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A message popped up in my Instagram box. It was send by Spirits Services, a Dutch importer and distributor for the European market.
They announced they were going to introduce a new brand to the Dutch market and invited me for an online tasting of Tri Carragh.
Offcourse I let them know I was happy to join. Spirit Services, if you read this, thanks for the invite!
All expression will be available in the Netherlands soon.
(DISCLAIMER: I took some photo's of the bottles of the internet.)
Not long after the announcement, a package arrived with 6 samples of whisky. And not long after that an invite with a link was shared.
As usual with an online tasting, I get excited and prepare my station.
I put some water on my desk, gathered six tasting glasses and logged in.
After a quick intro by Robbert from Spirit Services, Ryan from Stravaig Spirits took over.
Let me explain that real quick, because the page title is about Tri Carragh.
Ryan is one of the founders of Stravaig Spirits, and they carry two different brands: Tri Carragh and GlenLaird.
To my surprise, we were not going to try just Tri Carragh expressions, but also two drams of GlenLaird.
So, a fun time of tasting was about to begin.
Glenlaird whisky
Glenlaird whisky
The tasting started with the Glenlaird whisky. Ryan explained that they tried to create an expression that is more easily available for customers.
No distilleries will be disclosed for these bottles so every batch can contain a different distillery. Another fun fact: All versions will be bottled at 48% Vol. This evening we would be trying the 10 and the 12 year old.
Glenlaird 10 (Batch 1)
Bottled at 48% (duh), this Highland single malt was aged on refill Bourbon cask.
On the nose very fruity but also old vanilla. Starts with a sweet hazelnut scent, goes straight to fresh fruits after.
Nice thick feeling on the mouth. Warm sweetness, has something going towards freshness and spritely, but some tannins pop up in a nice warm way. Some fresh green apple on the second sip.
Second nose gives me some malts, but also a light soapy mulberry note.
The finish is hearty, but medium long.
Glenlaird 12
Also bottled at 48% (I feel like a broken record.) this lightly peated dram stunned.
On the nose: some mint in the background, lots of fresh cut grasses. Some chalk. Very lightly peated. Whisper of smoke. In the back some blue cheese.
Again a thicker viscosity, ashy smoke pops up right away. After that, a slight sour fresh note pops up, and again the vanilla.
Finish is a little longer then the 10, mainly surprised by the dry feeling it leaves.
After sipping the 10 again, the 12 gets a more medicinal note on the second approach that I really like. Seems a bit weird I did not catch it earlier.
Tri Carragh
Tri Carragh
Tri Carragh, the three pillars. That's the name of this whisky brand.
The three pillars stand for the three main ingredients for whisky:
Water, yeast and malted barley.
All single cask, cask strength whisky, no color added.
Tri Carragh Lowland Distillery (Dalrymple)
Tri Carragh Lowland Distillery (Dalrymple)
This 10 year old, cask strength, single cask whisky was bottled at 59.3% Vol.
Aged on a 1st fill sherry hogshead and finished on an ex Oloroso cask.
Spoiler: This was my favourite this evening.
On the nose it triggers me, warm notes of yummy sweetness.
While trying to figure out what this sweetness is, dried fruits, brown sugar, light cinnamon note and some oak pop up. Then I get it; Dusty dried apples and pears. Like a warmed mush of spiced apples and pears.
I also get dried cranberries and a sweet-sour wine/grape note in the back. Has a bright fresh note on the background I can not name.
On the second nose more cinnamon then before, mixed with some mushed sultanas.
On the first sip, it coats the mouth immediately. A warm red fruit note pops up, berries, again the sugared dried cranberries. Feeling like I’m having mushed raisins spiced with cinnamon.
You definitely get the sherry casks influence here and it keeps giving. This is a dram I like, because I get different layers and we all know I like those!
Finish is long and mixes between oak and dried fruits, almost like chewing a bit longer on the peel of a dried fig.
A second sip delivers a new spice: Pepper. Now it gets a sweet and spiced profile that I simply love.
Tri Carragh Tamnavulin
Tri Carragh Tamnavulin
After this nice Lowlander, a new cask strenght dram was poured.
This time a 12 years old dram, aged on a 1st fill sherry hogshead that was re-racked in ex PX.
It was bottled at 56.8% vol. A Tamnavulin. Like one of the other guests mentioned: You don't see a lot of Tamnavulin on the Indie Bottlers market.
Ont he nose: Grasses but with a hint of a sour note. I had to pauze for a second and return to the glass. Again grasses, like the bank of the road in high summer. After that, dried apricots popped up, not the sweetened kind, but those more sour. Sugared orange peels and a bit of bergamot.
The taste gives me more dried fruits, prunes, chocolate. Pims cookies from Lu.
Licking my lips gets me pure flower honey. Big sip gives more dark chocolate and a very small all spice note.
Finish is long, mixed waves of dried fruits, sugar sweetness and pralines.
Tri Carragh Glen Elgin
Tri Carragh Glen Elgin
This is a 12 year old whisky, bottled at 55,5%.
It ages on a 1st fill port barrique and was re-racked for a finish on tawny port.
On the nose: Chocolate covered cherries. Orange marmalade. Some sugar cane.
Even some weird hint of sweet pandan rice. All paired with a funny dusty note, like a fruit cellar.
Taste: BAM, sultanas. Immediately full on sultana force in your face. Finished by a funky bitter cherry note.
It is all covered with chocolate. Preserved red fruits, together with some slight hints of toast.
Finish is a little less longer than the Tamnavulin, but stays nice and sweet.
Tri Carragh Macduff
Tri Carragh Macduff
A 13 year old whisky, bottled at 61,8% vol. That is the highest of this evening, but to be honest, I did not notice that.
It was aged on a red wine barrique and had a finish on Rubino Marsala Red Wine cask. This is a fortified wine, so I expected either some thick fruit layers, or some heavy tannines.
On the nose: Green grapes dusted with white pepper. No joke, it made me sneeze a little.
Second sniff bombes me with sweetness. Carnival candy, winegums and Turkish delights. In the back distinctive wine/grape notes that do not step into the foreground, but lurk in the shadows. A further sniff finally gives me tannines in the form of a hint of leather.
The mouth is fully coated on the first sip. Spiced but sweet, a slight sour note in the back that actually adds to the complete play. Some cereals pop up, I even get some Cactus fruits in it!
A bit dry in the end, must be an effect of the wine? I don't know, but it feels like that mouthfeel after drinking a dry wine.
Finish is medium long and leaves a happy acidic sweet note on the palate.
Thank you Spirits Services, for the invite. And thank you Ryan for sharing your whiskies with us!
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