Scotch Whisky: The Topic

[brinza]

I've tasted the a'Bunadh a few times, but have never had my own bottle. It is truly wonderful. It's so dark, deep, and rich. The only other thing I've had that comes somewhat close to that flavor profile is Balvenie Doublewood, but it's not as intense, of course.

[evo-lution]

I've tasted the a'Bunadh a few times, but have never had my own bottle. It is truly wonderful. It's so dark, deep, and rich. The only other thing I've had that comes somewhat close to that flavor profile is Balvenie Doublewood, but it's not as intense, of course.

Two of my favourite malts right here, and luckily just an hour or two from my house. I picked up the a'bunadh a couple years back for my girlfriend and she'll be lucky if she's actually had any.

If those are the type of malts you reach for then I'd recommend Glengoyne 12 year old Cask Strength if you can get your hands on it. Spectacular bottling.

Took delivery of some new bottlings this morning, courtesy of Wemyss Malt's. Peat Chimney, Spice King and Smooth Gentlemen. Not had the chance to crack them open yet but I'll likely dabble this evening.

[Chris Amirault]

Eager to hear back, Adam.

Spent the night hacking away at turkey parts and getting them cured and brined. Time to relax. I'm out of Talisker, so I'm sipping some Bruichladdich Rocks on, yes, the rocks by the fire. My goodness, how wonderful.

If God promised only fine scotch and ice, I'd remain an optimist no matter the travail.

[evo-lution]

Eager to hear back, Adam.

Just back from the Glenfiddich UK Final* so I'll post some tasting notes later today as well as some cocktails using the whiskies that have been created by yours truly and Jason Scott of Bramble in Edinburgh

*Regarding the cocktail comp, I once again finished in second place which now seems to be a recurring theme. I won my first three comps this year but since then it's been a run of second places with a single third place breaking the trend. This was my drink;

Albannach

40ml Glenfiddich 15 year old

12.5ml Dubonnet

12.5ml Chase Rhubarb liqueur

1 Dash Regan's Orange Bitters #6

Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass fill with hand-cracked block ice and stir for 15-20 seconds

Glass: Vintage cocktail

Garnish: Snap orange zest over drink and on stem, wipe rim and discard

Ice: N/A

Edited November 24, 2010 by evo-lution (log)

[Roger le goéland]

Some recent drams that got my attention, summed up in a line. They are very personal, I hope you disagree, since it will make for interesting discussion:

Bruichladdich Octomore 02.2 Orpheus: cool, delicious, creamy, long finish, love it. Damn hard to drink though. Like a cigar infused rum (I had exactly that 2 weeks ago, so I can compare).

Ardbeg Supernova 2010: gimmick, especially after the Octomore; was expecting the other way round because of PPMs. Peat don't make no taste here.

Caol Ila 25 Year Old 1984 (cask strength): subtle, powerful, bitter, younger than it sounds.

Ardbeg Corryvreckan: Ardberg.

Highland Park 16 Year Old Calvados Finish: Speyside with apple juice, like a middle school experiment gone wrong.

Highland Park 22 Year Old 1987: wonderful nose, beautifully full in the mouth, bites like a young 'un, damn good. Did this come from the same distillery?

Lagavulin 12 Year Old 2008: ouch, but I do LOVE that loooooooong finish that lingers for half an hour. 16 is fine thank you very much! It's also... less salty...

PC7: astonishing.

In fact, I went out and bought PC8, which will be reviewed shortly. If you haven't tried a Port Charlotte yet, and you like Islay, do it asap!

[Chris Amirault]

I'm going to a SM scotch tasting next week (for locals, Elliot is hosting it for Town Wine & Spirits in E Prov at Waterman Grille), and they're featuring two scotches I've never had: Balblair (1997, 1991, 1989, 1975, and 1965) and Old Pulteney (12, 17, 21, and 30 YO). Any thoughts on either?

[Robbie]

Wow, so happy to see this thread. My entire family is Scottish, mom came over to Canada when I was young but I try and get over there whenever I can. I always go to a distillery or check out a tasting.

