Rosebank 12yr 43% (Flora & Fauna)
Lowland

Nose: Floral, light, a bit winey

Palate: Crisp chardonnay, refreshing, little dry

Finish: Medium long, spicy

A great example of a Lowland Malt. Classic clean taste for a warm summer afternoon.

Balvenie 1993 Portwood nas 40% abv
Speyside

Nose: Oak, bit of fruit, sherry

Palate: Light port, winey, honeyed

Finish: Short, oak tannins, vanilla, little peppered

Hard pressed to get the ‘Port” out of this one. A very nice Balvenie for the price though.

Glenmorangie Astar nas 57.1% abv - Little sister to the Glenmorangie Artisan Cask
Highland

Nose: Very complex nose with citrus, peppery, smokey vanilla, candied fruit

Palate: Big hit, spicy and peppery with the bourbon coming through. Good and chewy as well. Water opens it up a bit but still spicy.

Finish: Long and satisfying. Very spicy.

Talisker 57’ North nas 57% abv
Skye

As we had the following malts a little late in the evening I thought it best to give them all a taste again, just to be sure. A tough job but someone’s gotta do it.

Nose: Spicy fruit, smoke, bit sulphur

Palate: Robust, warming, intense fruitiness, smoky spice, pepper notes. Water encourages the peat & sweetnees

Finish: Long, light smoke, peppery

Antiquary 21yr 43% abv (Blend)
One of the Top 10 Malts for 2008

Nose: Vanilla, citrus

Palate: Wonderful sherry, honeyed notes

Finish: medium

Bruichladdich Octomore 5yr 63.5% abv
Most heavily peated malt out there @ 131 ppm
Islay

Nose: Peat

Palate: Peat

Finish:Peat

Need I say more.

Lagavulin 1976 30yr 52.6%
Islay

Nose: Bold, smokey, tropical fruits

Palate: Big, fruity, spicy, citrus

Finish: Long, almonds, peaty, smoky, salty.

Some really great ons here with a surprise or two.

Another great evening! Having so many new malts to choose from I had a hard time deciding on what would be the top 6 for the tasting. So I thought it best to group them into 6 groups using age, abv, location, and rating to determine a starting point. We then, as a group, picked one from each. However we could not resist two great ones from group 6. Click here for the grouping list

I will also be adding the ratings shortly using the “5 Star” system. Let’s see how it works.

A great shot of the 26 new bottles we chose from.

Our tasting group for the evening. Welcome to a new member Marshall (far right). We missed Eric & Matt. Sure wish those of you from around the world could have been here as well. Sorry for cutting you off there Tom.

Dog Fish Head “Mida Touch” 9% abv (Delaware) Brewed w/ barley, honey, white muscat grapes ans saffron

Nose: Honeyed, malty, saffron

Palate: Fruity, honey, citrus notes

Finish: short, orange rind

Dog Fish Head “Palo Santo Marron” 12% abv(Delaware) Aged in Palo Santo Wood

Nose: Dark roasted malt, good body

Palate: Crisp, molasses, light chocolate

Finish: Short

Bear Republic “Hop Rod Rye” 8% abv (California)

Nose: Fresh hops, floral notes

Palate: Hops, dark malt, rye

Finish: Pleasant, rye notes, yeast

Founders “Breakfast Stout” 8.3% abv (Michigan)
Double Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Stout

Nose:  Malty, molasses, dried fruit

Palate: Coffee, molasses, oat on the tail

Finish: Medium, little bitterness

Long Trail Coffee Stout

Nose: Fresh brewed coffee, chocolate

Palate: Roasted coffee beans, dark chocolate truffle, chewy

Finish: Refreshing, medium