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Favorite single malt

EllenH

By EllenH
in Spirits & Cocktails

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ChrisTaylor

ChrisTaylor

Posted
Posted

A Hart Brothers bottling of Coal Ila. It was bottled at eleven years, making it a year younger than the entry-level official bottling. Had this bottle for ages but only just got around to opening it.

 

Nose: Harsh. Closed. Almost ... chemical. Like you'd be using this stuff to fuel a vehicle. Adding water brings out classic Islay.

 

Entry is a bit harsh, sharp. Some sweetness in the background. Prickly. Hint of citrus. Iodine. Salt. Caramel on the tail. Lingers for a few seconds then disappears.

Chris Taylor

Host, eG Forums - ctaylor@egstaff.org

 

I've never met an animal I didn't enjoy with salt and pepper.

Melbourne
Harare, Victoria Falls and some places in between

Hassouni

Hassouni

Posted
Posted

If you didn't care for Storm (I didn't either, would rather drink the regular 10yo) then probably shouldn't bother with Dark Storm! I found it even more disappointing especially given it is harder to get. It came out originally as travel retail only. Don't know if it is more available now.

 

Heh, yesterday I discovered one of my local boozerias is now offering Storm for a cool $29.99. Guess nobody is buying!

 

A Hart Brothers bottling of Coal Ila. It was bottled at eleven years, making it a year younger than the entry-level official bottling. Had this bottle for ages but only just got around to opening it.

 

Nose: Harsh. Closed. Almost ... chemical. Like you'd be using this stuff to fuel a vehicle. Adding water brings out classic Islay.

 

Entry is a bit harsh, sharp. Some sweetness in the background. Prickly. Hint of citrus. Iodine. Salt. Caramel on the tail. Lingers for a few seconds then disappears.

 

Haven't heard of Hart Brothers, but that sounds disappointing. One of Ralfy's more recent review was an indie Caol Ila and he gave it stellar marks. The official Caol Ila 12 is one of my all-time favorite branded whiskies, and I'd love to try a proper indie bottling, with higher ABV, no caramel, no chill filtration...(though that said, standard Caol Ila does not seem overly colored if at all)

Alchemist/mixologist/proprietor at the Green Zone, serving craft cocktails with the flavors of the Middle East

 

my eG foodblog - Beirut and beyond

My occasionally food-related site

tanstaafl2

tanstaafl2

Posted
Posted

 

Heh, yesterday I discovered one of my local boozerias is now offering Storm for a cool $29.99. Guess nobody is buying!

Would have been a lot less disappointing at that price! Probably nearly double that here last I looked.

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. ~Mark Twain

Some people are like a Slinky. They are not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs...

~tanstaafl2

ChrisTaylor

ChrisTaylor

Posted
Posted

I think here--not that I've had it--it's slightly more expensive than the 10 year old classic. Now, I haven't purchased the classic in three years or so--although I'll probably replace my distiller's edition with it--but I reckon it's one of the best entry-level malts on the market. Hard to beat. 

Chris Taylor

Host, eG Forums - ctaylor@egstaff.org

 

I've never met an animal I didn't enjoy with salt and pepper.

Melbourne
Harare, Victoria Falls and some places in between

Hassouni

Hassouni

Posted
Posted

bottle-o? Of course the Oz word has an o  :laugh:  I would call it a boozeria, but nobody else I know does that.

 

Back to topic...the boozerias here only sell minis of really bog-standard stuff, except Total Wine, which has loads of minis of Barbadian rums I've never heard of. But no single malts at all.

Alchemist/mixologist/proprietor at the Green Zone, serving craft cocktails with the flavors of the Middle East

 

my eG foodblog - Beirut and beyond

My occasionally food-related site

ChrisTaylor

ChrisTaylor

Posted
Posted

bottle-o? Of course the Oz word has an o  :laugh:  I would call it a boozeria, but nobody else I know does that.

 

Back to topic...the boozerias here only sell minis of really bog-standard stuff, except Total Wine, which has loads of minis of Barbadian rums I've never heard of. But no single malts at all.

 

Most bottle-os, including large chains, carry a very limited range of minis. Whisk(e)y-wise, barring sample or gift packs, you might get Glenfiddich 12, Chivas, Johnnie Walker (only the Red and Black variants), Jack (standard) and Jim (standard). If you're lucky you might find stores that have brought in a few different ones--and I think this is the case with the Ardbeg--as some kind of promotional thing through their suppliers or as a result of breaking up some gift packs. Nick's is happy to break up gift packs in that way as I guess there's enough people that'll pick up a $5-7 bottle of this-or-that to justify it.

