The holidays are coming… holidays are coming!
Like a couple of kids in a sweetie shop, or more aptly like the kids who can’t get to sleep on Christmas Eve as Santa is on his way…
Myself and Dad will be relaxing on our holidays the first eight days of advent (Las Vegas is calling), and as the Drinks by the Dram Whisky Advent Calendar is a little heavy for carry on luggage we debated whether to open the first eight now or wait till we return on the 8th of December. So as impatient as we are, and after a lengthy debate we believed it to be just and right to allow ourselves the first 8 doors of the Whisky Advert Calendar now!
We thought we should also provide a few fast tasting notes on the drams inside, just for fun.
n=Nicola & j=Jim
Day 1 gave us an absolutely stoater of a dram to get started with, a Glenfarclas 25yo…. and a partridge in a pear tree
n: great start to the Christmas season, plums, prunes and a deep red smoky jam, tastes of a oaky, rich juicy sultanas in a choc sauce
Day 2 takes us to Japan, a Yoichi
j: predominately vanilla and gooseberries, with a hint hit of mild spice, a tiny waft of smoke at the end
Day 3 delivers Compass Box’s Great King Street Artists Blend 
j: rich, sweet, lemon sherbets, peach melba, creamy and rather drying
Day 4 we are crossing the pond to Louisville in the state of Kentucky and Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon 12yo
n: corn flakes drowned with brown sugar, brown toast and honey, flaked almonds and walnuts, dry like peanut skins
Day 5 heading up the A9 to Dornoch we are spoiled by the very Christmassy Dalmore 15yo
n: dried wood, cherry pies, strawberry tarts, brazil nuts and camp coffee
Day 6 finally we arrive on the Whisky Isle and the baby of the bunch, Kilchoman Machir Bay 2014 bottling
j: all things Islay, cockles and muscles, smoke from a chimney, doctors gladstone bag, Jumbos delight
Day 7 one of my favourite regions from this year Campbeltown brings us Glen Scotia Double Cask
n: Herbal and spicy, old ropes on the harbour wall, sweet with a hint of smoke
Day 8 Speyside finally makes an appearance, Blavenie 15yo Single Cask
n: gluey and honeyed, soft rubber, flip flops on the sand, fired, port notes
The remaining 16 doors of drams is something to look forward to when we get back from Vegas I suppose.
So far the varied selection of Whiskies has been welcomed with only the exception of the Balvenie Single Cask, the sappy gluey notes were a little clawing, not what I would have expected at all, so my fav of the 8 was the Glenfarclas 25yo, a great dram to start off the Christmas period, and Dad’s fav was the Kilchoman Machir Bay. 😉
A Whisky Advent Calendar is a great idea, but it is also simply wonderful as a Russian roulette tasting pack also, you never know what your gonna get!
