Time to reveal our 'Mystery Dram'

We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who read and left comments about our latest ‘Mystery Dram’ challenge that we set earlier this week. We can now reveal that the ‘Mystery Dram’ in question this time was the Jura Prophecy - a relatively new 'profoundly peaty' (their words not ours!) version from the Isle of Jura distillery. The full review of this Jura Prophecy will be posted shortly with some further distillery information and facts about the whisky.

There were a number of very good guesses but only one person guessed correctly - Tim Forbes, who runs The Whisky Exchange blog (AKA @TWEblog on Twitter). Well done Tim. We are planning to have another 'Mystery Dram' soon, so thanks again to everyone who took part and watch this space!

A mystery dram ... but what is it?

We apologise for the fact that there hasn't been a 'mystery dram' for a while and that Whisky For Everyone has been a little quieter than usual recently. This is due to us working hard in our day jobs and also developing an exciting new sideline project, which we plan to announce shortly. Anyway, we have posted below the tasting notes of a whisky that we have tasted recently. The idea is that you try to guess what the 'mystery dram' is from these notes. To register your answer, click on the 'comments' section at the bottom of this post once you have read the notes and follow the instructions.

The answer will be revealed later this week, when we will post a full review of the whisky in question. This will incorporate the tasting notes below, information about the whisky and include our regular dose of distillery history and facts. There are no prizes for guessing correctly but correct answers will be mentioned in the final article, so please leave your name next to your comment! Good luck and here goes ...

Our 'mystery dram' tasting notes
The colour of this whisky is golden with a touch of coppery amber. The nose is vibrant with a rich mix of interesting aromas - caramel, dried fruits (think of raisins and orange peel), slightly sulphuric coal smoke, wood spices (imagine cinnamon and nutmeg) and a whiff of antiseptic surgical spirit. On the palate, this whisky is heavier and smokier than the nose suggests. It has an oily feeling in the mouth, with the smokiness more pronounced and up front than on the nose. This smokiness is also less coal-like and more reminiscent of a bonfire or bonfire ash. Through this come other elements that combine well - caramel sweetness (this is quite sugary initially before fading), fruits (the dried raisins and peel again), a distinct grassy herbal note (a combination of dried grass and a hint of liquorice), some wood spice (cinnamon and nutmeg) and some hotter spice (think of peppercorns and red chilli). The finish is long and lingering but is drier than the palate, with the smoky and herbal notes prominent and giving it a slightly acrid edge. This whisky is bottled by the distillery at 46% ABV and should cost £45-50 a bottle.

Now it is over to you ... can you work out what it may be?

The 'Mystery Dram' revealed

We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who read and left comments about our latest ‘Mystery Dram’ challenge that we set last week. We can now reveal that the ‘Mystery Dram’ in question this time was the Aberlour 10 years old. The full review of this Aberlour 10 years old will be posted shortly with some further distillery information and facts about the whisky.

There were a number of very good guesses but only one person guessed correctly - Oliver Klimek (AKA @olikli on Twitter), who runs the informative Whisky Rating blog. Check it out for concise tasting notes and other featured whisky articles. We are planning to have another 'Mystery Dram' soon - so watch this space.

A mystery dram ... but what is it?

We apologise for the fact that there hasn't been a 'mystery dram' for a while. Below, we have posted the tasting notes of a whisky that we have tasted recently. The idea is that you try to guess what the 'mystery dram' is from these notes. To register your answer, click on the 'comments' section at the bottom of this post once you have read the notes and follow the instructions. We aim to set a new 'mystery dram' challenge roughly once a month in the future.

The answer will be revealed next Monday, when we will post a full review of the whisky in question. This will incorporate the tasting notes below, information about the whisky and include our regular dose of distillery history and facts. There are no prizes for guessing correctly but correct answers will be mentioned in the final article, so please leave your name next to your comment! Good luck and here goes ...

