Master Of Malt – Bunnahabhain 20, Inchgower 29, St Isidore and Besmoked Vodka Tastings

Master Of Malt's Sample Collection!

Eek! I don’t know where the time has gone!

I meant to blog about this ages ago. To recap: The ‘Chaps’ at Master Of Malt have sent me a great new set of malt whisky samples (plus one honourary Vodka.)

Well time flies like an arrow (and fruit flies like a banana – so they say) so I thought I’d better blog with my opinion on the samples. My notes are certainly not as wordy or technical as some but maybe I can be forgiven for that and hopefully they can be considered as a form of liquid sound-bite or malt-bite.

Anyway, here are the results (in no particular order) Thanks once again to those nice chaps at MOM.

I couldn’t have done it without you! (I shall be quicker next time, honest!)

Here are my taste buds results …

	Bunnahabhain 20 Year Old 1990 – Single Cask Nose: Powerful, sweet caramel tones. Almost fudge like. Lovely sherry wafts. Palate: Lovely sherry flavours. Slightly tanin but very rich and sweet (which sounds like a contradiction but hey ho!) Finish: Spicy finish. Very warm. Overall: A nice sherry dram. Very moreish! Love the sweetness. As you may have guessed, I’m a big fan of sherry drams.
	Inchgower 29 Year Old – Single Cask Nose: Subdued nose with hints of vanilla or creamy custard. Promise of some sweetness. Palate: Very sweet and syrupy. Maybe even heading towards oily. Finish: Spicy finish with hints of nutmeg. Overall: Definite favourite! The extra sweetness will have people coming back for a second or third, “Just a little more …”!
	St Isidore Nose: Warm and smokey. Images of the coast and windswept beaches. Palate: Seems quite ‘thin’, dare I say watery? Oops! Plenty of woodsmoke and warmth though. Slight sweetness. Finish: Spicy and warming. Goes down rather easily. Overall: Very nice but not one of my favourites. A pleasant enough smokey whisky. I think, maybe, I should persevere with it though as it is growing on me!
	Besmoked Vodka Nose: Master of malt says it reminds them of bonfire night. I can heartily agree! Woodsmoke, burnt embers. It’s all there together with herby fragrances. Palate: Suprisingly sweet. Strong smoke flavours with a slight spice hit. Finish: Sweet, oily and the ever present smokeyness. Hints of tobacco. Overall: I’m not a big vodka fan but this is amazing! The smoke just lasts and lasts!