Tuesday, 26 August 2014

Competition Time: Win a chance to Choose the Next Overeem Release!

As our regular readers well know, we like to cheer people up on gloomy days -  especially ones following a particularly tasty bank holiday break (despite the incessant rain here in South London)
This time round, we have a corking opportunity for you:  Ever fancied actually having a say in the next release that a distillery puts out?  Well, short of sending in a boring questionnaire to a brand, citing what you like or dislike, or making a ranting phone call, telling a distiller to stop making NAS whisky (true apparently) , we're giving you just that opportunity!

Casey and Jane really needs your help in choosing
the next single cask bottling 

The marvellous folk at the Old Hobart distillery in Tasmania are wonderful whisky makers, but are sometimes a little indecisive. Alongside his truly excellent sherry and port cask releases, Head Distiller and distillery owner Casey Overeem has - for the first time - filled a small number of specially re-sized bourbon casks with his wonderful single malt. The trouble is they all taste superb, so he's having a little trouble to decide which one to release first in the UK... that's where you come in.
WHAT CAN I WIN? Well... here you go.
Casey and co are offering one lucky winner a unique opportunity to join a select panel of whisky experts at a Central London location (travel within the UK will be covered) in late September to decide which is the very best from three different single casks. The selected cask will then be bottled and released exclusively in the UK later in 2015. Just 50 bottles of the 60% ABV bourbon cask release will be available and in addition to having your say as to which cask is finally bottled, you'll also receive a special personalised bottle of whisky taken from the chosen cask.
2 runners-up will also each win a bottle of Overeem Sherry Cask 43% for their efforts.

Hello... Tell me more...

HOW DO I ENTER? All you have to do is write a Tasting Note that Casey himself would be proud of...
The person with the best tasting note, as chosen by Casey, will win. The whisky they want you to document is the Overeem Sherry Cask 43%. Its huge rich, fruity and spicy notes have proved a hit with single malt fans all over the globe. All you need to do is take inspiration from the whisky itself and tell the guys what you think it tastes like by 10pm on Thursday 18th September (winner to be announced on Friday 19th September).
If you don't happen to have this expression to hand and don't fancy purchasing a whole bottle (you really should though, it's superb) you can of course grab yourself a 3cl sample dram from the product page on the Master of Malt website:  Here's our review for reference... no cheating please... ;-)

Overeem Single Malt Whisky -  Old Hobart Distillery -  Sherry Cask Matured - 43%

Nose: Immediately, this is very inviting and open, with notes of spiced apple pie, vanilla ice cream some perfumed notes and a slight vegetative note (boiled sweet potato.) Given time some sweet, plump raisins come to the fore, alongside a little dustiness and some cracked black pepper. Extremely rich and complex, all said and done.  

Palate: Wonderfully spicy and sweet, with star anise, clove and cinnamon dusted apples coating the palate, alongside some dried fruits (apricot and date), soft caramel and some vibrant blood orange notes.  Balanced and very impressive indeed for a youthful whisky. 

Finish: Lingering notes of dark chocolate, orange zest and toasted malt give this a luxurious and very lengthy finish.

Overall:  What a flying start.  Make no mistake, this is high quality whisky making and what's clear is the care and attention that has gone into pulling this expression together.  Highly recommended if you're a fan of big, bold sherry monsters. 


WAYS TO ENTER... 
1. Enter your tasting note in the User Review section of the Product Page, at Master Of Malt (link here) including a twitter handle so they can get in touch with you if you win.
2. Enter your tasting note in the blog comments section at Master Of Malt, ensuring that you enter an email address in the field provided.
3. Enter your tasting note in a Comment on our Caskstrength Facebook page or the Master Of Malt Facebook page.
4. If social media isn't your sort of thing, then simply just send us your tasting note at info(at)Caskstrength(dot)Net

Usual T's & C's apply:  You must be able to attend the tasting panel in late September (date TBC very soon) and if travelling from outside of the UK, make your own way here.  Oh- and be over the legal drinking age in your country of residence.  

Good luck and get those thinking/drinking trilbies on.