Whisky Tasting Club Blog

Whisky Tasting Club

Auchentoshan

December 21, 2012 No comments

Auchentoshan have unveiled three “exceptional expressions for the discerning whisky drinker”, the 1966, 1979 and the 2012 Valinch.

Rather than simply pass news of this intelligence on to you, we thought it would be a lot more professional if we put their “exceptional” claims to the test and tried the samples ourselves. Unsurprisingly, they weren’t able to part with a sample of the 1966 expression (Bah!) but were very happy to send samples of the 1979 and the Valinch.

Here’s what we (Pat and Tony) thought of them:

Valinch 2012 (57.2% abv)

The valinch is named after the weird metal pipette thingy that is used to draw whisky from the cask. In fact, this is the cask strength version of the Auchentoshan Classic that you can find in many self-respecting supermarkets for a snip. Never having tried that, and not being particular a fan of the 12 or the Three Wood, I had no idea what to expect. Well, actually, that’s not strictly, true; I have tasted some bourbon matured Auchentoshans over the past few years and they were stunning. Proper Lowland whiskies. This one, happily, is matured in first-fill North American ex-bourbon casks, so this looked promising.

Nose: Without water, quite closed but definite toffee, banana custard (an Auchentoshan signature taste, as far as I can work out) and crème brulee. With water it becomes more aggressive with chili spice complimenting the creamy apple elements. In fact, this was like a beefed-up Irish single malt.

Taste: With water, the Irish comparisons continue with apple skins, very light citrus (orange mainly) and sherbet.

Overall, a nice summery dram that didn’t move the earth but was a very pleasant way to spend 10 minutes or so. Auchentoshan, in other words. OK, so let’s move onto the 1979, which, by the look of it, has seen rather a lot of a sherry butt.

Auchentoshan 1979 (50.5%abv)

Only 1000 bottles of this expression were released, and the asking price is somewhere in the region of £350 per bottle. Ouch! Rather than being double matured, this was exclusively matured in an Oloroso sherry cask for the duration. The question is was it a sulphur bomb or a fruit cake extravaganza.

Nose: Bloody gorgeous! Obviously an untainted and high quality sherry butt. Meadow flowers (violets), minty, bitter coffee, sultanas, dates and caramel chocolate.

Taste: At first, clean and heavy sherry, then an explosion of red fruits, strawberry jam, spice, bitter chocolate and chili.

It’s a lot of money and it’s a moot point whether I’d pay £350 for a bottle but if you like whisky matured in great sherry butts, then this must be a contender.

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Glengoyne

November 15, 2012 No comments

Glengoyne have launched an extend range of bottlings, and were kind enough to send us some samples. We split them between me (Tony) and Pat. Pat drew the curtains, cleansed his palate, meditated for an hour or so, then allowed the whisky to interact with his nose and taste buds in strange and interesting ways. I took mine to the footy  and sneakily drank them with my brotherr in an Eric Morecambe style (*cough* Arsenal).

Glengoyne 15

Pat Says: Nose: Spiced apple, toffee, cachou sweets, candied lemon peel, nutmeg and Christmas pudding.

Taste: Light and buttery at first, then vanilla shortbread, coconut and wood spice, followed by a mouth-coating spice at the finish.

Although feels quite rich, this is more of an autumnal whisky.  Rich and yet light
enough for numerous refills.  Like it!!

Tony Says: After we went one nil up against Fulham we cracked this open to celebrate. We thought it drinkable but fairly anonymous. After the second goal we happily finished it. This costs about £48

Glengoyne 18

Pat Says: Nose: Voluptuous and fruity.  Red apple and ripe grape, poached pears and spiced fruit compote with a butterscotch base and, bizarrely a hint of fresh green peppers.

Taste: Perhaps a bit of a disappointment, given the nose.  Light, vanilla, macaroons, apples and almonds with a slightly vegetal quality.  Quite
drying at the end.

Don’t get me wrong, this is nice but is perhaps a little one-dimensional on the palate. Like it, but not as much as the 15.

Tony says: The bitter taste in my mouth was down to Fulhams equaliser, not this whisky. This struck us as more complex and interesting than the 15, a bit nutty and mouth filling. Dont listen to Pat, my brother and I liked it more than the 15. Mind you, it costs £75.

