One of those blind-spot whiskies because I generally don’t care about the distillery’s output. This one wasn’t that bad at all, but because of my limited knowledge, I never even really considered Fettercairn.

I randomly guessed BenRiach, because it was a bit of a strange profile and BenRiach is not the most consistent of distilleries. Especially when looking at the independent bottlings out there.

Let’s just dive into day 3 of the Blind Tasting Competition!

Sniff:
Initially I thought it was sherry, but upon nosing it a little bit I’m confused. I’m thinking more in line of a port cask now. Very strange. Black cherries, dried plums, wet casks.

Sip:
The palate starts off rather gentle compared to the earlier two of the evening. It’s not as fruity as I expected, although there is a slight note of cherry and plum. Rancio, wet casks, quite a bit of old oak. Still not sure about the cask type.

Swallow:
The finish is still rich and heavy, with a bit more bite than I expected. Still, not a lot of heat though. Again, very rich and heavy, some cherry and plum notes.

I’m sticking with sherry. Not 100% sure either way, but it’s not a very confident port cask either. Not very tawny-red fruit forward, so to say.

The fortified wine is pushed forward quite a bit. And in combination with the spirit it makes for a bit of a weird flavor profile. As I said, not a very clear sherry cask at all (to me). But, on the other hand, a rather tasty Fettercairn, and that’s not a regular thing either!

86/100