Tasting #1: Whisky from the "Wieser-Destillerie" in Lower Austria

Age: 5yo

ABV: 41%

Distillery: Wieser (Wachau, NÖ)

Colour: light gold

Nose: very light, chocolate, marzipan, very slightly hints of wood, citric notes of lemon, with time it developed some keen notes from freshly destilled alcohol

Palate: light notes of fresh wood, sweet, hints of pepper(?)

Finish: warming and oily but short

My points: 72/100 (22/15/20/15)

My first tasting notes... Kind of...

The box and a personal letter

A few weeks ago I stumbled across an article about an ongoing "Battle of the Blends" hosted by Master of Malt and The Whisky Magazine. You could sign up to be a judge in this battle and I decided to give it a shot. Just short after I received an email telling me that I am one of the judges. And just short after that a small package arrived with my two samples and a nice letter describing what to do.

The two samples

Since Master of Malt announced the winner and some tasting notes on October 12th I decided to compare my notes with theirs. I wasn't that bad although there is no such thing as "right" or "wrong" during tasting - you taste what you taste - but I'm always curious what others can taste so that I can learn from them. And sometimes there is a taste I can describe but I can't name it for sure. Therefore it's always interesting what other people taste!

So here are my tasting notes (you can read over here what Jack Mountain tasted):

Blend A (on the left)

Colour: amber

Nose: At first you notice fruity notes of lemon and pineapple combined with hints of fresh wood and some sweetness from sherry. With time subtle notes of apple, pear, honey and some smoke appear.

Palate: You can taste fresh lemongrass combined with some honey and some nuts. Very complex and refreshing. Are there some hints of gummy bears at the end?

Finish: It's long (especially for a blend) and (heart) warming.

Blend "A" and Blend "B" in the nosing glas

Blend B (on the right)

Colour: light amber

Nose: There are some floral notes combined with some smoky lemon notes and just a little bit of sweetness from toffee. Otherwise it's a little bit flat.

Palate: Smoked meat and a hint of toffee are combined with some toasted wood. A faint hint of some sweetness (Tutti Frutti) appears in the end.

Finish: It's as long as Blend A and (heart) warming just like Blend A.

So that were actually my first two tasting notes! Hope you enjoyed them and keep in mind next year there will be another Battle of the Blends. The exact composition of both blends will be published in "The Whisky Magazine" Issue 131 in December!

Slàinte

Lukas