 

Glengoyne Cask Strength

Pat Says:

Nose (without water): Quite vegetal and closed.  Lardy cake and lemon buttercream and ginger.

Nose (with water): Really opens out.  Sultana, walnut, wood polish, citrus peel,
tangerines, bitter dark chocolate.

Taste: Lighter than you think. Date and walnut cake. Creamy, smooth and silky.
Spicy, but not overpowering.

This is what the 18 should have been.

Tony Says: 2-0 up, 3-2 down, the only solace I have is that I still have a cask strength whisky in my pocket. Initial joy was tempered by an overriding anticlimax when the finish failed at the last and stunned disappointment was all we could feel. But enough of the football, the whisky was really nice. This costs about £45

 

Pat says: All in all, a lovely trio of whiskies, and would go for the Cask Strength, 15 and 18 in that order.  Three Autumnal crackers.

Tony says: what he says. I actually really like the standard 10, so might not stump up for the 15 or 18. I would definitely consider upgrading from the 10 to the cask strength though.

 

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Whisky Opus

September 6, 2012 No comments

Dominic Roskrow and Gavin Smith’s ‘The Whisky Opus’ (with the help of Davin de Kergommeaux and Jürgen Deibel) is a book that looks firmly to the future. And what a future. Whisky is currently at the height of its popularity with distilleries opening at a rapid rate on every continent except Antarctica.

This isn’t, however, an exhaustive account of the world’s distilleries – that would need a book twice the size – but it gives a great account of how whisky is changing in a world that can’t get enough of the stuff. It details both the established regions (e.g. Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Japan, the US) and those that are rightly starting to gain recognition in the whisky world, such as India, Switzerland, France and Australia (which gets its own 14-page section).

Whilst eschewing the usual pages’ worth to what whisky is and how is it made – although these are covered in just enough detail for the newbies – The Whisky Opus instead seeks to answer some of the pertinent contemporary questions about, for instance, where whisky is going, its challenges, how should it be drunk, what makes it unique and why oak barrels are so important. And, rather than relying on the authors to make these judgements, it asks a range of senior figures from the whisky industry, such as distillers, brand directors, and others whose job it is to predict and slake an increasing world thirst for the stuff. Anybody who’s ever used Dorling Kindersley’s reference books will surely rate them as just about the cleanest and most beautifully thought out and presented reference books on the planet. The Whisky Opus continues in that vein.

Included are selected tasting notes for some standard and more esoteric expressions, giving a taste of the kinds of whiskies currently available from each documented distillery. No doubt some will gripe about the omissions (quite a few of the smaller or more blend-oriented Scottish distilleries only get a sixth of a page each). But, in fact, such brevity allow the authors to go into more depth on, frankly, far more fascinating subjects than minor or closed Scottish distilleries. In their place are documented newer distilleries that only the hardcore whisky enthusiast will ever have heard of, such as the Roseisle, Bosch, Langatun, Belgrove and Tuthilltown distilleries. With his own ‘World Whisky Review’, there is simply no-one better to document this new whisky world than Dom, who has been promoting and fighting the corner of the smaller distillers for some time, culminating in his setting up of the Craft Distillers Association.

This is a perfect coffee table book that you can dip in and out of at will. And, as you’d expect, there are some great whisky tales here too. If you are interested in whisky, where it is at the moment and where it is going, then you need to buy it. Currently on sale from amazon for £22.66

Pat

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Bowmore Small Batch

July 7, 2012 No comments

this new Bowmore expression is in the same entry level market as Bowmore Legend (and may replace it), with a RRP of £32.99. Like Legend, it has no age statement, and is a combination of first and second fill bourbon casks. It is a limited volume release, we imagine in the way A’bunah is, although its not clear if they will number the release.

Nose: Very light at first, then sweet and sour. Tropical fruits with a distant sour smoke (this is a good thing, before you start to wonder), interspersed with a hint of lemon tea

Taste: A thin layer of creaminess as the smoke again keeps its distance, allowing the salt and lemon to flourish. The smoke, however, returns late on in peppery form, finishing with a squeeze of lime juice.

Overall, this is a lovely summery Bowmore which is light and coastal and yet peppery and lightly-peated. For those that find the standard expressions too peated, this is definitely one to try. Created from a selection of first-fill and second-fill bourbon casks, the Small Batch Reserve is Bowmore’s lightest and most delicate expression to date and is incredibly competitively priced at £32.99 from May 2012.

