Mark Dermul's Frankendram

A Tasty Dram Whisky Blog tasting notes

Eating sweets with Frankenstein's wretch

This blend was waiting for me since March. Halloween seemed like the perfect occasion to try this extraordinary blend from Mark Dermul a.k.a The Toshan Man.

Sometimes (in fact, most of the time) people refer unjustly to the nameless monster as Frankenstein in confusion with its creator Victor Frankenstein.

The blend shares similarities with the demon or devil that was created. It was an attempt to create something beautiful out of a stash of samples Mark collected over the years. And the list of used single malts is quite impressive.


Identity Card Mark Dermul's Frankendram

    Mark Dermul's Frankendram
  • Mark Dermul's Frankendram
  • A non-commercial blended malt from 200 single malts
  • Alcohol: 49.7 % ABV

Tasting notes

Colour: A deep golden copper whisky that leaves thin legs on the glass.

Nose: A truly attractive nose with plenty of wood and spices. Even marshmallows. Quite some PX and madeira influences. Honey melon and Haribo sour bears. The smoky flavours are hidden beneath a layer of banana candy. Sweet vanilla smoke and tangerines. Some medicinal notes. Grapefruit and salted caramel. With some time in the glass this evolves to Werther's Original with a coat of paint.
With water it became peppery with flavours of chewing gum or tutti frutti. The smoke is subdued. Old gingerbread.

Taste: Mandarins with a fresh sour note and a salty maritime flavour. There's still a little bit of smoke. Caramel with coarse salt, balsa wood and pepper. This reminds me of Springbank, although there's not a sign of it in the blend. But boy, this is lovely stuff made up from bits and pieces.
Mixed with water the blends gets bittersweet. Paint and grapefruit rind. Rich double cream with white chocolate and banana.

Finish: Warm, fruity and salty. A long finish. Pepper, spices and traces of tobacco.

Frankendram


Pretty neat stuff for a home blend. And with full disclosure on his website. I'm glad the SWA can't rap Mark over the knuckles like they did with Compass Box earlier this week. The single malts he used would make every proper geek wet his pants: Rosebank, Port Ellen, Caperdonich, Littlemill, Macallan... And the list goes on.

Thanks for the sample, Mark. May the Malt be with you and your next Frankendram!


Frankendram
“Impressive. Most impressive. Obi-Wan has taught you well."

Read more


 Source and pictures: Whivie - Whisky voor iedereen

Comments