October was the 1st month that I juggled a new full-time ‘regular’ job that immediately plunged me into a demanding yet incredibly interesting project. And yet, what is a Whisky Lady to do but keep up with tastings too!
Thankfully it was a ‘slow’ month with only the Whisky Ladies and Original club’s having full tasting sessions. To keep things interesting, there were also were a few minis sessions too!
Our Whisky Ladies celebrated Diwali in all our finery and accompanied the festivities with Asia focused whiskies:
- From Japan – Hakushu 43%,
- From Bhutan – K5 40% vs Misty Peak 40%,
- And back to Japan Nikka From the Barrel 51.4% vs Super Nikka Whisky 43% (revival version)
Rye (Photo: Nikkhil Shirodkar)
Whereas our original club had a remarkable rye focused evening:
- Cody Road Rye (Iowa)
- Cascadia Rye (Português Port Barrels) 43.5% (Washington)
- High West Whiskey Double Rye 46% (Utah)
- Pikesville Straight Rye
My mini sessions had three distinctly different bents… The 1st was peaty with:
- Peat Chimney 12 year 40% (Wemyss) – Sea swept salty maritime peat
- Big Peat 46% (Douglas Laing) – Kept shifting and changing, overall delightfully
- Longrow 46% – Earthy, organic peat
- BenRiach Peated Quarter Cask 46% – Peppery peat, Christmas treat!
- Ledaig 10 year 46.3% – Farm peat, spice and straight forward
The 2nd was a revisit of Glenfarclas with:
- 15 year 46% – Straightforward, no pretence
- 105 60% – A full strength sherry berry cake, best had with a few drops of water
- 21 year 43% – Approachable and multi-dimensional
- 25 year 43% – A 2nd date dram that needs time to reveal its full character…
And the 3rd was not whisky at all but rum!
- Diplomatico 40%
- Zacapa 23 Solera 40% vs XO 40%
- El Dorado 12 year 40%
- Criterion 10 year 56%
October also introduced a new guest writer from our original club – Nikkhil Shirodkar – who provided the terrific notes on the September session I missed:
- Writers Tears (2013 Release) Cask Strength 53% – Alas didn’t meet expectations
- Springbank 12 year (June 2016) Burgundy 53.5% – A Burgundy wine twist
- Springbank 12 year (Jan 2017) Cask Strength 54.2% – The clear favourite! Gorgeous sherry and peat interplay
While I missed Mumbai, I did explore a whisky watering hole in Toronto… where I sampled a trio of bourbons at 1602 Dundas:
- Black Maple Hill Kentucky Straight Bourbon 47.5% – Mysterious origins, tasty results
- Basil Hayden’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon 40% – Double the Rye, interesting nose
- Elmer T Lee Kentucky Single Barrel Bourbon 45% – Cinnamon spice, oaky and bitter
The month closes with my hopping on a plane to Germany… let’s see what can be discovered next!
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Everyday Asia 
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And Happy Birthday!