This is a supermarket only whisky, which gives you an insight into the arcane and bizarre way of whisky wholesaling. Morrison-Bowmore sell via a company called Cellar Trends, who require a minimum order of 20 cases. We met with Cellar Trends and they were really helpful, but we are a bit small time to deal with them. However, this new expression is not sold by Cellar Trends, it is presumably sold direct to supermarket chains. Apparently, even the largest online retailers such as Whisky Exchange cannot get hold of it directly. This sort of direct sales relationship is not unusual (think Travel Retail or the Whisky Shop OB exclusive bottlings) and I guess there is logic to it: the retailer is likely to promote your brand more and the price the retailer pays is not generally known. However, it confuses the hell out of small players like us! One day we will be big enough to deal direct … maybe :)

 

 

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St. George’s Distillery Diamond Jubilee

June 24, 2012 No comments

St. George’s Distillery Diamond Jubilee Decanter 46%

This latest limited release from St. George’s distillery is an intriguing combination of whisky matured from a variety of casks, including port casks and lightly peated whisky from sherry casks.

Tony’s notes:

Nose: takes a while to overcome a young maltiness on the nose, but after 5 mins in the glass a light fruitiness dominates. Some depth, hinting at smokiness.
Taste: young and malty at first, then a rounded full mouth fruitiness pops in and out. Some wood then kicks in and lingers.
Finish: a pleasant bitterness persists.
Overall: This is a tasty dram and fairly complex for such a young whisky. More going on here than with some of the previous chapters, and a step forward. Personally, I think the peaty English whiskies are premier league, but the unpeated ones still have a way to go. This expression shows they can merge their stock creatively to produce something interesting. It not only shows their shows their skill at making whisky, but also at creating expressions.

Pat notes:


Nose: Buttery and rich. Rich tea biscuit, wood spice, golden syrup & peaches.

Taste: Immediately sour plums, then spicy and malty. Spiced cherries and apples and custard with a finish tending towards bitterness.

WTC member Phi Blake’s Notes phil bought our first tasting pack and has been with us the whole way.  

At first in the glass its quite savoury, with balsamic vinegar and malt. Left a while the sherry comes through more and sweetens up (candyfloss or marshmallow) the malt is still there and comes through more.

Feels a lot stronger than 46% in the mouth. Lots of spice and nice sweetness, almost sherbet like and slight peat, in the style of a Connemara peated.

Finish has lots more more spice and light pepper and then metallic lemon rind at the end.

 

Summary

Its no secret we are big fans of St. George’s, we do a tasting pack of their whisky and we gave them the top award at a blind tasting when judging the World Whisky Masters. However, its not our Norfolk bias that leads us to say that this expression is distiller David Fitt stretching his wings and the result is, in our opinion, an excellent whisky. You can buy it for around £60

 

 

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Connemara

May 6, 2012 No comments

Reviews by Pat

To cut a long story short (and because I can’t think of a better way to start this off) I decided to try out some of Cooley’s Connemara range.

Cooley do a nifty little three pack, in packaging shaped like a Norman church, or more specifically Winchester cathedral, although that’s where the religious analogy ends (I’ll try and avoid mentioning angels, a heavenly taste, peat fires of hell, fondled by priests, etc.).

For £19 or thereabouts, you get 5cl of the unaged, cask strength and 12 year old expressions, plus a glass. I have long been an admirer of the cask strength but, not having tried it for a while, had you asked me to describe it to you, I wouldn’t have been able to, hence my selfless act of spending the WTC’s money for research purposes.

Connemara No Age Statement (40%)


A lovely nose, although not what you might expect for a peated whisky. The peat is definitely in the background allowing some lovely light fruits their place at the fore. In addition to the expected apple, there were hints of melon, toffee apples, grape and peaches. Taste-wise, there is more of the fruit and the peat makes a slightly less apologetic appearance.

Conclusion: Lovely, but more Highland than Island. I know that Ireland is an island, but that’s pushing it a bit. An excellent introduction to peat for those that want to dip their toes in and not jump in fully-clothes and head first. And it’s only
£30-odd. Bargain!

 

 

Connemara 12 year old (40%)

Pretty much the same as the No Age Statement (NAS) on the nose. The smoke is still quite shy and there are lots of apples and melons on the nose. On the palate there are hints of lychee and an overall heavier feel than the NAS. There IS more smoke but not a LOT more.

