Blind tastings

@paddockjudge For some reason this excercise has me thinking of the three visually impaired individuals who were asked to identify an animal by touch, and each one came up with a very different animal when feeling a different part of an elephant.

@Nozinan, this is waaaaayyyy out of my comfort zone! I've never been to a distillery outside of North America.

When I learn of something from the source of its origins, I tend to associate more closely with that entity or process, be it visiting a distillery, attending blending seminars, or sampling in warehouses (sometimes multiple visits before information of significance is revealed or absorbed), otherwise it is just taste memory upon which I must rely and that is difficult for me because batch variation and cask variation can influence that experience, especially when learning from a bottle because single malts are basically "house blends".

@paddockjudge i think it also demonstrates how different people experience the same whisky very differently. It calls into question how we trust reviews to help us decide on purchases.

A) "Button"

Colour: Straw.

Nose: Screams young Islay peat. Huge citrus notes (lemon curd, lemon pith, lime zest) but wafts of peat smoke dominate. Some sage and tarragon. Vanilla bean. Slight hickory. Paprika. Maybe a hint of tarragon. With water, it becomes more medicinal (iodine, bandages). A solid if straightforward Islay peat beast. 21

Palate: Less peat smoke here, but still some nice lemon and vanilla notes. Doesn’t seem to be higher than the usual 40-46% ABV range. Slightly thick mouthfeel. Grapefruit. Water thickens the mouthfeel and adds some more spice (pepper) and heat. However, without water it’s a little too restrained.20

Finish: starts of quiet but develops into lemon curd, a hint of chili and pine needles. 22

Balance: I love this style, a punchy young (blended?) malt that’s still very enjoyable. 22

This reminds me a lot of the Big Peat blended malt (though not the cask strength version). Or could it be Peat Monster (which I think is a blend but I don't remember, and can't be bothered to look it up). Definite big Islay influence (Laphroaig, Caol Ila, Ardbeg, could there be Port Ellen? Not sure, I don’t have enough experience with that malt). I’m quite sure this is not a blended scotch, I do not detect a grain influence here.

TOTAL SCORE: 85

B) “Star Sample”

Colour: Pale straw.

Nose: Nicely malty with green apple skins and lemon pith - a touch floral. Grassy. Light caramel. Lightly buttered croissant. Very nice and delicate. Lemon pepper. Briny. Water brings out a sourdough note. Very crisp and clean. 23

Palate: similar to the nose, with lemon drops, a touch of mint and a light dusting of pepper. A bit of heat, the ABV here might be closer to the 50% line, hard to tell. Bit of cotton candy. Again, water brings out a nice sour note, with more bring. Sweet and malty, but not cloying. Really feels like a single malt, perhaps Speyside? 23

Finish: medium length and straightforward with that sweet lemon note.21

Balance: all the elements work in lovely harmony, but they don’t really build on each other - it’s a bit too consistent. 21

This really feels like a Speyside single malt, not a blend of any kind; if it is, then a blended malt of some kind? It is very nice though. Honestly, I couldn't begin to tell you what the component malts/grains are. Sticking with the Speyside theme, I could guess Glenfiddich, BenRiach, maybe some Cardhu, but I'm all over the place here!

TOTAL SCORE: 88

C) “Blank Sample”

Colour: Light-to-medium gold.

