Scotch Club

Since I have been trying to expand my palate with things like scotch and new foods I figured attending an official scotch tasting would be pretty fun. I joined the Scotch Club at the St. Paul Grill and last night they had a tasting. For $25 dollars you got 3 different samples of Scotch.

The General Manager was pouring and went into detail about how each scotch was made and what types of flavors to look for. The maker was Glenfarclas and we tried a 12 year, 21 year and the 105 Cask Strength.

It was an event you pre-registered, you checked in and were handed 3 cards to turn in for each of your tastings. The boyfriend, my friends Bobby, Christine and Joe were all there and we definitely lowered the average age at the bar Let’s just say it was full of middle aged gentlemen.

12 Years Old 43% Vol.

Colour: Vibrant amber-gold.
Nose: Fresh and beautifully light, sherried fruit combined with a tempting spicy sweetness and a hint of sappy oak.
Flavor: Full bodied, delightful sherried fruit, with oak, a hint of peat and delicious sweet sensations.
Finish: Long and flavorsome, with a lingering spiceness.
Comment: An excellent introduction to the distillery style. Glenfarclas means Glen of the Green Grassland, and the freshness on the nose is reminiscant of grassland in spring. So, this is the ‘farclas’ aroma. In 2006 this was named the ‘Best Sherried Whisky’ in the Single Malt World Cup. More recently Glenfarclas 12 Years Old won Gold at the Stockholm Beer & Whisky Festival in 2007 and again in 2008.

21 Years Old 43% Vol.

Colour: Dark amber-gold.
Nose: Intense, full of aromas – sherried fruit, tropical fruit, nutmeg and almonds with slight citrus notes at the end, all held together with a vanilla sweet smokiness
Flavor: Full bodied rich and rounded develops slowly into fruity, smoky and spicy flavors.
Finish: Long-lasting, smooth a smoky with a chocolate feel at the back of your throat.
Comment: An incredibly rounded whisky that leaves you refreshed and contented. A whisky that always deserves a second glass.

105 Cask Strength 60% Vol.

Colour: Deep peaty-gold.
Nose: Complex, oaky, apples and pears, and a tempting dark toffee sweetness.
Flavor: Dry and assertive, develops quickly to reveal a rich spiciness, combined with a hint of oak and sherried fruit.
Finish: Amazingly smooth for the strength; wonderfully warming and with a lingering smokiness, yet very rounded.
Comment: A great whisky holding all the flavors of all the Glenfarclas in one glass. Being so warming, this is the perfect Hogmanay dram. The smoothness makes the 105 drinkable at cask strength, but adding a little water to fully explore its great depth is suggested.

My favorite, the 21 year. So smooth with just a hint of smokiness.