Whisky Works Tweet Tasting

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I was fortunate enough to be picked for the Whisky Works Tweet Tasting event in October. All particpants were issued with four very generous samples from which we were to tweet our thoughts in a live online tasting event organised by Steve at The Whisky Wire  .

 The Whisky Works are a small bottling and blending company run as an independent arm of White and Mackay. Their whiskies are catagorised into Classic - aged, rare whiskies and Modern Experiments -  the use of uncommon maturation methods. Two from each range were included as part of the tasting all four whiskies are still available at the time of writing.

 King of Trees
This one is a ten year old blended Highland malt coming in at 46.5% ABV. A portion of the blend has been matured in a cask manufactured using wood from 200 year old, wind felled Scottish oak trees. Something of a rarity in whisky maturation.

 Nose -  light and delicate, green fruits, apples and pears in a vanilla sauce. There is a hint of raspberry jelly and ice cream about it too.

 Taste - The fruits from the nose continue. Green apple, vanilla and cinnamon. A creamy finish on this along with some oak bitterness right at the end.

 Overall - Nice enough blend though I don't think the Scottish oak adds anything different to be honest. Certainly not anything to warrant the £75 a bottle price tag.

 Glaswegian
A 54.2% ABV 29 year old single grain from (I assume) Port Dundas matured in American Oak barrels. £130 per bottle.

 Nose -  Wow! Custard creams, creme brulee, vanilla, very sweet buttery fudge, toffee popcorn

 Taste - More of the same as the nose, Syrupy thick arrival with very sweet grain notes. Bit of pineapple syrup, creamy, salted caramel sauce, sticky toffee pudding. Vanilla ice cream.

 Overall - I'll skip the dessert and just have one, make that two, of these please.

Quartermaster
A bit of an oddity this. An 11 year old blend of grain and malt whiskies, portions of which have been matured in Caribbean rum casks, Spanish Sherry butts and American White Oak barrels. Sitting at 46,4% ABV and costing £75.

 Nose -  Nectarines, demerara sugar, peach cobbler and custard with a bit of cinnamon on top. Also a bit of spicy white pepper

 Taste - Quite dry, medium texture. Not as sweet as I'd expect from the nose, actually quite the opposite. Bitter lemon and a sour, vegetal note on the finish along with a lot of oak

 Overall - Not for me this one I'm afraid. Find it quite sour and bitter.

 Speyside
A 20 year old malt from a now closed Speyside distillery (Imperial?) at 41% ABV. This spent 20 years  in American White Oak before being finished in cognac barriques for 7 months.£150 per bottle

 Nose -  Lot of powdered sugar, some green notes like pine or fir tree, menthol, eucalyptus. Also a hint of waxed jacket..

 Taste- Medium mouthfeel, candied citrus fruits, dark chocolate covered ginger.  Dry on the finish, fair bit of oak

 Overall -  Very reminicant of some Dailuaine bottlings I have tried (no bad thing) but I don't get much from the Cognac finishing. Quality stuff none the less.

 Thanks to @TheWhiskyWire and @WhiskyWorksLtd for the chance to sample some lovely drams. The Glaswegian was the best of the bunch for me, by a country mile.

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