March 2024 - Port Ruighe, a Magician and a 21 Year Old

Welcome back to another month with three new Drams - this month we have a follow up to a fan favourite from last year, co; The ming in from North Star Spirits Tarot series: the magician follows up from the fool. A Port cask finish from Talisker as well as a 21 year old Japanese Blend from Master of Malts Indie Bottle collection.

Something new this month, I want to make things a bit more interactive for all of us, at the end I have added a poll for everyone to vote for your favourite dram of the 3 we have tasted. Good job we did not do this last month, poor Brenne, sucking on so many levels. But hopefully this will give everyone some insight to the top Dram each month.

North Star Spirits Tarot: The Magician

Straight in with some magic, and if this is anything like its predecessor then we are in for a treat. The Fool was the first in the Tarot series that we sampled last year (still a couple of samples available online if you want to compare) and it came out with a score of 79 - a daily drinker for a good price sub£35 a bottle. This also fits into that price category, is a 12year old blend, 75% grain/25% Malt, and bottled at a great 45.5%abv, limited to 1,000 bottles (same as The Fool). On the nose, I get dried citrus fruits, dried peach, honey and orange, quite refreshing and a sense of fresh spring time. The palate follows through with those sweet citrus notes and dried peaches, it progresses to a dark chocolate, quite chewy and sticks to the mouth. The finish is medium in length, sweet honey and bitter dark chocolate. Not too different to the fool on the whole, you can tell its aged longer as the transition between the flavours is gentle and subtle. 80/100

Talisker Port Ruighe

This is a classic Talisker whisky, finished in port wine casks and comes with no age statement. Initially on the nose, like most Taliskers, you get that whiff of British sea air, but it is complemented with a note of meringue and orange rind (I must be losing my marbles) - it also reminds me of candy floss at the seaside. Can i also comment on the colour of this, its has a great burgundy tone to it. Upon tasting, you can really feel the impact the port casks has had on the Talisker liquid, its vibrant, its fruity - combine that with the saltiness, smoke and pepperiness, it doesn't give your mouth much time to rest before a new flavour hits. The finish is drying, much like a good port, but leaves the smokey sea air taste in your mouth. I am not usually a huge fan of Talisker, I think some of their releases are lacking flavour - however I think they have really hit something right with this Port finish. 83/100

Master of Malt 21yr Japanese Blended Whisky

A bottle of aged Japanese whisky is not easy to come by for a good price (Yamazaki 18 £800+, Hibiki 21 £900+, Yamazaki 12 £120+), now I say good price - this bottle would still set you back £150 from Master of Malt and is a limited release of only 315 bottles - but as far as Japanese whisky goes, it's a bargain on price. The question is, does the bargain price mean its not a great Japanese Whisky? And how do many of us warrant spending £150 on a single bottle to drink? (The latter is a whole new conversation so we won't touch on this much here but is worth thinking about)

So straight in on the nose here and I am getting definite sherry vibes, as this is a marriage of casks with an outturn of 315 bottles i would assume this has been finished in an a sherry cask for a few years. It's sweet spice, dried fruits, blown out candles on a birthday cake, and walking through a wheat field all at the same time. On the palate, I get a a hint of Jamaica ginger cake, hay, summertime blackberries and dried candied peel. It's smooth and warming, but also refreshing at the same time. The finish is medium, leaves a taste of burnt sugar in the mouth. I am actually quite impressed with this - would I pay £150? it would need to be a special occasion, and I mean special - and then I think what other bottles could I have instead, there are a few but it is a 21 year old Japanese Blended Whisky and you don't see that everyday. 90/100

Don't forget to vote! See you next time!

What was your favourite Dram?

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  Master of Malt 21year Japanese Blend
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  Talisker Port Rhuighe
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  North Star Spirits: The Magician 12 year old