Conclusion – this is like the NAS expression after a couple of months in the gym. Considering it is about £40 more expensive (ed: it actually costs about £60.), I think I will stick with the NAS for now. Think of this as Ardbeg’s fruitier and light younger brother, before he started smoking in a serious way.

 

 

 

 

Connemara Cask Strength (57.9%)

Blimey! This is much more like it. Whilst not exactly reaching Supernova levels of peat, this is significantly more peaty than either of the 40% expressions, plus a lovely dose of Jamaican ginger cake on the nose and a slight savouriness. Palate-wise, the peat is more peppery than medicinal with a bitter dark chilli chocolate edge and more pepper to finish.

Conclusion – a real step up in class. The first two are lovely, don’t get me wrong, but this ups the phenols to something approaching the Islays with a lovely peppery and gingery element. However, it’s priced around £50. which makes it a better bet than the 12 year old.

My bet – go for the cask strength. But, if you can afford, get their small batch Turf Mor expression. It’s £60 , but stunning.

Tony adds: rumour has it that Beam Global, new owners of the Cooley distillery that makes Connemara, is massively cutting back on the range of expressions in order to concentrate on making Kilbeggan a competitor to Jamesons. This means small batch whiskies like the Turf Mor and Cask Strength are likely to be discontinued. Shame!

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Crush your enemies…

December 20, 2011 No comments

A couple of weeks ago Jura held a competition on their blog to win a sample of a new release. You had to answer the question of what is good in life. Someone at Jura is obviously a fan of Conan the Barbarian, because my answer of “crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of the women” qualified me for a mystery dram! Hurrah!

We went to Jura on our festival visit. Its an amazing place, it makes Islay feel like a bustling metropolis. Very beautiful, although it has tipped down both times we have visited.

So it has taken me a while to get round to tasting it, primarily because I wanted Pat and/or Dom to try it too. Could not pin down Dom long enough, but last week Pat and I got together to do some end of term tastings. We also tried Superstition (which is going in a soon to be released Islands pack) for contrast.

Jura mystery dram –

Pat’s notes:

Nose – orange cream on the nose, gingersnaps, vegetal, burnt sugar, white chocolate, Caramac.

Palate – very different from the nose!  Light, fresh, smooth, creamy, honey, mint.

Finish – light spices and light tingly wood spices.

Tony says: There is no beating about the bush, I don’t like the nose on this. I am overly sensitive to sulphur, or at least a type of smell I call sulphur, and this has it in spades. Brimstone! It put me off big time. However, the taste is very surprising and unusual. There is a light, minty flavour on the roof of the mouth and edge of the tongue. Tastes almost like an Armagnac.  After the initial light touch it develops a tickly spice on the middle of the tongue that persists pleasantly. Minty length too. No peat discernable to me. This is clearly a complex and interesting whisky which I think I would like a lot more if the nose was not so grim…


Jura superstition – Pat’s notes

Nose – white chocolate, lychee, v distant peat, green fruits, figs, Marmite

Palate – minty, creamy, slowly building peat, liquorice, spice

Finish – vanilla, mint, fireplaces, slightly bitter notes at the end.

Tony says: This is a nice whisky, but the first thing I noticed was how less complex it is than the secret dram. It is also very different and much more what I associate with Jura. So thanks Jura for the sample, I’d love to try the secret one out again,  maybe the nose was an aberation of the sample I had.

 

 

 

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Bowmore Tempest Batch 3

November 10, 2011 No comments

Bowmore Tempest Batch 3

Dominic’s notes:

Duhh-de. Duhh- de…. Just when you thought it was safe to go back to The Bowmore…

This is Bon Jovi playing Queens of The Stone Age, an X Factor contestant playing stoner rock…all scuzzy, oily, dirty rock and roll malt with its heart in the gutter. The cask strength is the whisky equivalent up to turning your amp up to11.  It’s loud, proud and a savoury monster mash. One PR girl reckoned I didn’t like it. Hell, girl, this is Hunter S Thompson, Millwall, Neil Warnock, Liam Gallagher and Rab E Nesbitt rolled in to one. No, I don’t like it.. I love it!