Nose: An iodine level of peat - not smoky but more medicinal. The malt is rather young and spirity. Lots of lemon citrus. Not much oak. Hint of white chocolate. Heather. Sardine? Thin without much body. Pine needles. Water brings out some smoke and herbs (sage). 20

Palate: high alcohol (cask strength?) with more lemon, prickly peat, some toasted oak and those pine needles. Tree sap. Thin mouthfeel, but also a bit syrupy somehow. Hint of vanilla. Water ups the heat, actually stinging the tongue a little. 18

Finish: long, big lemon, white pepper, chili flakes. 21

Balance: this seems quite young, too spicy but with some nice lemon and peat. 17

Components: seems more like a vatted malt than a blend - it doesn’t have the backbone that most decent blends tend to have - I don’t detect any grain. Pretty sure its scotch. Islay component could be Caol Ila? Laphroaig? The heathery component seems Highland (Glen Garioch?) Maybe a peated BenRiach in there from Speyside? Or is this more Talisker-forward, like an Isle of Skye? Or if it's a blend, perhaps Black Bottle (except I usually like Black Bottle more than this one)? Hmmmm I don't think I'm good at this......

TOTAL SCORE: 76

Sorry about the large block of text, but it's what I've got. This was a very interesting experience, although my reference points for distilleries is not very well developped. I'm really not great at this, but here goes.

A) Button

Neat from a Glencairn

• Nose: Light, bright, fruity, with a little grassiness in the mix. Red apples, strawberries, raspberries, cream. This is not familiar to me in any way, except for the grassy note that reminds me a bit of Highland Park, but I'm not really getting any smoke at all. With time, the fruits seem to get darker. Is there a Macallan component here? Dalmore maybe? No, I'm not getting oranges or cinnamon, so I don't think it's Dalmore. Perhaps some Glendronach, as the darker fruits come through
• Palate: Medium-bodied, fruity, with some malty cereal notes, honey, a very slight soapy note. Glenrothes? Aberfeldy? I’m really no good at this.
• Finish: barley, chocolate, a little nuttiness (I want to say this is a nuttiness I recognize from Glen Garioch, but I can't be sure), gentle smokiness maybe, although it could be lingering smoke from another mystery sample I had before this one, more red fruits, some graham crackers.

Best guesses: Glenrothes, Macallan, Glen Garioch, Glendronach, Highland Park

Rating: 86/100

B) Star

Neat, from a Glencairn

• Nose: fruity, but not quite as bright as “Button”, tea sweetened with honey, then something a bit sharp, lemon perhaps...with time the lemon mixes with a sweet vanilla note, almost like lemon meringue pie. (side note: I do not like lemon meringue pie)
• Palate: some richness, a little oakiness, a touch of waxiness, more honey, reminiscent of Balvenie, there are Sherry casks in the mix, but it’s not a sherry bomb by any means...
• Finish: raisins, oak, barley, somewhat sharp and nippy, almost like a young Glenfiddich

I'm not as crazy about this one. It doesn't necessarily feel like a higher ABV, but it feels a bit sharp, and not quite mature enough.

Best guesses: Balvenie, Linkwood, Glenfiddich, Cardhu, Clynelish

Rating: 82/100

C) Blank

Neat from a Glencairn

• Nose: Sherry cask reminiscent of Highland Park, aggressively nippy nose at first, a bit of fudge, wet hay, cherries, walnuts, cinnamon, Tamdhu maybe. There's not really any smoke.
• Palate: hot arrival, sweet fudge and toffee reminiscent of Glenfarclas 105, syrupy, with a bit of herbal bitterness, rosemary maybe
• Finish: sherry, red fruit, sharp right until the end, herbal notes, a little bitterness, some very slight briny notes, Ben Nevis maybe?.

This one is interesting. I'd guess it's a slightly higher ABV offering (46% or higher). There are flavours here that are quite new to me.

Best guess: Highland Park, Glenfarclas, Tamdhu, Ben Nevis

Rating: 87/100

Wow! @Fiddich1980, did we all get the same samples in the same marked bottles?

@Nozinan Yes. Once everyone has posted, I will post pictures and my impressions.

@Nozinan The order in which we sampled, the food we ate, etc. will all have affected our perceptions. Before my first tasting, I sampled the mystery sample that only I received, which turned out to be Compass Box No Name. I rated that one higher than anything else; 90-92 points. Haven’t revisited it yet.

