The Dram Team, Women in Whisky – March 2021
A couple of weeks ago I discovered The Dram Team on Twitter. Always on the look out to sample different whiskies I thought I would give their March ‘Women in Whisky‘ box a shot. Big kudos to the team as the box arrived very quickly after ordering, and we got straight on with following the recorded tasting on Youtube.
Virtual Tasting
Harri from The Dram Team was leading the virtual tasting. For each dram we were joined by a representative from that distillery. Throughout the tasting they each spoke about their journey into the whisky industry, some distillery history, and their thoughts on various drams. The tasting featured Laura MacDonald, Louise McGuane, Annabel Thomas, Jill Boyd, and Laura Davies. It was great to have so many distillery staff join in on the tasting, as there is nothing better than learning from those so close to the day-to-day production of whisky.
Tasting Notes
Below are our tasting notes for five of the six drams. We opted not to taste The Cardrona Just Hatched on this occasion, having previously been introduced via the January Pour & Sip box.
Tamnuvalin, Double Cask – 40%
Nose: light, sweet, toffee, honey, some fruit and wood notes also pulling through
Palate: soft, light, easy going. Sweet vanilla, orchard fruits, and lots of brown sugar
Finish: light finish, with some oak. Light mouth covering, an easy drink
This feels like a really lovely introductory whisky, a great way to bring someone into the spirit. It was also a fantastic way to start a whisky tasting and warm up the palate!
JJ Corry, The Hanson – 46%
Nose: super creamy and sweet, light hints of orange citrus and marmalade
Palate: buttery, creamy, vanilla cream icing – evolves over time to reveal multiple layers, with a fieriness towards the end
Finish: medium length finish, great coating of the mouth, toffee apples to finish
We mentioned time and time again on this blog that we’re not the biggest fans of blended whisky. The Hanson however, is a wonderful surprise! Similarly to the Tamnuvalin, this feels like a great introductory whisky, a wonderful opener to the Irish whisky market. It has definintely made us keen to explore more of the new and upcoming Irish distilleries.
Nc’Nean Organic – 46%
Nose: fruity spice with some vanilla, light and fresh, citrus coming through, and some plum and peach
Palate: really lovely spice of the front of the tongue, oily and creamy mouth coating. Red fruits and berries, with ripe stone fruits
Finish: can really feel the peppery notes on the tongue! Finishes slightly sweeter with hints of vanilla
I was really intrigued to try this whisky as I have seen the beautiful bottle all over instagram. It was lovely and refreshing for the conversation around sustainability to be bought into the whisky context. A perfectly lovely dram.
Compass Box, Hedonism – 43%
Nose: rich, deep, creamy, vanilla birthday cake, slightly burn goey sugar
Palate: rich, oily, REALLY CREAMY, silky and sweet. Clotted cream, caramelised sugar, toffee
Finish: peppery to finish, not too long lasting
We tried another Compass Box whisky in the March Pour & Sip box, and although it was nice we didn’t feel it warranted the price point. We are however, huge fans of Hedonism. It felt like a wonderful sipping whisky, that could very easily enter dangerous territory! The creamy, buttery, vanilla notes are exceptionally more-ish and the richness makes for a great experience.
Penderyn, Celt – 41%
Nose: citrus, honey, hay, a hint of smoke, like wet pebbles on Brighton beach
Palate: smokey, hay hints of eucalyptus, a bit medicinal
Finish: hints of marmalade, with the eucalyptus coming through
This is a really lightly peated whisky and one that we think would be a great introduction to smokier whiskies on the whole. It gets it’s peaty taste from being finished in ex-peated quarter casks; a rather interesting way of adding some smoke!
Final Thoughts
In a similar way to Pour & Sip this was a great way to try some whiskies that we wouldn’t naturally pick up off the shelf ourselves. We have signed up for the next couple of boxes, and hotly anticipate joining in with the tasting live over the next couple of months.
Let us know in the comments below whether you have a favourite way to sample and try new whiskies?
The Dram Duo 
One thought