Turntable Spirits - Pineapple Funk, Bittersweet Symphony & Smokin' R
Turntable Blending House may be relative newcomers to the whisky market but come with over 20 years of experience courtesy of brothers Ally and Gordon Stevenson. Their aim is to use this experience to create a range of small batch blended whiskies with a focus on quality.
In addition to sourcing quality spirit and casks, each whisky is given a minimum of three months post-blending to give the whisky the time it needs to marry fully. All Turntable whiskies come with a comprehensive breakdown of the individual components and percentages and are presented as non-chill-filtered, natural colour, and 46% ABV in strength.
Turntable Blending House may be relative newcomers to the whisky market but come with over 20 years of experience courtesy of brothers Ally and Gordon Stevenson. Their aim is to use this experience to create a range of small batch blended whiskies with a focus on quality.
In addition to sourcing quality spirit and casks, each whisky is given a minimum of three months post-blending to give the whisky the time it needs to marry fully. All Turntable whiskies come with a comprehensive breakdown of the individual components and percentages and are presented as non-chill-filtered, natural colour, and 46% ABV in strength.
Paradise Funk - 46%
Blender Notes: A funky yet delicate duo bursts with exotic flavours. A harmony of caramelized pineapple, smooth vanilla and sweet toffee.
Blend breakdown
13% Knockdhu virgin oak barrel
18% Invergordon ex cognac barrel
8% Blair Athol bourbon barrel
30% Unnamed Speyside virgin oak barrel
11% North British virgin oak barrel
20% Benrinnes chinkapin barrel
Nose: Pineapple cube sweets, pear drops, butterscotch and sharp green apple.
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, vanilla sauce at first, together with honey glazed roasted pineapple, a touch of cracked black pepper and a sprinkling of cinnamon.
Finish: As the vanilla and mellow pineapple slowly disappear, rich tea biscuits and a more savoury note of tobacco leaf appears along with black pepper warmth.
Overall: Delightful mouthfeel, great balance and a decent amount of complexity. This is one of those blends where the grain elements are allowed to take the starring role rather than support the main characters. As a result you get plenty of those slightly sour pineapple notes that excite the palate. A really interesting blend, ideal for a hot summer evening and I suspect would add an interesting dimension in cocktails.
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Bittersweet Symphony - 46%
Blender notes: this smoothly decadent number shimmers with fiery sweetness and bold malt character. Ending on a flourish of dark chocolate and dried fruits.
Blend breakdown
22% Craigellachie PX puncheon
17% Blair Athol virgin oak barrel
21% Craigellachie oloroso butt
21% Balmenach PX puncheon
19% North British virgin oak barrel
Tasting notes:
Appearance: Bright chestnut in colour, forms a thick line which gradually falls as slow, thick oily legs.
Nose: Unmistakeably sherried, like a bag of mixed fruit and nuts with dark chocolate pieces, together with a vanilla toffee sauce.
Palate: Raisins, sultanas, cranberries, hazelnuts and caramel toffee all wrapped in luscious dark chocolate. Ginger brings a touch of warmth.
Finish: Those notes of Christmas treats linger before finally fading bringing a hint of tobacco leaf, soft brown sugar, ginger and cinnamon to the fore.
Overall: A lovely Christmas whisky with great balance and depth. Chocolate fruit and nut bars in a glass, what’s not to like?
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Blender notes: An explosive campfire smoke solo, accompanied by a backing track of toffee, pears, raisins and cinnamon.
Blend breakdown
21% Knockdhu PX puncheon
18% Caol Ila bourbon barrel
24% Craigellachie PX puncheon
9% Caol Ila ex red wine barrel
28% North British virgin oak barrel
Nose: Beach bonfire smoke, barbecued pork with cherry sauce, lemon citrus and a hint of baked apple.
Palate: Baked orchard fruits, filled with raisins and sprinkled with cinnamon, accompanied with rich toffee sauce. The bonfire smoke is there but not quite so dominant as on the nose.
Finish: Ashy bonfire smoke lingers long after everything else has gone.
Overall: The first thing you notice is that glorious nose of bonfire smoke and barbecued pork with burnt edges, such a great introduction to this whisky and one which promises so much. That smokiness softens on the palate, allowing more fruit and toffee to come through, before coming back on the finish and lingering for what seems like an age. It’s a very impressive whisky, beautifully balanced and complex. The Craigellachie component brings some of that worm tub magic, the choice of PX casks brings a lovely fruitiness and marries so well with that typical Caol Ila character.
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Final thoughts:
One look at the website and the marketing for this new brand suggests they want to be different and, for want of a better word, ‘disruptive’. Now, that’s just marketing talk for trying to carve a niche in a packed and highly competitive market. In reality, whisky is whisky whichever way you package it, and at the end of the day it’s the quality of the liquid that counts.
This was my first time trying whiskies from Turntable, and I have to say it won’t be my last. It’s evident a great deal of thought and skill has gone into creating these blends, and there is something for everyone in the range. I really appreciated the transparency in listing all the component whiskies which go into each blend, it would be great if this became the norm.
My favourite would have to be the Smokin’ Riff, although it was a close run thing between that and Bittersweet Symphony. That said, on a warm summer evening I could quite happily sit with a dram of Pineapple Funk too.
Whether you buy into the marketing blurb or not, in these days of overpriced single malts it’s good to see a focus on high quality, affordable blends. RRP for each of these whiskies is currently £53, and for me the quality is there to justify the cost.
If you would like to know more about Turntable Blending House and their whiskies, follow the link to the company website.
Transparency: this sample pack was received free of charge for independent review. The author has no affiliation with the bottler, all opinions are my own and remain completely impartial