While we are waiting for our friends in the east to jump in, here are my ratings for the three blind samples. It didn't occur to me to include them with my organoleptic observations.

• STAR ..........88
• BUTTON .....86.5
• PLAIN .........81......I may have been a bit generous with this one...if in my cabinet then never opened.

Sorry for my notes. I take my notes in a mix of French and English and I may have forget to put everything in plin English. Anyway, these are my thoughts:

1st Plastic Stopper

Nose: Young Islay, smoky peat , Mineral, prune’s alcohol, salt, dry cereals, green lemon , young, Kilkerran? Or some Bunnahabhain? With time a whiff of BBQ pork (Laphroaig?) that become later a whiff of manure. More acidic than the second.

Mouth: Very simple. A bit of burn. Smoke, peat, silky, cereals but more damp and kind of more brown cereals (not bleached). Some pepper. Very nice texture

Finish: More complex than the palate with the return of the green lemon and more mineral notes

Second Star Nose: Smoky almost no peat in comparison to Plastic Stopper, salt, more influence of the cask, maybe a little of sherry cask, a whiff of tar, fresh cereal in cold wheather, spearmint, some element very close to the 1rst one but not as loud like the prune’s alcohol and the green lemon. The smoke increase with time.

Mouth: Richer with more low notes but maybe not as powerful as Plastic Stopper. Even if it is not obvious, I still believe that they used some sherry cask. Flavors are not as well defined but form a pleasing whole. The spearmint is there with an unspicy wood (but not fresh oak more like a tired sherry cask). The fruit is more like peach from an old can like peaches that are oxydized and have lost all their light notes.

Finish: Enjoyable but again not very defined (the peach are there).

Seems like a good canvas on which the master blender can work and let the cask express it values but need to develop more personality. Could well be a young Benriach or a young Bunnahabhain.

Third Blank bottle

Nose: Alcohol attack my nostril. At the same time, more floral than the other two. Cucumber?, citrus, lavender, more influence of the cask obviously with the color and probably more alcohol. With time celery. Lagavulin, Some IB Caol Ila or a good Kilchoman. Orange and peach some very integrated wood spices. Some caramel

Mouth: Definitively more punch, there is even a bit of acetone but just enough to a be plus and not a big problem. There is a lot going. Mouth is straight in line with the nose with a rough side on the texture and less floral more on the herbs. I would not let this one take too much air as I feel it would loose the richness of the orange-peach flavor for something more like the cassis bud from Bowmore. This one is sweeter than the other two.

Finish: The texture seems more heavy than silky but let a nice coating in the mouth. The smoke in this dram is not something I notice but I feel this dram is from a warm place where you don’t smell the smoke of the fire but you still have a nice wood flavor but very integrated.

This one as personality, big plus and probably big minus for some people. For me, the plus are more important than the minus.

Funny fact:

After tasting the one with the star, I was not able to smell anything from it.

How I rank them: 1st Blank, 2nd Button, 3rd Star. Give a couple of years in the cask to Button and it would probably come first.

Best guess:

Button: Kilkerran (2nd choice Bunnahabhain) Star: Benriach (or some very young Kilchoman, or a blend with some Talisker in it) Blank: IB Caol Ila (very young Lagavulin)

@OdysseusUnbound, even the independents are sending you promotional stuff in blind tastings (@fiddich1980 and the Compass Box blend)... is there no limit to this insanity?!

@Robert99, you could post them in Greek for all we know....apparently not much lol

I like your reference to canvas for the artist to work on...I was thinking the same thing when transposing my notes.

Sorry for my notes. I take my notes in a mix of French and English and I may have forget to put everything in plin English. Anyway, these are my thoughts:

1st Plastic Stopper

Nose: Young Islay, smoky peat , Mineral, prune’s alcohol, salt, dry cereals, green lemon , young, Kilkerran? Or some Bunnahabhain? With time a whiff of BBQ pork (Laphroaig?) that become later a whiff of manure. More acidic than the second.

