Lady of The Dram's Visits Twitter

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Hello All,

Firstly I apologise again for not posting sooner but things have been hectic since the Festival and on the run up to Christmas.

At the end of November Mike was invited to take part in a Twitter Tasting by Allied Glass and asked if I would like to sit in on it with him. Obviously I jumped at the chance having never done one before and being intrigued to see how it would work out. The people taking part had been sent a tasting set with tasting notes and hash tag details for the twitter account.

Kicking it off was the aptly named,  Raasay While we wait.  At 46% abv this single malt consisted of both peated and unpeated whiskies finished in French oak Tuscan wine casks from 3 different vineyards. The nose was quite sweet wafting honeysuckle, ripe pears, quince jelly and rose petal perfume. The palate quite different though - spicy to start with wisps of smoke blowing on the breeze, soft summer fruits in the background which turn to tropical fruits after a short while. Oranges infused with cinnamon then lead to a spiced liquorice finish which is warming all the way down.  As everybody involved picked out the different notes and tastes they tweeted what they thought. It was working , this tweeting lark.

The next whisky was Benriach 16 years old at 43% abv. While I have tasted this whisky before I got quite different notes this time. On the nose it started out as freshly laundered bed linen turning to dark cherries in a wooden bowl, Kirsch maybe, fading to marzipan in sweet desiccated coconut. The palate gave out spiced mango, milk chocolate bounty bars with a touch of gooseberry jam. A sharp, sweet taste, with a medium length finish, warming and lightly spiced. Mike added his, and some of my tasting notes and it was great to see everybody else adding theirs as they went along.

Loch Lomond Original at 40% abv was quite different to how I had imagined it would be. On the nose, a mixture of linseed oil with smoked sausage, tinned pineapple and winter jasmine giving a slight nose prickle and a touch of pernod. The palate was spiced tropical fruits,  with a sharp lime zest twist and cloves, spiced key lime pie and rapeseed plants in the summer. The tweets were flowing thick and fast now and I dont know how Mike kept up to them.

Last but one, Tomatin Legacy, 43%abv. The nose was very floral like a spring garden. Melted butter on freshly toasted croissants, blanched almonds with a jelly baby sweetness. Bitter lemons on the palate and burnt crumpets with warm all spice, liquorice and pink peppercorns leading to a spicy, waxy finish, slightly mouth drying. It was brilliant, the way everyone involved was comparing and tweeting their notes for each whisky and you could read everyone elses thoughts on them.

The final whisky was Old Pulteney 12 years old, 40%abv.The nose brought to mind salted bourbon biscuits, floral air fresheners with a slight hint of peanut butter on salted caramel chocolate bars. The palate was spicier than the nose with flavours of mackerel in brine and spiced lychees. Sitting on the beach in Autumn.

Well that was the end of the tweet tasting and I have to admit it was a fun, fascinating and slightly quircky way of doing a whisky tasting.  I can see it taking off though and becoming more popular in the whisky community. Its a great way of comparing notes and of reading somebody elses notes and thinking ‘oh yeah I get that taste as well. So, if you ever get the chance to join in on one, go ahead, youll have a great night tasting good whiskies and meeting great people.

Until next time, Sliante

Lady of the Drams.