Single Cask Whisky Tasting at the Broadfield

As you may have read, we have been to a few of Ed's (@WhiskyCurator) whisky tastings at the Broadfield. This time, it was the turn of the cask strength whisky, all of which were bottlings from Master of Malt (although this was more coincidental than intentional). The theme of the evening was delightfully titled "Single cask treats and homemade sweets", with lovingly prepared sweeties to accompany the drams.

Glentauchers 15 year kicked off the evening, the weakest of the night at a mere 55.1% ABV. On both the nose and the palate it was zesty and fresh, yet gaining body as the flavour developed, invoking the chew of apricot and peach with custard. This was paired with a soft, chocolate coated pistachio nougat.

The second dram was a Miltonduff 18 year old sherry cask whisky, with an ABV of 59.6%. The woody scent of this whisky flowed through, and onto the palate were pear drops and fruity hints, meaning it tasted a bit like Christmas. This was quite possibly the most exciting drink of the evening, with intriguing nuances of flavour true to it's single cask nature, which makes it such a shame that most of this makes its way into blends. Ed's invention for this one - Irn Bru gummy worms. Improbable, slippery, and fantastically weird. We loved them.

Glen Garioch 20 year, at 58.8%, came next. This highland malt had a delightfully soft, toffee vanilla-ness with a background of brewery malt on the nose, then somewhere between the smell and actually drinking it, it's as though some secretive soul has surreptitiously swapped the contents of the Glencairn for a peppery and altogether more oaky drink. The palate continued to expand with a porridgy apple that lingered, and ended with a custardy finish that took the dram full circle. An apple candy brought the first half of the tasting to an end. 

(Accidentally ate most of the nougat pre-photo!)

Ledaig 7 year was next - an absolute stonker of a dram at 61.9%. Rather poetically, this whisky is made on the island of Mull in the beautiful stills of Tobermory, before being transferred the 35 miles to Islay where the barrels are stored for a deliciously short time. The peated lightly coloured liquid swims with a saltiness that comes only with ageing in the middle of the North Atlantic. This nasal saltiness is then beaten to submission by what tastes like the Honey Monster smoking a pipe. With a finish that sticks to the tongue for a remarkable length of time, this could easily be mistaken for a much older whisky. This came matched with a wonderful pairing of cinder toffee.

Glenburgie 21 year old, from Speyside, was the final dram of the night and it was simply spectacular: a veritable delight of fruits and sweet spice that just glowed across the tongue and up the nose, and even at 56.9% was still beautifully quaffable without the heat that one may expect. The rich and demerara sugary palate glistened with cinnamon and bundles of vanilla ice cream, and overall the rounded flavour was exceptional. To go with this, we were presented with what soon became our favourite sweet of the night, a delicately flavoured and sumptuously squishy earl grey marshmallow.

Another great night in what is becoming quite a tradition for the team at Mashtun and Meow - we will be back on June 3rd for a night of American whiskeys and cocktails!

Slainte,

J&L