Mouth: Very simple. A bit of burn. Smoke, peat, silky, cereals but more damp and kind of more brown cereals (not bleached). Some pepper. Very nice texture

Finish: More complex than the palate with the return of the green lemon and more mineral notes

Second Star Nose: Smoky almost no peat in comparison to Plastic Stopper, salt, more influence of the cask, maybe a little of sherry cask, a whiff of tar, fresh cereal in cold wheather, spearmint, some element very close to the 1rst one but not as loud like the prune’s alcohol and the green lemon. The smoke increase with time.

Mouth: Richer with more low notes but maybe not as powerful as Plastic Stopper. Even if it is not obvious, I still believe that they used some sherry cask. Flavors are not as well defined but form a pleasing whole. The spearmint is there with an unspicy wood (but not fresh oak more like a tired sherry cask). The fruit is more like peach from an old can like peaches that are oxydized and have lost all their light notes.

Finish: Enjoyable but again not very defined (the peach are there).

Seems like a good canvas on which the master blender can work and let the cask express it values but need to develop more personality. Could well be a young Benriach or a young Bunnahabhain.

Third Blank bottle

Nose: Alcohol attack my nostril. At the same time, more floral than the other two. Cucumber?, citrus, lavender, more influence of the cask obviously with the color and probably more alcohol. With time celery. Lagavulin, Some IB Caol Ila or a good Kilchoman. Orange and peach some very integrated wood spices. Some caramel

Mouth: Definitively more punch, there is even a bit of acetone but just enough to a be plus and not a big problem. There is a lot going. Mouth is straight in line with the nose with a rough side on the texture and less floral more on the herbs. I would not let this one take too much air as I feel it would loose the richness of the orange-peach flavor for something more like the cassis bud from Bowmore. This one is sweeter than the other two.

Finish: The texture seems more heavy than silky but let a nice coating in the mouth. The smoke in this dram is not something I notice but I feel this dram is from a warm place where you don’t smell the smoke of the fire but you still have a nice wood flavor but very integrated.

This one as personality, big plus and probably big minus for some people. For me, the plus are more important than the minus.

Funny fact:

After tasting the one with the star, I was not able to smell anything from it.

How I rank them: 1st Blank, 2nd Button, 3rd Star. Give a couple of years in the cask to Button and it would probably come first.

Best guess:

Button: Kilkerran (2nd choice Bunnahabhain) Star: Benriach (a blend with somme Bunnahabhain and Talisker added to the Benriach) Blank: IB Caol Ila (Some very young Lagavulin)

@paddockjudge I’m kind of a big deal, apparently.

Sorry for my notes. I take my notes in a mix of French and English and I may have forget to put everything in plin English. Anyway, these are my thoughts:

1st Plastic Stopper

Nose: Young Islay, smoky peat , Mineral, prune’s alcohol, salt, dry cereals, green lemon , young, Kilkerran? Or some Bunnahabhain? With time a whiff of BBQ pork (Laphroaig?) that become later a whiff of manure. More acidic than the second.

Mouth: Very simple. A bit of burn. Smoke, peat, silky, cereals but more damp and kind of more brown cereals (not bleached). Some pepper. Very nice texture

Finish: More complex than the palate with the return of the green lemon and more mineral notes

Second Star Nose: Smoky almost no peat in comparison to Plastic Stopper, salt, more influence of the cask, maybe a little of sherry cask, a whiff of tar, fresh cereal in cold wheather, spearmint, some element very close to the 1rst one but not as loud like the prune’s alcohol and the green lemon. The smoke increase with time.

Mouth: Richer with more low notes but maybe not as powerful as Plastic Stopper. Even if it is not obvious, I still believe that they used some sherry cask. Flavors are not as well defined but form a pleasing whole. The spearmint is there with an unspicy wood (but not fresh oak more like a tired sherry cask). The fruit is more like peach from an old can like peaches that are oxydized and have lost all their light notes.