'Mystery dram' tasting notes
The colour of the 'mystery dram' is golden amber with a slight reddish hue. The nose is aromatic with a clear influence of sherry cask maturation. There is a lovely combination of caramel, butterscotch, dried fruit (think of raisins, sultanas and candied orange peel) and a touch of woody spice (imagine cinnamon and nutmeg). On the palate, this starts off quite sweet and sugary (that caramel again with some toffee and brown sugar) and has lots of dried fruit (those sultanas and raisins especially). There is also plenty of vanilla and the candied orange peel from the nose is particularly prominent. Other elements present include distinct cereal notes, something nutty (think of hazelnuts) and that woody spice again (especially the cinnamon). It feels rich and creamy and pleasantly coats the inside of the mouth. The finish is long, starting sweetly before turning dry, nutty and refreshingly woody and spicy. A lovely soft, gentle dram that is a very good and affordable example of a sherry cask matured whisky. A bottle should cost around £25 and it is bottled by the distillery at 40% ABV.

Christmas mystery dram revealed

Merry Christmas and thanks to everyone who read and left comments for our recent ‘mystery dram’ challenge. It has been an enjoyable day for us and we have just finished a huge meal of traditional English roast and bottle of Aussie red wine. The dram has proven to be a welcome diversion after the excesses of all the food we have had.

The mystery bottle has just been cracked open and we can reveal that it is BenRiach 10 years old 'Curiositas'. Congrats to Pocket Rocket for being the only one to guess correctly.

The tasting notes provided did not quite do the dram justice but were temptingly close. It was as delightful as we had hoped. Full tasting notes will follow shortly to give you the full description.

We are now retiring to another dram and a mince pie or two. Merry Christmas!

Christmas mystery dram ... what is it?

The festive season is not just upon us, it is all but consuming us. To keep the smiles on our faces while we wait, we have set aside a bottle of (hopefully) delicious whisky to be opened on Christmas day.
We thought 'what a great idea for a mystery dram as it's a mystery to us as well as to you!'.

We have looked at all the great things written about this particular bottle but we won't actually get to try it until Christmas Day, when we open our bottle and taste a dram or two. We will then reveal to all what it is and just how good the tasting notes we have found prove to be.

The tasting notes are below and we invite you to try and guess what the 'mystery dram' is before the bottle is opened. This can be done by clicking on the 'comments' section at the bottom of this post once you have read the notes, following the instructions and leaving us your guess/answer. So here goes...

On the nose this rich amber coloured whisky should have a aromatic peat with fragrant hints of honey, fruit (citrus seems to be the suggestion) and gentle oak woodiness. The taste on your palate should be noticeably peaty yet balanced with oaky woodines and warm peppery spices. An 'extravagant and complex' mix of honey sweetness, heather, nuts and barley. The finish is due to be long and clean with vanilla and a hint of cocoa and 'near perfect' bitter sweetness lingering alongside the peatiness.

This is a distillers bottling at 40% ABV. It is not from an overly famous distiller but should not be a name unfamiliar to many of you. We are keenly looking forward to the 'Mystery dram' as it has received many good reviews and has a small clutch of awards against its name.

Now is the time for you to have a guess. Just let your imagination run wild. The answer will be revealed on Christmas Day along with the names of anyone who made a correct guess.

The 'mystery dram' revealed

Thank you to everyone who read and left comments for our recent ‘mystery dram’ challenge. We can now reveal that the ‘mystery dram’ in question this time was the classic Speyside whisky Glenlivet 12 years old. The full review of the Glenlivet 12 years old will be posted shortly with some further distillery information and facts about the whisky.

We are trying to make the 'mystery dram' as challenging as possible and this time we had three regular readers who guessed the correct identity of the whisky. Well done to Jeff from the Scotch Hobbyist blog, Jason from the WHISKYhost blog (although he managed to talk himself out of the correct answer!) and Lisa Huang. A couple of others were very close but not quite correct. Thank you again to everyone who contributed and look out for a new 'mystery dram' coming soon.

A mystery dram ... but what is it?

There hasn't been a 'mystery dram' for a while and there has been a good reason for that - our trip to Speyside. This has taken us a while to write up, so now we can return to 'normal'. But not before we write about one last whisky that we sampled. However, the tasting notes are below but we invite you to try and guess what the 'mystery dram' is. This can be done by clicking on the 'comments' section at the bottom of this post once you have read the notes, following the instructions and leaving us your guess/answer.

