Lee Schiebel hosted this night, with five different whiskies, mostly from countries less known for producing whisky. This was a blind tasting, one round at a time, and we had one traditional food dish from each country as a hint. There were nine in attendance on this wintery, snow-laden evening.
Whiskies (from left to right):
- Suntory Toki (Japan)
- Paul John Brilliance (India)
- Pur-Geist (Germany)
- Distilled from a richly malted bock style beer with the addition of hops.
- Aged 2-4 years in ex-bourbon barrels, finished in ex-grappa casks made of chestnut wood.
- No colour added.
- Non-chill filtered.
- 42% ABV.
- Mackmyra (Sweden)
- Bain’s Cape Mountain (South Africa)
Most agreed that Paul John was the most “scotch” like and balanced, with a well-rounded flavour including some depth and complexity. Bain’s was cloyingly sweet. Pur-Geist was interestingly different. And the remaining two were good examples of younger, yet well-made whisky…each in its own right.
