Scotch Tasting (September 27th, 2024)
This was our 4th Scotch Tasting, and considered the ‘tie breaker’ from the 3rd Scotch Tasting. The 3rd Scotch Tasting was pretty well, a 4 way tie, so I brought them back, with a few siblings for support. The bottles in question were;
| TT Label | Description | Proof | Region | Rating | Price (CAD$) |
| F | Aberfeldy 16 yr | 80 | Highland | 8.3 | $103/$105 USD |
| C | Aberlour A’bunadh | 120 | Speyside | $140/$110 USD | |
| B | Aberlour 16 yr | 80 | Speyside | $115/$105 USD | |
| A | Macallan, 12 yr, Double Cask | 80 | Speyside | 7.8 | $150/$65 USD |
| H | Macallan, 12 yr, Sherry Cask | 80 | Speyside | 8.4 | $200/$85 USD |
| E | Oban Distiller’s Edition | 86 | Highland | 8.0 | $170/$120 USD |
| G | Oban 14 yr | 86 | Highland | 7.2 | $130/$92 USD |
| D | Tomatin 2001, 15+ yr old, store pick, CS | 109 | Highland | 7.2 | $150/NA |
As discussed previously the 3rd tasting was a 4 way tie, for all intents and purposes, so this one included those 4 (Aberfeldy 16 yr, Aberlour 16 yr, Macallan 12 yr Double Cask, and Oban 14 yr), and I included another one in the same product line, if possible. I added Aberlour A’bunadh (a cask strength Aberlour), Macallan 12 yr, but Sherry Cask finish, Oban Distiller’s Edition, I was looking to get an Aberfeldy 18 yr, or 16 yr, with a different finish, but they were all like $180 even in Calgary, and I didn’t pick one up in time, but I had a Tomatin that intrigued me, since it was cask strength and 15+ yrs, I did like the Tomatin Cask Strength in one of our other tastings. I was worried though, it was quite light in color.
So the competition was on! We had 17 on the call.
I hosted this one in Boston, my first traveling show! Thank you to my cousin Allison for letting me host it at her house in Boston. I think it worked well, I arrived just in time for the tasting after a 6-7 hour drive, I might have picked up some bottles at a liquor store or two, on the way.
We also got to see a Beth Hart concert the next day, but that’s a whole other story, and you probably don’t know who that is, unless you like blues.
I included the tasting map, but we are going up in $$, so fewer and fewer of our selections are on the map these days.
In terms of people guessing, 3 people got 3.5 correct, out of 8. I counted 1/2 if you got the brand right, but not the specific product. So Allison C, Mary, and Derek K all got 3.5. Alison R, and Emilio both got 3
The Winners!
1st Place (8.4) $200/$85
2nd Place (8.3) $103/$105
3rd Place (8.0) $170/$120
The next Tasting in October will be Cask Strength Bourbon.
The Survey Results
| A-Mc DC | B-ABerl -16 | C -ABerl A | D -Tom | E – Oban DE | F – ABerf 16 | G – OBan 14 | H- Mc SC | |
| Vince | 8 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| Ron K | 7 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Kevin C. | 8 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Marco | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Ken | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
| Dottie C. | 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 10 |
| Mary W. | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 |
| Stephane | 6 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 8 | |
| John H | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Allison | 9 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 9 |
| Brandon | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 |
| Alison R | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 |
| Chris K | 7 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 6 |
| Martin | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 9 |
| Derek K | 9 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Emilio | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 7 |
| Frank | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Total | 133 | 132 | 115 | 122 | 128 | 141 | 122 | 142 |
| Average | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 8 | 8.3 | 7.2 | 8.4 |
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