 

EDIT

Anyway. A new addition to my collection: Springbank 12 cask strength. My first Springbank purchase, excluding a Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottling (which was, incidentally, my first taste of Springbank). It's not as complex as the SMWS bottling, obviously, but it was approximately half the price! Despite its reputation I think it's an approachable dram. It's just so ... balanced. Salt. Smoke. Bitterness, almost of the sort you'd associate with salad vegetables like radicchio. A bit of sweetness lurking back there. Prickly mouthfeel. A bit of oiliness that then surprises you by ending cleanly, almost crisply. I'm led to believe Springbank's various expressions can vary hugely from batch to batch and even bottle to bottle but this is just ... friendly.

EDIT 2

Laphroaig Quarter Cask. Much more restrained than the classic. Dry smoke and iodine and salt without the hospital-on-fire.

Chris Taylor

Host, eG Forums - ctaylor@egstaff.org

 

I've never met an animal I didn't enjoy with salt and pepper.

Melbourne
Harare, Victoria Falls and some places in between

Hassouni

Hassouni

Posted
Posted

Springbank is great. I have their 10 and have tried their 15, as well as a couple of their Hazelburn and Longrow bottlings. They're all quite different, but consistently very high quality. And they stick to the no-coloring, no chill-filtration ethos. And they're one of the last remaining truly independent distilleries. (Like, who is else there? Kilchoman? No longer Bruichladdich, and?) 

Alchemist/mixologist/proprietor at the Green Zone, serving craft cocktails with the flavors of the Middle East

 

my eG foodblog - Beirut and beyond

My occasionally food-related site

tanstaafl2

tanstaafl2

Posted
Posted

Springbank is great. I have their 10 and have tried their 15, as well as a couple of their Hazelburn and Longrow bottlings. They're all quite different, but consistently very high quality. And they stick to the no-coloring, no chill-filtration ethos. And they're one of the last remaining truly independent distilleries. (Like, who is else there? Kilchoman? No longer Bruichladdich, and?) 

 

Genfarclas always comes to mind for me when talking about the last of the independent dinosaurs.

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. ~Mark Twain

Some people are like a Slinky. They are not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs...

~tanstaafl2

Hassouni

Hassouni

Posted
Posted

Genfarclas always comes to mind for me when talking about the last of the independent dinosaurs.

 

This is a very good resource on the matter:

http://www.whisky-emporium.com/UK/Features/WhoOwnsWhat.htm

 

(I still haven't tried Glenfarclas, I suspect I'd love it)

Alchemist/mixologist/proprietor at the Green Zone, serving craft cocktails with the flavors of the Middle East

 

my eG foodblog - Beirut and beyond

My occasionally food-related site

ChrisTaylor

ChrisTaylor

Posted
Posted

This is a very good resource on the matter:

http://www.whisky-emporium.com/UK/Features/WhoOwnsWhat.htm

 

(I still haven't tried Glenfarclas, I suspect I'd love it)

 

I've enjoyed most Glenfarclas expressions I've tried. Not so much the entry-level one but the 15, 21 and 25 are very good. Every so often I contemplate picking up a bottle of the 30 or 40 year old expression as they're reasonably priced, so far as whisky of that age goes.

Chris Taylor

Host, eG Forums - ctaylor@egstaff.org

 

I've never met an animal I didn't enjoy with salt and pepper.

Melbourne
Harare, Victoria Falls and some places in between

Rafa

Rafa

Posted
Posted

I suspect you would, Hassouni. One of the most consistent and delicious of the heavily sherried malts. 

  • Like 1

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”In Demerara some of the rum producers have a unique custom of placing chunks of raw meat in the casks to assist in aging, to absorb certain impurities, and to add a certain distinctive character.” -Peter Valaer, "Foreign and Domestic Rum," 1937

tanstaafl2

tanstaafl2

Posted
Posted

This is a very good resource on the matter:

http://www.whisky-emporium.com/UK/Features/WhoOwnsWhat.htm

 

(I still haven't tried Glenfarclas, I suspect I'd love it)

 

Excellent. Should have thought of Springbank as well.

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. ~Mark Twain

Some people are like a Slinky. They are not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs...

~tanstaafl2

  • 2 weeks later...
brinza

brinza

Posted
Posted (edited)

This had me laughing.  I was just drinking Quarter Cask a few nights ago.  It is somewhat more restrained, but I do so love the hospital-on-fire.

 

 


Laphroaig Quarter Cask. Much more restrained than the classic. Dry smoke and iodine and salt without the hospital-on-fire.

 

 


 
Edited by brinza (log)

Mike

"The mixing of whiskey, bitters, and sugar represents a turning point, as decisive for American drinking habits as the discovery of three-point perspective was for Renaissance painting." -- William Grimes

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