Turntable Blending House was launched in 2023 by brothers Gordon and Alasdair Stevenson.
Their mission was to tackle the modern misconception that single malt whiskies are best, and demonstrate how blended whiskies can bring real quality by “creating new rhythms in blended whisky”.
Rhythms indeed, as the Turntable name and references within their brand also closely link to their other passion: music.
Blending opens endless opportunities for innovation and flavour development. We started Turntable with an idea that we could combine the best of both worlds – the attention to detail, transparency and provenance of single malts, and the scope of creativity and flavour development within blends. With Turntable we aim to change the perception and create something special.
Turntable Spirits
The brand has launched 3 core expressions: Paradise Funk, Bittersweet Symphony, and (our subject here) Smokin’ Riff.
At the time of writing, they had released 3 one-off special editions in 2023 and have recently just launched their first collaboration bottling with Australia’s Starward distillery. Found out more at their site: TurntableSpirits.com
Here, we look at their smoky expression with the core range of blended scotch whiskies, described as “an explosive campfire smoke solo, accompanied by a backing track of toffee, pears, raisins and cinnamon”.
Holding true to their commitment to transparency, they publish that the Smokin’ Riff blend is made of:
- 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
The final blend is then presented at its natural colour, without chill-filtration at a bottling strength of 46% ABV. Let’s see if it gets the toes tapping or, better yet, heads banging…
Nose
Proper campfire smoke with charred wood and ashes flying up. Not too heavy though. Vanilla, caramel, toffee, and raisins sat behind. A real sweetness which combines with the smoke to make for a toasted marshmallow sensation. A little lemon/citrus coming through and sweeter tropical fruit notes with time. A slight floral/vegetal note too. A final, distinct and lasting note that reminds me of copper coins (which seems appropriate for a whisky with “riff” in its name to have a metal reference…).
Taste
Proper charcoal and woodsmoke flavours build – a lot more so than the nose suggested. There is still an underlying sweetness and fruitiness though with lemon, strawberry, blackberry, and an additional chocolate and honey not that famous chocolate coated honeycomb to mind. Not to get too carried away with the fruit flavours though as the dominant profile is that of smoked meats. If you’re imagining a 12-18 hour smoked brisket, then you’re on the right track.
Finish
The charcoal smoke is the lasting flavour once the oak spice and sweet fruit flavours have swiftly drifted off.
Verdict
A delicious smoky number and something of a winter’s whisky. And it is all about the smoke. The nose gives a little bit of the game away but it really fills the mouth when you’re drinking it, and for all the delicious sweet flavours popping along the way, it is that charcoal smoke flavour that lingers on the finish. It is a charcoal smoke flavour throughout too – not really a peat-like flavour. It doesn’t have that seasalt note or TCP-like flavour that peat can bring – it is purely a woodsmoke sensation to me.
I love the transparency given by Turntable with the contents of their blends. Not just the distilleries but the barrel types. Of course, knowing the ages would be great too, but that’s just greedy and maybe too great a trade secret. What I would like to know here though – given that smoky profile – which of the non-Caol Ila ingredients were also peated, if any?
What I also like about Turntable’s offerings are the brand and design. The marketing angle of linking whisky to music is going to appeal to many whisky drinkers, whilst the branding and colour schemes provide something that also stands out from the crowd – in a good way. There’s a familiarity in the designs I’ve seen here with craft beers on the shelves vying for your attention. Bold colours and sharp designs match their brief brilliantly. Reference of this peaty core offering to a “smokin’ riff” just really works – well, it does to this metalhead anyway.
Speaking of heads, and bringing it back to the whisky itself, I think that this a bottle for the smoke heads out there. A great display of where Islay influences can be taken, without it being death by peat. It’ll look cool on the shelf too. Crack this out and crank it up.
M
Sample disclosure: This sample was gratefully received as part of a promotional Tweet Tasting event run by The Whisky Wire for Turntable using #TurntableSpirits on Twitter/X. All notes here are not intended as promotion but as an honest, fair and independent review of the whisky itself. Please drink responsibly. Please drink wisely.
whisky unplugged 