Peolple say that parents don't have a favourite child but if whisky events were children then this was my personal favourite from 2017.
The theme was salt, sugar & smoke and that we had! Whenever we do a tasting at Blackline then we put in a little extra effort with the food. I started the evening by smoking some walnuts to accompany the crispy winter salad to go with Jansson's temptation. If you've never had it, it's loaded with potatoes and anchovies and then baked in the oven until the anchovies start to melt. Amazing with a whisky or beer. Sweet? Nope but the dessert was: plum and apple compote with whipped cream, meringue, star anise and clove.
This set us up well for the whiskies that followed:
We started with the 10yo from Teaninich, which is located in the Northern Highlands close to the shoreline of Cromarty Firth. - Fruity and exotic with a salty finish and a hint of smoke. A big up to Michael from Borco for Prophecy from Jura that came next - heavily peated and very costal. We mostly found sweet and nutty notes in the background but in general it gave us a shape of things to come. Whisky number three was the 2016 edition of Longrow Peated, which I bought ages ago for the next time we had a smoky tasting in Eppendorfer Weg. The fine Campbeltown malt was very complex, lots of fruitiness, green apples and the freshness of mint. But what about the smoke? oh yeah there was smoke! Peat and tar in the mouth with sea salt, black pepper and candied pears to remember it by.
A big thanks goes to Ewald from Bruichladdich for our finale: Octomore 08.1. Animal like in it's intensity and definitely one for people looking for a light whisky. As all with all the other Octomores the 08.1 is incredibly peaty and very complex. Tobias from Barleymania described it as: "A wealth of malty, grainy and meaty flavours as well as hints of light fruits and chewy fudge." We paired it with some really well made Beef Jerky from Grizzly Snacks.
A great evening and if you are thinking of joining us in February for the next Tasting I may have an event that tops this one! http://thewhiskyjack.com/future-tastings/
Some friends: www.barleymania.com www.blacklinecoffee.de www.borco.com www.bruichladdich.com www.grizzlysnacks.de
