Tweet Tastings are a great way to try new whisky and whisky that you wouldn’t necessarily buy in a shop. If you don’t use Twitter, then they are alone a reason to get a new social media account. To get involved you need to:
1 – Get a Twitter account.
2 – Follow @TweetTastings
3 – Either email to get involved or follow the hashtag for the specific tasting.
The last Tweet Tasting that we were lucky enough to be involved in was the #GrantsWhisky event on August 3rd 2016. As I mentioned above, sometimes you get chance to try whisky that you wouldn’t normally drink. This tasting was the perfect example. We got to try four of Grants Whisky, all of which were blends and all of which can be bought under £25.
As a chance to let you, our lovely readers, in on the tasting, I am reviewing the Grant’s Ale Cask. This is a blended whisky, which is finished in strong Edinburgh ale casks. Apparently, this makes it the only Scottish whisky that is finished in this way, but is it any good?
Cost: £15-20
Appearance: Golden, like a pint of IPA, sat on a picnic bench in a summer beer garden.
Aroma: Thick, rich cream poured into strong, malty ale. For the ale lovers amongst our readers, then my guess would be Innis & Gunn Original.
Taste: There is a strength and rich malty flavour that comes out of the start of this dram. This is exactly like a barrel aged malty brown ale, except somehow concentrated into a more punchy note.
In the middle this combines with a citrusy sharpness and sweetness of cereal, which tastes like multigrain hoops. There is also a spicy, vegetal note that flattens out across the tongue.
Finally, and this finish is very short, there is cream like that taken from the middle of a crunch cream. The spice from the middle widens and hits the top of the palate.
Mouthfeel: Light, spicy and chemically.
Overall: To use a musical analogy, some drams are like a classical overture. They are complex, layered, balanced and work on many levels. Other drams are like a simple, melody that can be played on a Casio keyboard bought from a charity shop. One isn’t better than the other, or more worthy than the other, they both have a place in the history of music. I am not saying that this dram is the greatest ever, but for less than £20 this is a dram that you can buy in a supermarket confident that you can enjoy it. You might even find some great ale parings that improve it even more.
Real Dram Factor: 6.8
Source: Sample from Grants Whisky Tweet Tasting
More Information: www.grantswhisky.com
Buy Online: Amazon: Grants Ale Cask 70cl – £16.81 or Master of Malt: Grants Ale Cask 70cl – £18.70