Finish: Enjoyable but again not very defined (the peach are there).

Seems like a good canvas on which the master blender can work and let the cask express it values but need to develop more personality. Could well be a young Benriach or a young Bunnahabhain.

Third Blank bottle

Nose: Alcohol attack my nostril. At the same time, more floral than the other two. Cucumber?, citrus, lavender, more influence of the cask obviously with the color and probably more alcohol. With time celery. Lagavulin, Some IB Caol Ila or a good Kilchoman. Orange and peach some very integrated wood spices. Some caramel

Mouth: Definitively more punch, there is even a bit of acetone but just enough to a be plus and not a big problem. There is a lot going. Mouth is straight in line with the nose with a rough side on the texture and less floral more on the herbs. I would not let this one take too much air as I feel it would loose the richness of the orange-peach flavor for something more like the cassis bud from Bowmore. This one is sweeter than the other two.

Finish: The texture seems more heavy than silky but let a nice coating in the mouth. The smoke in this dram is not something I notice but I feel this dram is from a warm place where you don’t smell the smoke of the fire but you still have a nice wood flavor but very integrated.

This one as personality, big plus and probably big minus for some people. For me, the plus are more important than the minus.

Funny fact:

After tasting the one with the star, I was not able to smell anything from it.

How I rank them: 1st Blank, 2nd Button, 3rd Star. Give a couple of years in the cask to Button and it would probably come first.

Best guess:

Button: Kilkerran (2nd choice Bunnahabhain) Star: Benriach (2nd choice a blend with Benriach, Bunnahabhain and Talisker) Blank: IB Caol Ila (2nd choice a very young Lagavulin)

Sorry for my notes. I take my notes in a mix of French and English and I may have forget to put everything in plin English. Anyway, these are my thoughts:

1st Plastic Stopper

Nose: Young Islay, smoky peat , Mineral, prune’s alcohol, salt, dry cereals, green lemon , young, Kilkerran? Or some Bunnahabhain? With time a whiff of BBQ pork (Laphroaig?) that become later a whiff of manure. More acidic than the second.

Mouth: Very simple. A bit of burn. Smoke, peat, silky, cereals but more damp and kind of more brown cereals (not bleached). Some pepper. Very nice texture

Finish: More complex than the palate with the return of the green lemon and more mineral notes

Second Star Nose: Smoky almost no peat in comparison to Plastic Stopper, salt, more influence of the cask, maybe a little of sherry cask, a whiff of tar, fresh cereal in cold wheather, spearmint, some element very close to the 1rst one but not as loud like the prune’s alcohol and the green lemon. The smoke increase with time.

Mouth: Richer with more low notes but maybe not as powerful as Plastic Stopper. Even if it is not obvious, I still believe that they used some sherry cask. Flavors are not as well defined but form a pleasing whole. The spearmint is there with an unspicy wood (but not fresh oak more like a tired sherry cask). The fruit is more like peach from an old can like peaches that are oxydized and have lost all their light notes.

Finish: Enjoyable but again not very defined (the peach are there).

Seems like a good canvas on which the master blender can work and let the cask express it values but need to develop more personality. Could well be a young Benriach or a young Bunnahabhain.

Third Blank bottle

Nose: Alcohol attack my nostril. At the same time, more floral than the other two. Cucumber?, citrus, lavender, more influence of the cask obviously with the color and probably more alcohol. With time celery. Lagavulin, Some IB Caol Ila or a good Kilchoman. Orange and peach some very integrated wood spices. Some caramel

Mouth: Definitively more punch, there is even a bit of acetone but just enough to a be plus and not a big problem. There is a lot going. Mouth is straight in line with the nose with a rough side on the texture and less floral more on the herbs. I would not let this one take too much air as I feel it would loose the richness of the orange-peach flavor for something more like the cassis bud from Bowmore. This one is sweeter than the other two.