The answer will be revealed on Wednesday when we will post a full review of the whisky in question. This will incorporate these tasting notes, information about the whisky and also include our regular dose of distillery history and facts. There are no prizes for guessing correctly but correct answers will be mentioned in the final article, so please leave your name! We aim to set a new 'mystery dram' challenge roughly once a month in the future, so good luck and here goes ...

The 'mystery dram' is light and golden in colour and has a lovely fragrant nose. There are obvious notes of vanilla and sweet cereal grains but these are joined by more subtle aromas of fresh green fruit (especially apples and pears) and a hint of something floral, reminiscent of honeysuckle. On the palate, this whisky has a medium body and feels slightly creamy. The sweet vanilla, malty cereals and fresh green fruit are prominent again, although the vanilla note has more of a marzipan feel to it. The slightly floral honeysuckle note comes through again, as does an interesting warm spicy note (think of ginger and a touch of nutmeg). The finish is soft and smooth. It begins sweetly with the vanilla and grains evident before turning drier and woodier, allowing the nutmeg style spiciness to end.

This 'mystery dram' is not the most complicated of single malts but it is of great quality and offers good value for money (a bottle should cost around £25-30 from supermarkets and specialist stores alike). For this reason, this pleasant and easy drinking whisky would be an excellent choice to introduce a beginner to the world of single malts, while still having enough character to keep the connoisseurs interested. A classic Speyside dram.

The mystery dram revealed

Thank you to everyone who read and left comments about our third ‘mystery dram’ challenge that we set earlier in the week. We can now reveal that the ‘mystery dram’ in question this time was the Bushmills 10 years old. The full review of the Bushmills 10 years old will be posted shortly with some further distillery information and facts about the whisky.

We are trying to make the 'mystery dram' more challenging, as nearly everyone guessed correctly on our first one (the new Laphroaig 18 years old). This was followed by two correct answers for the second (Highland Park 18 years old). Only two readers got the correct answer for this third 'mystery dram' so maybe we need to throw in a couple more clues next time! Others were close but no cigar and some ignored the 'its not from Scotland' clue all together! Well done to Gal Granov and Yves Cosentino for working out it was Bushmills 10 years old.

A mystery dram ... what is it?

Here is the third installment in our occasional 'mystery dram' series. Our idea is that we write tasting notes for a whisky and then ask you to try and guess what the whisky in question may be. This can be done by clicking on the 'comments' section at the bottom of this post once you have read the notes, following the instructions and leaving us your guess/answer.

The answer will be revealed on Wednesday when we will post a full review of the whisky in question. This will incorporate these tasting notes, information about the whisky and also include our regular dose of distillery history and facts. There are no prizes for guessing correctly but correct answers will be mentioned in the final article, so please leave your name! We aim to set a new 'mystery dram' challenge roughly once a month in the future, so good luck!

The colour of the 'mystery dram' is golden with a slight amber tint. The nose is clean and fresh with a combination of interesting aromas - a lot of vanilla and cereal grains mixed with a distinct nuttiness (think of almonds and coconuts especially), some grassiness (imagine dried grasses or hay) and a hint of dried fruits and spice (think of sultanas and nutmeg). On the palate, this is smooth, clean and delicate with a creamy, almost soapy feeling in the mouth. It is very malty (those cereal grains again) and full of lovely vanilla and the almond/coconut nuttiness from the nose. This is in addition to another sweet element (think of toffee or butterscotch) and this is balanced with a herbal note (that dried grass again) and some woody spice (imagine nutmeg and cinnamon). The finish is of reasonable length, soft and bittersweet. It begins sweetly with vanilla and a hint of sherry cask influenced dried fruits (especially sultanas and candied lemon peel) before turning drier with the oaky woodiness and herbal grassiness prominent.

There is only one clue for this lovely well regarded single malt - it is not from Scotland.

The mystery dram revealed

Thank you to everyone who read and left comments about our ‘mystery dram’ challenge from earlier in the week. We can now reveal that the ‘mystery dram’ in question was the Highland Park 18 years old. The full review of the Highland Park 18 years old will be posted very shortly with some distillery information and others facts about the whisky.

