Turntable Track 07 - Born to be Wild
Blended Scotch Whisky | 53% ABV
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
A great blend showcasing the quality of young distilleries
Sweet Dreams Are Made of This
Isn’t it wonderful when you get genuinely excited over a whisky?
There are releases that simply don’t grab your attention, and some that do get you curious, maybe enough to go out and spend money on. It happens to me a few times a year. But every now and then there’s one that really tingles your dingle.
This tingle came in the form of Turntable Blending House announcing a new release, or ‘Track’, as they themselves refer to it. Like one of those small, over-excitable dogs when their owner shouts “Walkies”, the announcement made my ears prick up and had my whisky-tail wagging.
That’s because the majority of this release is composed of young distilleries that are lately doing a good job of making a name for themselves. We don’t tend to find many of those with the independent bottlers yet, let alone in blends.
Its make-up is as follows:
37% Ardnamurchan, peated sherry butt
16% Lochlea, first fill bourbon barrel
15% Nc’nean first fill bourbon barrel
18% Raasay, peated chinkapin barrel
14% Port Dundas, refill bourbon barrel
Having had experiences that ranged from decent to outstanding with all these distillates on their own, I just couldn’t resist ordering it the moment it hit the shelves.
I’m a sucker for a good blend and I think it’s a shame that some people still think of blends as lesser whiskies. Don’t get me wrong, I love my single malts as much as the next guy. Sometimes I do find myself in a purist mood and I can get absolutely carried away by the singularity of single cask bottlings.
Overall though, what I truly care about is the experience of the aromas and flavours that I find in the glass. That’s probably also the reason why I feel no aversion towards 4, 5, or 6 year old age-stated malts. It’s also why I’m forever tinkering with my three infinity bottles to try and get them to a sweet spot. Results are varied and they range from surprising deliciousness to Dr. Frankenstein’s nightmare fuel.
Review
Turntable Track 07, Born to be Wild, Blended Scotch Whisky, 53% ABV
€74 paid (£64) & still some availability
I paid €74 for this, which in my books is quite a lot of money for a bottle of whisky. Then again there are plenty of distilleries and bottlers that ask those prices and (at least in my market) much, much higher for young whiskies. I tend to browse past them. So while €74 might not be that expensive in the realms of independently bottled young whisky these days, it is still expensive for a blend. And not a blended malt, but a blended Scotch; the category which, to some, is still synonymous with supermarket-discount-mixer-dreariness in drinkers' minds.
Those of a more open-minded disposition have over the past decade or more experienced what both blended malts and blended Scotches can offer if handled by the capable hands of the people at Compass Box, Elixir Distillers, and Thompson Bros, to name but a few. So I saw the price tag, had a thought and a frown, and then purchased it anyway.
If Turntable had wanted to create a similar style of blend composed from whiskies distilled at some of Diageo’s juggernaut workhorse distilleries they could have probably bottled it for ten or fifteen quid less. But all the malt components here are from new-gen, integrity and flavour-forward distilleries which are on everyone’s lips because of the quality they offer, even though they aren’t even in their teens yet. The casks used here are therefore a bit more expensive than the next refill hoggie of Auchroisk.
Then there’s the grain component. At only fourteen percent of the make-up, it makes for a very high-malt content Blended Scotch, so they certainly didn’t try to be cheap by making that a much higher percentage. And I love that instead of choosing North British, Cameronbridge, or another functional grain distillery, they instead blended the youngster malts with a now long-closed ghost distillery. It’s a small detail, but it makes for an interesting story.
To top it off they bottled it at a nice, big 53% ABV. Now all it has to do is live up to my admittedly high expectations.
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
A great blend showcasing the quality of young distilleries
Nose
Initially quite closed. Ginger bread. Warm. Baking spices in the shape of some quite strong nutmeg. Something dirty. Elementary school paint. Blackberry. Rain barrel on a warm day. Decay. Hint of burnt meat on a proper, coal-fired BBQ. Addition of water brings cured meats, especially Coppa di Parma, and a big, big aromatic umami hit. Smokey as well, but I do suffer from peat blindness, so it might be smokier than I find it to be. Stewed forest fruit sauce.
Palate
Full and flavour-packed arrival. The ABV helps it along nicely there. Not hot though, so the alcohol feels well integrated. It has a rumbling, bassy feel. The peat shows up as an aromatic, savoury blanket over the red fruitiness, rather than dominating the experience. A minty, red fruit backbone. Liquorice. Slightly ashy smoke on finish. Addition of water: plums soaked in vodka. There comes the smoke.
Much more lively peatiness now, throughout the development and onto a drier, ashier, finish. Blackcurrant sour-sweet red tartness. Salinity seems to show up and increase with time in the glass after addition of water as well. Cereal.
The Dregs
This is very enjoyable, and not just for a blend. It’s a very good whisky, period. You’ll have to play around with water a bit, but find the sweet spot and it’s a busy thing with a lot going on. Yes, the price is a bit steep, but one look at all the specs on the bottle and even the most cynical among us would have to concede that it’s not a matter of greed, but rather of the calibre and limited availability of the contents.
That price does prevent it, at least for me, from being something I’d consider as a re-buy. But to buy once and to enjoy the uniqueness of this composition to the fullest - yeah, worth it. No regrets.
A few years ago we welcomed, some hesitant - others with open arms, the new dawn of blends. I’d argue that we’re past that dawn now. The dew has evaporated, the sun is up above the tree tops and shining in our faces. It’s warming and bright and we’re in for a great time.
Bring on the blends.
Score: 7/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. MM
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