This private bottle for The Caledonian Club was tasted as part of Dramfool‘s Brain Tumor Research Charity Tasting. Chatting with others in the tasting, it was clear that many present had been impacted by the effects of Brain Tumors/Cancer. It was a wonderful experience to share these drams with loved ones in mind while supporting future research. Thanks to those who donated the bottles in this tasting, and to Dramfool for yet another exceptional tasting experience (with purpose).
And on to the dram…
Whisky: The Caledonian Club 31 Year
Country/Region: Scotland/Highland
ABV: 53.3%
Cask: Unknown
Age: 31 Years (Distilled 1974, Bottled 2006)
Nose: Nuts. Dark chocolate. Dark fruits. Sherry.
Palate: Rich and salty. Spices. Stewed dark fruits. Big and oily. Cherry cola.
Finish: Spices. Vanilla. Salt. Prunes. Plums. Cherry cola. Cured meat. Long and unctuous. Building heat.
Score: 9
Mental Image: Salted cherry cola concentrate.
Narrative: This was purchased by the Dramfool team at auction. While the cask type is not known, it’s speculated to be Oloroso, but certainly it has to be some kind of sherry. This bottling from The Caledonian Club was given out as a thank you to members who substantially sponsored the new addition to their facilities in 2006. Just like the cask type, the producing distillery is unknown, but apparently there’s a certain distillery that is quite involved with the club and aligns rather well with the profile experienced here. Anyways.
So I confess that this dram was in some ways just a monster of a sherry bomb. So on the one hand, not all that interesting. But good lord was this absolutely, incredibly delicious. Vast depths of unctuous sherry goodness. Well composed. And as I noted, there was perhaps some distiller character coming through… The saltiness of this dram along with the strong cola notes made it one of the biggest, richest, savoriest drams I’ve had. Absolutely remarkable. Or should I say marvelous?