Finish: The texture seems more heavy than silky but let a nice coating in the mouth. The smoke in this dram is not something I notice but I feel this dram is from a warm place where you don’t smell the smoke of the fire but you still have a nice wood flavor but very integrated.

This one as personality, big plus and probably big minus for some people. For me, the plus are more important than the minus.

Funny fact:

After tasting the one with the star, I was not able to smell anything from it.

How I rank them: 1st Blank, 2nd Button, 3rd Star. Give a couple of years in the cask to Button and it would probably come first.

Best guess:

Button: Kilkerran (2nd choice Bunnahabhain) Star: Benriach (2nd choice a blend with Benriach, Bunnahabhain and Talisker) Blank: IB Caol Ila (2nd choice a very young Lagavulin)

Sorry for my notes. I take my notes in a mix of French and English and I may have forget to put everything in plain English. Anyway, these are my thoughts:

1st Plastic Stopper

Nose: Young Islay, smoky peat , Mineral, prune’s alcohol, salt, dry cereals, green lemon , young, Kilkerran? Or some Bunnahabhain? With time a whiff of BBQ pork (Laphroaig?) that become later a whiff of manure. More acidic than the second.

Mouth: Very simple. A bit of burn. Smoke, peat, silky, cereals but more damp and kind of more brown cereals (not bleached). Some pepper. Very nice texture

Finish: More complex than the palate with the return of the green lemon and more mineral notes

Second Star Nose: Smoky almost no peat in comparison to Plastic Stopper, salt, more influence of the cask, maybe a little of sherry cask, a whiff of tar, fresh cereal in cold wheather, spearmint, some element very close to the 1rst one but not as loud like the prune’s alcohol and the green lemon. The smoke increase with time.

Mouth: Richer with more low notes but maybe not as powerful as Plastic Stopper. Even if it is not obvious, I still believe that they used some sherry cask. Flavors are not as well defined but form a pleasing whole. The spearmint is there with an unspicy wood (but not fresh oak more like a tired sherry cask). The fruit is more like peach from an old can like peaches that are oxydized and have lost all their light notes.

Finish: Enjoyable but again not very defined (the peach are there).

Seems like a good canvas on which the master blender can work and let the cask express it values but need to develop more personality. Could well be a young Benriach or a young Bunnahabhain.

Third Blank bottle

Nose: Alcohol attack my nostril. At the same time, more floral than the other two. Cucumber?, citrus, lavender, more influence of the cask obviously with the color and probably more alcohol. With time celery. Lagavulin, Some IB Caol Ila or a good Kilchoman. Orange and peach some very integrated wood spices. Some caramel

Mouth: Definitively more punch, there is even a bit of acetone but just enough to a be plus and not a big problem. There is a lot going. Mouth is straight in line with the nose with a rough side on the texture and less floral more on the herbs. I would not let this one take too much air as I feel it would loose the richness of the orange-peach flavor for something more like the cassis bud from Bowmore. This one is sweeter than the other two.

Finish: The texture seems more heavy than silky but let a nice coating in the mouth. The smoke in this dram is not something I notice but I feel this dram is from a warm place where you don’t smell the smoke of the fire but you still have a nice wood flavor but very integrated.

This one as personality, big plus and probably big minus for some people. For me, the plus are more important than the minus.

Funny fact:

After tasting the one with the star, I was not able to smell anything from it.

How I rank them: 1st Blank, 2nd Button, 3rd Star. Give a couple of years in the cask to Button and it would probably come first.

Best guess:

Button: Kilkerran (2nd choice Bunnahabhain) Star: Benriach (2nd choice a blend with Benriach, Bunnahabhain and Talisker) Blank: IB Caol Ila (2nd choice a very young Lagavulin)

@Robert99 definitely worth reading 5 times!

