Technology is awesome. Could you imagine coordinating and hosting a whisky tasting across multiple continents in real-time 10 or 20 years ago? 20 years back it would have most likely involved sending faxes to each other with a phone tucked under an ear. 10 years ago it would have been via email or an IM application, but not open to all to follow. Thankfully, these days we have Twitter and Steve.
Steve Rush, of The Whisky Wire, has run a multitude of Twitter whisky tastings over the last while and they always run smoothly, with the only concern being whether or not the samples will:
- a) arrive,
- b) arrive before the tasting,
- c) be intact.
That brings us to the most recent tasting, namely a Midleton #SPSWhiskeyTT – the clue’s in the hashtag:
- SPS – Single Pot Still
- Whiskey – We’re talking the Irish variety here
- TT – Twitter Tasting
The drams for the night were a bevy of beauties from the Midleton stable: Redbreast 12, Green Spot, Powers John’s Lane and Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy. All of which I was fortunate enough to taste in 2011 in a Dave Broom workshop on Irish Whiskey at WhiskyLive South Africa. The tasting was early in the evening and we tasted 7 drams if I recall correctly. Suffice to say when I left the workshop and made my way to the main hall I had a fantastic appreciation of Irish Single Pot Still whiskeys and slightly blurred vision!
It was with great anticipation that I found myself sitting in front of my laptop last night with my samples, wondering if they would still hold up to my initial Single Pot Still experience. And let me just take this opportunity to comment on the samples themselves. The Drink PR Agency team did a fantastic job in labelling the samples – all pertinent information was right there, including a colour picture of the whiskey itself. Well done folks – here’s hoping it becomes a standard for samples destined for Twitter tastings.
Here are my tasting note ramblings, lifted directly from Twitter:
Redbreast 12 Year Old |
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STYLE Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. PRODUCED BY ABV |
Redbreast 12 Nose: rich and lucious – toffee, coffee, spice and citrus oils. Love it!#SPSWhiskeyTT
— Mark H / WTF Blog (@fr1day) February 27, 2013
Redbreast 12 Palate: sherry notes add lovely depth to the marzipan, toffee, raisins and citrus peel chasing around my mouth #SPSWhiskeyTT
— Mark H / WTF Blog (@fr1day) February 27, 2013
Redbreast 12 Finish: Warm and long – nuttiness and spices (pepper) linger… #SPSWhiskeyTT
— Mark H / WTF Blog (@fr1day) February 27, 2013
Green Spot |
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STYLE Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. PRODUCED BY ABV |
Green Spot Nose: Apple crumble fresh out the oven, liberally sprinkled with fudge crumbs and mixed herbs(??)#SPSWhiskeyTT
— Mark H / WTF Blog (@fr1day) February 27, 2013
Green Spot Palate: Kind of like an icecream sundae. You’ve got the vanilla, banana too, and a hint of other fresh fruits#SPSWhiskeyTT
— Mark H / WTF Blog (@fr1day) February 27, 2013
Green Spot Palate: let the liquid slide under your tongue and it reveals a more bitter side to it’s sweet nature#SPSWhiskeyTT
— Mark H / WTF Blog (@fr1day) February 27, 2013
Powers John’s Lane Release |
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STYLE Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. PRODUCED BY ABV |
Powers John’s Lane Nose: My fave so far of the night! Vanilla, banana, printer paper, creamy with a subtle mineral note #SPSWhiskeyTT
— Mark H / WTF Blog (@fr1day) February 27, 2013
Powers John’s Lane Palate: imagine being able to chew on a creamy espresso that has been blended w fruit salad and spices#SPSWhiskeyTT
— Mark H / WTF Blog (@fr1day) February 27, 2013
PJL: A smouldering finish! A huge 4-way brawl between ginger, pepper, chocolate and oak. In the end we’re the winners! #SPSWhiskeyTT
— Mark H / WTF Blog (@fr1day) February 27, 2013
Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy |
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STYLE Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. PRODUCED BY ABV |
Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy Nose: So elegant! Beautiful interplay btwn oak and vanilla. Pears drizzled with cream#SPSWhiskeyTT
— Mark H / WTF Blog (@fr1day) February 27, 2013
Midleton BCL Nose: I swear I was sniffing this so hard I nearly snorted some up my nose! Should come with a health warning! #SPSWhiskeyTT
— Mark H / WTF Blog (@fr1day) February 27, 2013
BCL Palate: Hold this one in your mouth for a while people! Initial sweet melon rush, then peppers/limes/cinnamon surges… #SPSWhiskeyTT
— Mark H / WTF Blog (@fr1day) February 27, 2013
BCL Palate: … then settles into a delightful fruit salad, dominated by pears. So well-rounded! #SPSWhiskeyTT
— Mark H / WTF Blog (@fr1day) February 27, 2013
Dear World, please go away for a while and leave me to enjoy this sumptuous, fruity elegant Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy #SPSWhiskeyTT
— Mark H / WTF Blog (@fr1day) February 27, 2013
Without a shadow of a doubt, the Barry Crockett Legacy was my favourite whiskey on the night, but as my fellow tasters said, the Redbreast 12 is a shoe-in at roughly half the price.
A big thanks goes out to Steve and The Drink PR Agency for putting together another great Twitter tasting and for having me along for the ride. Here’s to the next one!
Slàinte!