But I’m not sure how normal I am…

Tony adds:

So we have batch 1 tempest in our Islay pack and we also tasted it at the 2010 festival when it was their feis ile bottling. We were all big fans of the Batch 1, classic Bowmore flavours with more punch and peat. The Batch 2 was a lighter, sweeter affair. With this batch 3 they have gone right the other way, its a more full on peaty number. It is more old style peat (think Bowmore/Uigeadail hybrid) with a rough hit but tremendous length. The nose opens up a lot with water, and overall I prefer it slightly diluted. Initially I thought I preferred batch 1, but the more I have the less sure I am. At £40 a bottle I would say its worth a go, its going on my next order.

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Chocolate and Whisky

November 8, 2011 No comments

Chocolate and whisky is a classic combo. Being a bit poncy, we favour quality hand made chocolate truffles and excellent Scotch. So Christmas is coming, you have the whisky, what chocolate should you choose for that evening by the fire moment? WTC are big fans of Norfolk chocolate makers Booja Booja.


They make some amazing truffles, we are particularly keen on the Raspberry Ecuadorian.  Now at this point we thought we should do a chocolate and whisky tasting. Rather than get lots of chocolate and see which goes best with a popular whisky, we got loads of Booja Booja truffles and set out to decide which whisky went best with each flavour. We are after all a whisky tasting club.

1. Raspberry Ecuadorian Truffles

This is a dark, zingy chocolate we found went really well with the Dalwhinnie 15 year old. It is sometimes described as one of the gentlest whiskies around. The light fruity floral character of the whisky perfectly combines with the coconut and raspberry of the truffle. We also thought the Aberlour 12 year old was a great match. The raspberry flavour of the truffle and the sherry notes of the whisky team up to sunning effect, making a fruity trifle in your mouth.

2. Dark Ecuadorian Truffles:

This chocolate is more traditional, and hence can handle a more full on whisky. We liked it with Compass Box Spice Tree. The flavours of the whisky and the Ecuadorian truffle interleave to create a long, smooth and cocoa dusted experience with an almost rum and raisin kick at the end. We also went for Lagavulin distillers edition. Perhaps the ultimate whisky with chocolate, the sherry finish worked well with the Dark Ecuadorian.

So what a nice way of spending an evening. What next? What else goes well with whisky? Beer? Sushi? Hangovers? watch this space.

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Testing the no free lunch theorem

July 9, 2011 No comments

Since there has been so much discussion about blogger blagging, we thought we would  test the  No Free Lunch Theorem by accepting Auchentoshan’s invitation to a dinner at a lovely french restaurant in south ken.  

 

 

Two return tickets to London: £60  

Couple of pints each in a London pub: £20  

Jacket inexplicably lost in the restaurant: £50  

Two singles to Colchester after we missed the last train home: £50  

Cab from Colchester to Norwich £80  

Auchentoshan dinner: Priceless!  

Oh dear, bit of a fiasco at the end. It all started simply enough with train to london is a  journey I make about 25 times a year. Dom turned up at the station with a grin and looking like a bookie as he clutched a bag full of whisky and cash. A few excellent drams on the way down (more on these later) was followed by a tube across London to South Kensington to the land of tourists and rich folk.  

The event was held at Racine restaurant, which claims “Racine Restaurant is a return to a cook’s roots, it is the elusive neighbourhood restaurant you search for in Metropolitan French cities and so rarely find today” Well I dont know about you, but I was delighted my search was over, and when we opened the heavy curtain to gain access, the waiters certainly gave us a look reminiscent of French restaurants. Not sure how many Swedish chefs there are in France though…  

Having been shuffled off into the back room, we were met DK, the kind lady who invited us to the event, and joined a group of about 20. An interesting mix of folk, combining trade and bloggers. Cask strength boys were there and I was happy to meet WTC member   Billy Abbot who actually now works for the Whisky Exchange. Billy is (or was) a programmer who studied computer science, so we spoke geek for a while. Billy definitely has the same definition of smart casual as me …   

The event started with a cocktail. A splendid way to start any event. The cocktail, created by Marcis from 69 Colebrooke Row was a Auchentoshan Three Wood liquorice whisky sour. 50 ml Auchentoshan, 25 ml lemon, 15 ml sugar syrup, 15 ml liquorice syrup (this was his own creation I think), bitters. Dry shake, then add ice and shake, serve with a straw.  