My favorites are the Talisker and Balvenie but whenever I go to Scotland my grandad somehow has a bottle of vintage glenrothes and that stuff is amazing, I've just never came across it in Canada. Other favorites are the Oban, Lagavulin and if I want a cheaper one the Glenmorangie.

When I drink scotch I usually add just a little water to it.

Just took another look through the thread, and I don't think anybody has mentioned the glenrothes. Have any of you tried it? Perhaps just a personal bias since I was basically brought up on the stuff

[Tri2Cook]

I want to attempt to find a scotch that is blatantly briny in character. I can't give a good reason for why I want to do that, but I do. This is going to come down to what can be had via the LCBO which greatly limits options and, unless I get very lucky and can find it locally, will also be subject to the whims of the local store and whether or not they feel like ordering it in. There's not much point in suggesting some rare, hard to obtain, obscure or otherwise uncommon bottle unless it's strictly for reference in case I find myself outside of Ontario but all suggestions are welcome. It will probably be a useless endeavor under the circumstances but I want to give it a shot. In the meantime, I'll try to figure out why I've decided I want to pursue this.

[Chris Amirault]

Start with Talisker. I love that stuff.

[Tri2Cook]

Start with Talisker. I love that stuff.

Thanks Chris. A search of the LCBO site shows that available. I can't get it locally but I may not have to special order it if I'm patient as it's available in a city about 5 hours away. I usually go there in the spring to take my bikes to the shop where I bought them to get them ready for another summer of killing my legs but others go there more frequently than I do so it's definitely an option.

[Jacquester]

I love all types of single malts, Lagavulin, Talisker, Oban, and Macallan are my tops but Glenrothes is the bomb. I picked up several bottles because it's Speyside single malt produced in a limited quantity, I'm down to may last sadly. There is nothing like a good single malt along with a big fat juicy porterhouse. (great now I'm drooling again)

[mkayahara]

I want to attempt to find a scotch that is blatantly briny in character.

Depending on what you mean by "briny", you might also consider Ardbeg, Lagavulin, or Laphroaig, all of which are available through the LCBO, in one bottling or another. It's been a while since I had any Talisker, but all of those Scotches have a fairly strong peat and iodine thing goin' on. (And the Laphroaig Quarter Cask should be available to you locally...)

[Tri2Cook]

Depending on what you mean by "briny"

I'm not exactly sure what I mean. I'm not well versed in scotch. I've read of this characteristic and the first thing that came to my mind was the sea. Being at a beach in an area away from city smells and tanning oil soaked crowds. The spray that hits you in the face when waves crash against rocks. The salty tingle when you get a nose full of ocean water. Fresh oysters and clams were walking around in my head. What people mean when they refer to a scotch as "briny" may be something entirely different, that's just what the word conjured up in my mind and it seemed like something I'd like to look into. If I've got it all wrong, then I'll gladly be educated.

[thirtyoneknots]

Wow, so happy to see this thread. My entire family is Scottish, mom came over to Canada when I was young but I try and get over there whenever I can. I always go to a distillery or check out a tasting.

My favorites are the Talisker and Balvenie but whenever I go to Scotland my grandad somehow has a bottle of vintage glenrothes and that stuff is amazing, I've just never came across it in Canada. Other favorites are the Oban, Lagavulin and if I want a cheaper one the Glenmorangie.

When I drink scotch I usually add just a little water to it.

Just took another look through the thread, and I don't think anybody has mentioned the glenrothes. Have any of you tried it? Perhaps just a personal bias since I was basically brought up on the stuff

I don't consider myself particularly qualified to give notes on Scotch to I've never really done any writeups here but the place I used to work had a vertical of The Glenrothes, vintages 1972, 1979 single cask, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1991, and of course the Select Reserve. During the course of working two tasting events I was able to gain a degree of familiarity with the lineup...my favorites were the 72 and 85, though I'll gladly accept a 79 single cask if you're offering. Which is the one you had?