We tried to make this 'mystery dram' more challenging, as nearly everyone guessed correctly on our first one - the new Laphroaig 18 years old. There was more speculation this time so maybe we will add a couple more clues next time! Only two readers got the correct answer - Jeff of The Scotch Hobbyist blog and Tim of The Whisky Exchange blog. Well done to you both.

Another mystery dram - Can you guess what it is?

Here is the second in our occasional 'mystery dram' series. The idea is that we write tasting notes for a whisky and then ask you to try and guess what the whisky in question may be. This can be done by clicking on the 'comments' section at the bottom of this post once you have read the notes, following the instructions and leaving us your guess/answer. The first 'mystery dram' was seemingly too easy for some, so we have tried to make this one a bit more challenging!

The answer will be revealed on Thursday when we will post a full review. This will incorporate these tasting notes and also include our regular dose of distillery history and facts, as well as information about the whisky in question. There are no prizes for guessing correctly but correct answers will be mentioned in the final article, so please leave your name! We aim to set a new 'mystery dram' challenge roughly once a month in the future. Good luck ...

The colour of the 'mystery dram' is a gorgeous dark amber. The nose is fabulous and full of dried fruit (think of sultanas), caramel, sweet heather honey, some woody spice (imagine nutmeg) and soft peaty earthiness. On the palate, the fruit and honey are predominant and it is incredibly smooth. The smokiness is there but it does not overpower the whisky and is slightly floral (imagine heather), earthy (think of damp soil) and light. There is also a slight saltiness (think of brine or sea air), a distinct nuttiness and some warm spices (like ginger and cinnamon or nutmeg). The combination of all these elements gives a gloriously rich, well balanced and rounded whisky that is easy to drink. The finish is long and warm with mellow smokiness and those spices again. It is easy to see why this classic whisky has won multiple awards around the world.

So, what is the 'mystery dram'? Please post your answers in the 'comments' section below.

The mystery dram revealed

Thank you to everyone who read and left comments about the ‘mystery dram’ post from earlier in the week. We can now reveal that the ‘mystery dram’ in question was the new Laphroaig 18 years old. A special thanks must go to John Campbell, the master distiller at Laphroaig, who kindly sent us the sample. The full review will be posted very shortly.

Well done to all of those that guessed correctly – Oliver Klimek, Jeff the ScotchHobbyist, Ruben @ Whisky News and Chandalf. A couple of others were close but not quite correct. It looks like it was too easy this time, so we will have to make it more difficult when we do the next ‘mystery dram’!

A mystery dram ... but what is it?

We have just received a sample of a newly released whisky at Whisky For Everyone and thought that we would do something a little different with it. Below is a review with tasting notes of this 'mystery dram' and we thought it would be fun if we asked you to try and guess what this whisky is! This can be done by clicking on the 'comments' section at the bottom of this post, following the instructions and leaving us your guess/answer. There are a few clues in there to help (hopefully).

The answer will be revealed on Friday when we will post a full review. This will incorporate these tasting notes and also include distillery history and facts as well as information about the whisky in question. There are no prizes for guessing correctly but correct answers will be mentioned in the final article, so please leave your name! If you like this idea, then also let us know and we will do this again next time we receive a 'mystery dram'.

The colour is a rich golden yellow and the nose is fresh and clean with an instant hit of pungent aromatic smoke. This smokiness is earthy (imagine damp moss and dry peat) and balances with other elements such as vanilla, a briny saltiness and a touch of honey. On the palate, the 'mystery dram' is robust and powerful. It offers early sugary sweetness that combines the vanilla and honey from the nose again, as well as malty cereal grains. This is balanced almost perfectly by the smokiness (less earthy and more like charcoal or burning embers/ash this time), some more saltiness (think of brine) and a bitter twist (imagine iodine). The finish is lovely and very long with a bittersweet mix of vanilla, honey, warm spices (think of a hint of ginger) and a pronounced bitter smokiness (now reminding us of creosote fence paint). The 'mystery dram' is excellent and is a welcome and complimentary addition to the producer's range of whisky. It is bottled at 48% ABV which allows the whisky to express itself fully.

So, what do you think the 'mystery dram' is? Find out on Friday ...