not worth the cost.
First Place: Aberlour a’bunadh ($70): Sweet and fruity, Taste of honey, Ripe apples, Tastes of caramel and vanilla, Rich, Sweet finish, Long finish.
So, as you can see, the most expensive was not the favorite. The Aberlour has been a favorite of mine for a number of years. Be sure to try it with just a few drops of water as well. It truly opens up the flavor.
Thank you to everyone who attended the tasting and we look forward to the June tasting. That is the high-dollar tasting and is for member’s only. We expect the cost for each of the five bottles to be near $300. And we do have a few cans of scotch left so we may need to throw those in for good measure.
Cheers,
Doug #1