[Chris Amirault]

I just grabbed the Ardbeg for a wee dram and... Whatever briny means? That stuff is briny.

[vice]

Call me crazy, but I find Famous Grouse pretty briny, especially for a blend.

In other news, all you whisk(e)y nuts should definitely be keeping an eye on the K&L Spirits Journal. I've found their spirits buyers to be spot on in recommendations across the whole spectrum of spirits classes. Thanks to them, Springbank is a new obsession of mine.

[nickrey]

Salty is a description placed on malt whisky.

The ones that typically show salty characteristics include: Aberfeldy, Glenugie, Laphroaig, Scapa, Ardmore, Blair Athol, Clynelish, Glenmorangie, Port Ellen, Talisker, Ardberg, Bowmore, Dufftown, Glenfarclas, Glenlochy, Glenury Royal, Jura, Lagavulin, Longrow (Springbank distillery).

Source: Lapointe, F.J. & Legendre, P. (1994). A Classification of Pure Malt Scotch Whiskies. Appl. Statist. 43, pp. 237-257

[Chris Amirault]

I'm assuming "Arbderg" is a typo for Ardbeg?

[nickrey]

I'm assuming "Arbderg" is a typo for Ardbeg?

Yep. Was thinking of Ardberg, the Ard mountains.

Edited January 21, 2011 by nickrey (log)

[Joakim Östlund Andersson]

So anyone round' here that has had any experience with a good mixing scotch for cocktails?

My experience of scotch is sadly null except for a couple of single-malts wich isn't

really suited for my needs

Looking for something that belongs in the 'premium' category rather than 'value'

but perhaps not something to expensive, I'd say around 15-30$ a bottle.

Not something to smokey either I guess unless it adds a nice touch in your opinion

and perhaps why so!

Thinking about Famous Grouse as of now but think it might have somewhat of a medium

smokiness that might be too much.

Regards Joakim

[Chris Amirault]

Famous Grouse and Compass Box's Asyla are the two standard issue mixing scotches at most quality cocktail bars in the US.

[EvergreenDan]

Feb issue of Wine Spectator has reviews of 64 single-malts. They seemed to skip over some of the more affordable options, however. It is titillating to read about the $10,000 Bowmore 40 year-old, but I would rather have heard about the $30 Legend.

[Tri2Cook]

Call me crazy, but I find Famous Grouse pretty briny, especially for a blend.

Famous Grouse is my standard mixer and the only Scotch currently in my cabinet (though I intend to add a single malt or two in the near future just for fun). I spent some time with it last night after reading your comment. I think I understand a bit more now what briny may mean in this context. It's not going to be a forward splash of the ocean or anything like that. I was intrigued with the idea of tasting the sea in the spirit but I'm guessing now that briny in the Scotch world refers to something other than the image I had in my head or that it's a subtle thing that the more experienced find among everything else that's going on. Anyway, I appreciate the information everybody has contributed. I'm trying to do a lot of catching up in a relatively short amount of time so questions are constantly popping into my head.

[Tri2Cook]

So I've begun adding a couple single malts to the cabinet. I now have an Islay and I'm looking into adding a Speyside as well. At my local LCBO store, Cragganmore 12, Dalwhinnie 15 and Glenfiddich 12 and 15 are available. There are most likely others available as well, they seem to have a semi-decent selection for a small town LCBO, I just remember seeing these during a recent visit. Anyway, if any of these are good choices it would be convenient since I can get it local but I'm open to digging deeper at the local store and even searching the LCBO in general if they're not good choices. I'd like something that is a good example of the region that definitely and obviously sets itself apart from the Islay.

Edit: failed to mention for comparison purposes that the Islay I have at this time that I want to vary from with the Speyside is the Laphroaig Quarter Cask.

Edited February 10, 2011 by Tri2Cook (log)

[thirtyoneknots]

Glenrothes Select Reserve is a delicious textbook speyside and runs around $40 (and sometimes less) in Texas. Not that there's anything wrong with the others you named.