Ballmer's Peak: Week 4
The reviews are in! Let's have a look at what our friends and colleagues think of our blend: amazing or bathwater? And is it fit for purpose?
This post was originally published on techtroupe.io.
Over the past week we’ve let some of our friends and colleagues try our Ballmer’s Peak blend, and we were pleasantly surprised by the results! We asked some people to write a little review, so we’ll let those speak for themselves:
I was not sure what to expect. The project idea was great, the backstory (xkcd) was great, the bottle was great and the label was the cherry on the top. So I was afraid that the actual tasting was gonna be disappointing. However, it was quite the opposite: the taste was just as good as anything else on the project: it was way smoother than I expected, but with a nice smokey aftertaste and warm feeling down your throat that confirms that you are indeed drinking whiskey. If this was a store whiskey, I would certainly buy it!
While whisky fanatics will tell you that “smooth” doesn’t tell you much about a whisky because it can mean nearly anything, it’s a description we’re very happy with. Since we were going for something that is very inviting and drinkable, people describing it as smooth is great, regardless of what they mean by it.
Balanced so you can easily reach your peak. Complex enough to savor every sip. Ballmer’s Peak’s nose starts with a slight but noticeable hint of peatiness, inviting me to a first taste. The body is surprisingly absent of smokiness, displaced by sweetness and warmth. The Islay shows its face in the longer, more complex finish. This whiskey will certainly serve its purpose as I can see myself finishing half a bottle during a late programming session. All in all a very enjoyable experience.
My colleagues Thomas and Luca invited us for a tasting of their whisky on a Tuesday afternoon after work. I was pleasantly surprised by the quirky bottle and the clean minimalistic label. After a question about the name “Ballmer’s Peak” we received a great explanation of the meme including reference to the xkcd comic. Thomas and Luca got some fitting glasses and we poured ourselves some. The taste is really wide and complex. Some sweetness is present but not too much. The combination with the peaty and smokey longer tasting notes makes it a pleasant whisky to drink. The after taste is not too strong. I can see myself certainly make extra hours programming while enjoying this 😊.
Besides these reviews, we got a lot of positive comments from basically everyone who tried the whisky. So I think it goes without saying, but this first #4WeekProject has been a massive success! If you want to try the blend for yourself, you can simply check our first post for the ratios and try it. If you do, be sure to tell us (@Luca_Scorpion or @iAmChappIO on Twitter) what you think!
Here’s to many more successful projects, cheers 🥃