All 10 members of the group gathered virtually for our May tasting. Hosted on Zoom, it was Ron’s turn to introduce two more to our growing list of single malts we have sampled, numbers 100 and 101
Single malt is not normally thought of as a summer drink and rarely, if ever, is it considered an appropriate aperitif, although the trend towards creating mixed whisky based drinks is becoming popular. Try this for example – https://bit.ly/3p0s2g9
Our samples for this month work to debunk these ideas as well. Both are from Highlands/Speyside and they land squarely as samples of the most elegant of the Scotland’s best. Both play in the big leagues along with other big names including Aberlour, Balvenie, Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, and Macallan. Each dram should be a ‘fit’ for summer sampling, whisky that could actually be an aperitif (if that’s possible; some say it isn’t) and would (might) be a nice change from the heavier, peatier(?) whisky we have been getting used to. They move whisky from a winter experience accompanied by cool weather, fireplaces and heavier foods to a summer drink, with warm temperatures and lighter, fruity and perhaps a bit gentler foods.
Each are light, without peat or smoke and for the most part, have not been barrelled in sherry, bourbon, or wine casks. Words like subtle, elegant and floral are used often when describing them. Aromatic , fresh, fruity, gentle, crisp, and clean are common adjectives.
After our tasting the consensus was … we like all we’ve sampled. Some we like more than others. Tonight’s selections were in no danger of being rejected.
