March was mostly in Mumbai with just a wee jaunt to Bangalore… a welcome change after earlier months zipping around to Germany, Dubai, US, Canada, Germany again…

As for tastings? All three Bombay based tasting groups were extra active – making up for a slower Feb! So read on and enjoy!

Our Bombay Malt & Cigar kicked off March with an Australian Starward Flight:

• Project Wine Cask 2.25 year malted barley spirit batch 170721-A (8 Aug 2017) 42%– An experiment in fully maturing malted spirit in a red wine cask
• Solera (2018) 43% – Adapting a traditional Sherry Solera process for maturing whisky in Apera casks
• 10th Anniversary 52% – A celebration of Starward’s journey with 8 styles and 28 casks combined to craft one exceptional vatted malt

Our Whisky Ladies then carried on with Asian Delights featuring:

• Akashi White Oak Single Malt 40% – Simple and sweet, apple spice, easy going
• Nikka Coffey Malt 45% – Chocolaty tiramisu… nothing complex but still satisfying
• Kavalan Classic 40% – A good starter to the Kavalan collection
• Nikka From the Barrel 54.1% – Interesting to revisit, definitely add water!

Our original group decided to explore ‘red’ cask finishes with:

• Balvenie 14 year Caribbean Cask 42% – Gulab Jamun with rum 
• Linkwood 16 year (1998) Côte Rôtie 45% (G&MP) – Remarkable!
• Longrow Red 11 year Cabernet Franc 55.9% – Well worth trying… lovey balance of peat and sweet

Both our Whisky Ladies late February and Original club in March explored the 2018 Canadian Shelter Point editions:

• Artisanal Single Malt (2018) 46% – Bottled sheer joy and happiness
• Montfort District Lot 141 Grain (2018) 46% – Award winning, curious and interesting
• Double Barrelled Single Malt (2018) 50% (French Oak Cask) – What you want instead of wine with dinner!
• Artisanal Cask Strength (2018) 58.7% – Rye adds a spicy twist!

Rounding up the month was an evening of Bourbon‘s with the Bombay Malt & Cigar gents:

• Four Roses Small Batch 45% – Classic bourbon
• Clyde May’s Straight Bourbon Recipe No 2 46% – Clear favourite of the evening
• Breaker Bourbon Port Barrel Finish Batch No 5 45% – Interesting effort but didn’t quite work
• Bib & Tucker 10 year 66.6% – After settled down, paired rather well with the cigar

In addition to our sampling sessions, I finally caught up on tasting notes from a remarkable evening early January 2019 in Dubai with a few “Dream Drams“:

• Midleton Very Rare (2011) No 042585 L121731255 40%
• SMWS G10.10 “Busy buzzing bees” 38 years (23 Nov 1977) 49.6% – Strathclyde
• Old Pulteney 17 year 46%
• Longmorn 25 year (1988/2014) Cask 14384 46% (Berry’s Bro)
• Kilchoman Sherry (2007/2013) Cask 447/2007 59.5%
• SMWS 29.229 “Harmonious balance” 19 year (1998) 55.2% – Laphroaig

Plus shared a “sneak peak” into a growing stash of German whiskies, thanks to my work trips to Munich.

Curious to know more? Check out recent Whisky Lady’s monthly missives:

• Whisky Lady – February 2019
• Whisky Lady – January 2019
• Whisky Lady – 2018 Highlights & Lowlights
• Whisky Lady – December 2018

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