This time, my guess was almost as random as it could be. I didn’t expect to be able to taste the sample yesterday evening, so I tasted it the night before. Only I forgot to remember facts about ABV and age and such. I wrote down some tasting notes but the last line in the book states ‘absolutely no clue’.

Nose:
Quite some grain and cereal but not in a way that it tastes young or under age. Some caramel as well.

Taste:
Quite fierce due to alcohol (So I did write something down but couldn’t find it yesterday. I feel dumb). Grains and plants with straw, pepper and after a little while a familiar spicyness comes through.

Finish:
Fruity (where did that come from?) and sweet with straw and cereal again. Spices like cinnamon.

A nice whisky, but not one to get overly excited about. More a highland character than Speyside, but the competition’s rules made it clear that wasn’t an option. I didn’t expect the fruitiness in the finish. While I enjoyed it, it did make the whisky rather inconsistent.

Glenburgie 13, 06-11-1997 – 08-2011, Exclusive for Asta Morris, cask 8551, 57.6%

Based on the fact that this day it couldn’t be a highland whisky, I more or less automatically went for Speyside. The age was a gamble but an educated one at 15. Only two years different but the ABV was very, very random and I could have read my notes more properly for some extra points. Still, 40 points isn’t too bad.