On a near perfect Tuesday evening in late June, all 10 members of the Wee Drammers gathered at John G’s home for our first face-2-face meeting in many months. With COVID-19 rules and protocols relaxing, a gathering of 10 in an outdoor venue (John’s lower patio) meant that the time was right! Even the weather cooperated. After a few days of scorching heat, things moved to a more tolerable level especially with the added shade on John’s patio.
John offered up tasting numbers 102 and 103 since the group began. For this evening, we sampled one Speyside and one Highland. First up was the Benriach 10 year old coming our of Speyside. Inspired by a dram sampled back in November 2016, the Benriach 12year old, the 10 year old is the “flagship expression of the Benriach distillery. Barrelled in bourbon and ex-sherry casks for at least a decade, one can expect citrus, gingerbread and cinnamon on the nose, brown sugar and powerful barley notes on the palate and peppery malt and vanilla custard for the finish. As one would expect, the Benriach 10 Year old was well received by the group. Priced at $110 plus tax, it is an enjoyable dram!
John’s second choice for the evening comes out of the Tullibardine Distillery – a 12 year old branded as Hepburn’s Choice (Langside). At $139.99 pre-tax, this highlander presents chocolate with aromas of plum and toasted malt on the nose, a dose of orange peel, plump raisins and spice dark chocolate on the palate and a lingering honey malt on the finish. Like the Benriach, this dram from Tullibardine was well received by the group!