I don’t know why but I cannot register my notes. I will try again but I have been trying for the last 40 minutes. I may try to post them in 2 posts. Sorry for the delay

@talexander By the way, good catch on the tarragon, I was not able to name it but I did have it.

Sorry for my notes. I take my notes in a mix of French and English and I may have forget to put everything in plain English. Anyway, these are my thoughts:

1st Plastic Stopper

Nose: Young Islay, smoky peat , Mineral, prune’s alcohol, salt, dry cereals, green lemon , young, Kilkerran? Or some Bunnahabhain? With time a whiff of BBQ pork (Laphroaig?) that become later a whiff of manure. More acidic than the second.

Mouth: Very simple. A bit of burn. Smoke, peat, silky, cereals but more damp and kind of more brown cereals (not bleached). Some pepper. Very nice texture

Finish: More complex than the palate with the return of the green lemon and more mineral notes

Second Star Nose: Smoky almost no peat in comparison to Plastic Stopper, salt, more influence of the cask, maybe a little of sherry cask, a whiff of tar, fresh cereal in cold wheather, spearmint, some element very close to the 1rst one but not as loud like the prune’s alcohol and the green lemon. The smoke increase with time.

Mouth: Richer with more low notes but maybe not as powerful as Plastic Stopper. Even if it is not obvious, I still believe that they used some sherry cask. Flavors are not as well defined but form a pleasing whole. The spearmint is there with an unspicy wood (but not fresh oak more like a tired sherry cask). The fruit is more like peach from an old can like peaches that are oxydized and have lost all their light notes.

Finish: Enjoyable but again not very defined (the peach are there).

Seems like a good canvas on which the master blender can work and let the cask express it values but need to develop more personality. Could well be a young Benriach or a young Bunnahabhain.

@Robert99 No need to keep trying - they are posted (5 times)

Third Blank bottle

Nose: Alcohol attack my nostril. At the same time, more floral than the other two. Cucumber?, citrus, lavender, more influence of the cask obviously with the color and probably more alcohol. With time celery. Lagavulin, Some IB Caol Ila or a good Kilchoman. Orange and peach some very integrated wood spices. Some caramel

Mouth: Definitively more punch, there is even a bit of acetone but just enough to a be plus and not a big problem. There is a lot going. Mouth is straight in line with the nose with a rough side on the texture and less floral more on the herbs. I would not let this one take too much air as I feel it would loose the richness of the orange-peach flavor for something more like the cassis bud from Bowmore. This one is sweeter than the other two.

Finish: The texture seems more heavy than silky but let a nice coating in the mouth. The smoke in this dram is not something I notice but I feel this dram is from a warm place where you don’t smell the smoke of the fire but you still have a nice wood flavor but very integrated.

This one as personality, big plus and probably big minus for some people. For me, the plus are more important than the minus.

Funny fact:

After tasting the one with the star, I was not able to smell anything from it.

How I rank them: 1st Blank, 2nd Button, 3rd Star. Give a couple of years in the cask to Button and it would probably come first.

Best guess:

Button: Kilkerran (2nd choice Bunnahabhain) Star: Benriach (2nd choice a blend with Benriach, Bunnahabhain and Talisker) Blank: IB Caol Ila (2nd choice a very young Lagavulin)

@Robert99, we are consistent, my order is the reverse of yours. We continue to be polar opposites with single malts....and by the way, how many sets of samples did you get?...four?...five?

@paddockjudge @Robert99 Except that these are not single malts...

Though if I had not been made aware that they were blended, I could easily have mistaken them for single malts.

@Nozinan, if no grain whisky is present, then technically they were at one time.

STAR is my favourite. I get a prominent Talisker note in it, leading me to JW 15 (or Isle of Skye). That is about as definite as I can get for any of them.

@paddockjudge oven if grain whisky were in in it, the malts were single at one time. But now they are married

@Nozinan, just like anything married, we can still dream about being single.