In May 2023 we had a first encounter with the blended whiskies from Turntable Spirits. They were well thought out and were different enough from other blends on the market. Now we’ve arrived at the 4th and 5th release which came out at the beginning of the summer: Track 04 and Track 05. Both are 2024 limited editions with only around 2000 bottles available of each.
Track 4 contains 78% grain whisky (Strathclyde, Invergordon and Cameronbridge from bourbon, red wine, Marsala and Madeira casks) and 22% Linkwood single malt (first fill bourbon barrels).
Turntable Blended Scotch – Track 4 ‘One Way or Another’ (46%, OB 2024)
Nose: banana candy with hints of dried coconut and vanilla. Then green mango and salted caramel, along with some boiled sweets in the background. Lemon peelings and fresh wood shavings. A slight sharp edge of varnish, giving it a higher pitch as it were. More grain-forward than how I remember the previous tracks.
Mouth: indeed. The sharpness of the grain whisky comes out, with woody overtones, green walnuts, lemon peelings and a light spirity touch. White pepper and hints of ginger in the middle, along with more banana. There’s a grassy note, a light tannic edge and an almost rye-like spicy side, but no overpowering wine notes.
Finish: rather short and quite neutral, with citrus and white pepper.
Compared to the previous tracks, this feels far more mundane, in the sense that there’s no doubt this is a blended whisky. The good news for me is that the wine casks are not too prominent, so the end result is grainy but still fresh. While it probably holds a few well-aged components, the price seems high for such a grain-forward composition. Available around Germany through Kirsch Import.
Next up: Track 5, which contains 26% Tamdhu malt (first fill Oloroso), 21% Dalmunach, and 18% Mannochmore (first fill bourbon). This is complemented by 35% Girvan grain from bourbon and Marsala barrels.
Turntable Blended Scotch – Track 5 ‘Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger’ (59,1%, OB 2024)
Nose: the Tamdhu from the Oloroso cask stands out. Some milk chocolate coated nuts and toffee, along with some nougat and leafy notes. Then plummy notes and red berries. Some stewed apples in the background.
Mouth: still echoes of sherried Tamdhu, now mixed with a lot of spices. Cloves, peppers and juniper, with mild hints of oak char. Some vanilla and wood varnish again, along with vague hints of stone fruit. Then back to hazelnuts and pepper.
Finish: medium length, firmly drying with pepper and dark cocoa taking over.
This finds a much more interesting balance between grain and malt whisky, in my opinion. After all that’s what blending is all about, right? Also, this has 65% malt whisky and comes at cask strength yet it has almost the same price. Not sure how they decide on a price, but in a side-by-side comparison it doesn’t feel right. Score: 84/100