I love a whisky sour and this was good, but you really need to be a fan of liquorice to like this. Since I regularly scoff whole packets of allsorts, this was a hit with me. Bar work has moved on since I were a lad, apparently they all have food science degrees these days. Auchentoshan are running a competition for cocktail barmen, chance to swap places with someone in the states for two weeks. Sounds a bit like work experience; the American barman may be disappointed with the tips. “you will be met by a panel of judges who will put you through a series of challenging mixology tasks”. Blimey, the mind boggles. To be fair, Marcis was himself not a huge fan of the term “mixologist”. I may scoff, but this growth in fancy cocktails, particularly whisky based ones,  is a fantastic development. It seems London has some amazing bars these days (we went to one called Purl recently with Laphroaig and I hear there are many others). I only wish it would spread to us poor provincials. Still, there are at least nascient signs of improvement in cocktail provision even in Norwich. The Plough  do an excellent Gin and Tonic, and the newly refitted Ten Bells are experimenting with creative uses of their superb whisky list (a whisky bar in Norwich! Hurrah). I fear it will be a while before we get a Rhubarb Gimlet though. 

Anyway, I digress. This blog is about Auchentoshan. We then tasted the three wood. Three wood is dom’s favorite of their range. Its rich, fruity and sweet with lots of oak and sherry. It retails at around £35 and has twice nearly made it into one of our tastings: we considered it for both regions and wood. Didnt quite make the cut for either, but I’m sure we will find a tasting for it soon. The whiskies were described by Auchentoshan senior blender Jeremy Stephens (I wonder if blending is a subdivision of mixology? Surely it is a higher art form. We need a formal taxonomy of drinks makers!). Jeremy imparted plenty of interesting information, but since I didnt take notes and was drinking, it has all sadly left me. Hopefully someone more responsible will blog about it. 

 

Our second whisky was the main event: a new limited edition 1999 Bordeaux Cask Matured Auchentoshan. Yes, thats cask matured, not finished: this has spend 11 years in a Chateaux Lagrange cask (in the St. Julien region of Bordeaux).  

Now, neither Dom or I are big fans of wine finishes generally, but I’ve never had a whisky thats lived its whole life in a wine cask. Google tells me that Bowmore have also done a 16 year old wine cask matured expression (Is this a Suntory thing? Someone in the company a big fan of wine?),  but even that apparently spent 6 years in bourbon cask and I cant find reference to anything else. 

So its a very unusual and interesting expression. It is cask strength (58%) and  of course rich in colour. It has a delicate nose, that opens up and for me was really nutty. Dom thought it a confusing nose, going in or out, something he finds commonly in wine expressions.  One thing I generally dont like about wine finishes is they tend to be poorly integrated, but this whisky does not suffer this problem; it is much smoother and coherent than the majority of wine finishes I’ve tried. Not stunningly long or complex, but to be honest I liked it more than I thought I would. Overall I would say that its better than many a wine finish, and if you are a fan of the flavours wine brigs to whisky this will be right up your street. Its going to retail at £46.99, which  seems very reasonable to me for such a limited and unusual release. Official notes:  

“To the Eye: Autumn sunset  

To the Nose: Citric sharp balanced by lingering creamy sweetness 
To the Tongue: Vanilla with layered fruit and wood spices 
To the End: A long, dry and lingering finish with some almond nuttiness at the end.” 
  
The food and wine were excellent and the staff actually very nice, despite clearly being trained to act as French as possible. Dinner was a starter of smoked eel (lovely) with a main of roast lamb with a crab based sauce (interesting, but didnt quite work imo, crab too strong a flavour for the lamb). 
  
After the dinner we had a sample of their 2011 Valinch, a cask strength no age statement Auchentoshan. Now I’m sorry to say that we had enjoyed the hospitality so much by this point that neither of us can remember much about this one, oh dear. I remember it being quite woody, and fairly pleasant. So we to cut a long blog short, we rushed off, missed our train and had an expensive and time consuming detour to Colchester on a train full of take that fans. They kindly gave us a goodie bag with samples of the 11 year old and the valinch, and a full bottle of … wine. We were not super happy on the Colchester train and had no cork screw, so our beautifully packaged samples were scoffed whilst we wedged ourselves tube style in the slow train. So soz, no more detailed tasting notes!
 
Tony
 
 
 
 
 

 

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