This was our ninth Whiskey Chaps blind tasting, in which @sirdeco (there is a link to follow Declan on Twitter at the bottom of the page) became our eighth volunteer to send us three blind whisk(e)y samples to nose and taste, and to see if we could guess anything about each of them, in return we send samples back.
Blind sample 1
Appearance
Mid gold in colour, the swirl line beads up immediately. The whole glass gets a coating before eventually settling into medium thick legs and teardrops.
Nose
Plenty of wood, red cherries, pencil shavings, sandalwood, there’s also dunnage, and some woodland notes. Definitely linseed oil, and wood varnish, it’s quite a carpenters shop dram for me.
Palate
Lovely mouthfeel, super spicy, that 1st fill is proper kicking in now. Loads of cinnamon, lots of vanilla, cardamom, anise, white and black pepper too. Wow what a mouthful of spices, christmas cake/pudding, dates, cloves, 5 spice, sherry soaked dark fruits in general, and definitely black pepper now, char, espresso and dark chocolate coated raisins. Cranberries and some drying too.
Finish
Quite long, warming and spicy, chest warming tbh. Lovely dark chocolate, dark fruit, cinnamon, ginger root, anise, cranberries, and plenty of wood.
And the sample is
We have a winner!!!! #thewhiskeychaps pic.twitter.com/lVDxWCgDRv
— Declan Hynes (@sirdeco) August 5, 2021
My thoughts
We tasted this just after it was released, @whiskeychap bought a bottle, and i enjoyed as much this time as i had the first time. It’s a belter everytime for me, soooo spicy with a super ABV. I’d definitely have a bottle.
Blind sample 2
Appearance
Mid gold in colour again, and a thicker swirl line this time. Syrupy thick legs eventually run down the glass. The swirl line actually thickens with time.
Nose
More fruit with this one, and an unusual note in it also, one iv’e come across but not often. Round green/red boiled apple sweets, balsa wood, woodland here too. I’m adding cream soda, grains and cereals, almost pastry like, and slowly becoming more jammy.
Palate
Nice mouthfeel, lots of vanilla, white pepper, green grapes, pomello, not as strong as grapefruit though.
Finish
Long side of medium, becoming quite spicy tbh. It’s more of the palate flavours with some cocoa and chocolate added, it’s rather nice.
And the sample is
So, Cooley distilled for 19 years in bourbon casks…recasked in red wine barrels from Mallorcan winery Anima Negra… hope you enjoyed this tricky one!! #thewhiskeychaps pic.twitter.com/4bFKq2Z0M3
— Declan Hynes (@sirdeco) August 5, 2021
My thoughts
I struggled a little to match the blind sample with what it was after the reveal. I didn’t expect it to be this aged either, though in this current whisk(e)y landscape age is a difficult thing to guess. Iv’e been wanting to try a Celtic cask bottling in all honesty, and i’m really pleased i have, i enjoyed this whiskey too. As to whether i’d buy one, i would but only if it was reduced, it’s a price i can’t generally go to.
Blind sample 3
Appearance
Deep amber in colour here, and the syrupy swirl line breaks up immediately into small teardrops and medium thick legs.
Nose
Wow, that’s my nose hairs gone. Bigger abv here, again plenty of wood, dunnage, almost cap gun caps, but not sulphurous, old style glazing putty, linseed oil, icing sugar too. Black treacle, icing sugar still, but in general i’m getting heavier spicy notes, perhaps even juniper/conifer.
Palate
Nice mouthfeel, and lots of dark fruits for me, sherry soaked dark fruits for a christmas pudding, it’s quite a spice bomb tbh. Cloves, dates, figs,raisins. This is sooooo spicy now, ginger root, hot cinnamon, anise, black peppercorns, char, espresso, a touch of salt on the lips too for me.
Finish
Long on length, almost hot with the spice, and the flavours are a continuation of the palate to be honest.
And the sample is
So I stuck with what I know (or think I know!) all night, Irish whiskey… the final drams is from @Boanndistillery (just down the road from me!) and one of my favs… #thewhiskeychaps pic.twitter.com/uEZIpfWJHl
— Declan Hynes (@sirdeco) August 5, 2021
My thoughts
This is also a whiskey iv’e wanted to try, and there’s so much flavour in it, and if you like a dirty sherry bomb this could well be a dram form you. I really enjoyed it, and i’d buy a bottle too.
Overall tasting thoughts
Well we’ve been spoilt with 3 great whiskeys from Declan, 2 of which i was well aware of and wanted to try. The quality of drams sent in by volunteers has been so high, and i can’t thank everyone enough.
There are many more Tweets from this tasting, including our guesses, than i can list here, if you’d like to read more of them check out #thewhiskeychaps through Tweetdeck, and look for tweets of mine that have BT9 in them, and other tweets from around them in the Tweetdeck timeline.
Our next blind tasting will be with Nick – @AyeWhisky, on the 9th of September, that’s going to be another great evening.
Follow @sirdeco Follow @AyeWhisky Follow @thewhiskeychaps
