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EPIC TASTINGS!

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By @Nozinan @Nozinan on 22nd Apr 2015, show post

Replies: page 7/21

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge replied

@Nozinan Another memorable event! Thank you for being a warm and generous host. This might be the consistently most delicious tasting yet. A stellar line-up of world class expressions and a buffet that could silence the harshest critics. A most enjoyable gathering of old and new friends. I look forward to the next episode.

6 years ago 4Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote replied

@paddockjudge Agreed. When the empties are cleared away, it's about the old and new friends. Good one guys.

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote replied

@Nozinan Looks like you've done it again. How about a breakdown of the accompanying food.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@BlueNote There were sausages and cheeses from Quebec, as well as fois gras 3 ways. Ontario's best rye bread (and montreal style rye bread), montreal smoked meat and corned beef, kernatzel, more cheese, crackers, fois gras macarons (so, four ways), and awesome butter tarts just crying out for bourbon. not to mention some pastries with brie and cranberries made by one of the guests.

I apologize if I left something out.

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote replied

@Nozinan Give me a heads up before your next one so I can start looking up WestJet seat sales to TO.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge replied

@Nozinan @BlueNote, also prosciutto crudo, delicious artisanal fruit laidened bread, and endless amounts of chocolate ranging from 54% cacao to 90%.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@paddockjudge You are almost correct. I hope I didn't insult all the artisan bread and chocolate lovers out there. I think though that the Trader Joes Milk Chocolate was less than 54%.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Robert99
Robert99 replied

@paddockjudge @Nozinan But nothing on that list was even close to match the quality of.... the company.

6 years ago 4Who liked this?

@cricklewood
cricklewood replied

I can't agree more, the quality of the company was second to none. I was greeted as an old friend even though I had only met one person beforehand. I went to sleep in very high spirits (pun intended).

6 years ago 4Who liked this?

@KRB80
KRB80 replied

Had a pretty epic tasting last night amongst friends, six of us total...

  • William Larue Weller (2017)

  • Whistle Pig "The Boss Hog"

  • Blanton's Straight From The Barrel

  • Jim Beam "Distiller's Masterpiece"

  • Woodford Reserve Master's Collection - Seasoned Oak

  • Berkshire Mountains Bourbon - Samuel Adams Utopias Cask

  • Benromach 10/100

  • Amrut Intermediate Sherry

  • Octomore 6.1

  • Navazos-Palazzi Spanish Malt Whisky - Palo Cortado Cask

  • Glenmorangie Spios

  • Duncan Taylor "The Octave" The Huntly 1998

  • Duncan Taylor "The Octave" Ardmore 2008

6 years ago 4Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@KRB80

Where in the night did the Amrut appear? It's been my experience that it is a "first dram" (or at least first cask strength or sherry bomb dram) whisky, meaning a lot of its splendour is lost when palates have been exposed to other flavours.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge replied

@KRB80, some very nice juice, indeed worthy of the label Epic.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@KRB80
KRB80 replied

@Nozinan We started the night with the Berkshire and Glenmorangie Spios. After that came the two sherry bombs; Navazos-Palazzi and Amrut IS. I wasn't a fan of the Navazos at all and the Amrut was easily the victor. One of my buddies actually gave me cash to pick him up the lone bottle that I know of in the wild.

@paddockjudge Indeed. Truthfully, I feel like shit today but it was worth it!

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote replied

@KRB80 Nice one, totally epic. And feeling like shit in the morning is how you know you had a good night.

Slainte.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge replied

@KRB80, I had a bottle of WhistlePig "The Boss Hog" 13 YO unmalted rye barrel number 20. This was rescued from a store shelf in Vancouver by @Nozinan and brought back to the Great Lakes Region for me. It is not the highest scoring whisky I have owned, but it is my favourite. That was one hell of a barrel.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

Saturday, what began as a low key dinner and drinks with a couple of Connosr pals invariable ended up as an epic tasting.

It started off with @Paddockjudge arriving, and while he was helping me set up he noticed a couple of Cognacs he hadn’t tried before, long opened (and gassed) bottles that my in-laws had gifted me. So I found a snifter and he enjoyed a few CCs each of Otard and and Gaston de la Grange.

With the arrival of @Talexander and Pam, we opened my bottle of Glenborrodale (Adelphi) 8YO blended malt. Agreement that it was quite good. This was followed by snifters of Delord 1981 Bas Armagnac while I fired up the grill for some marinated 칼비, Korean short ribs. These were paired with vegetarian Kimchi, other 반찬 (side dishes), and soba noodles.

Once we had dispensed with dinner, the main event began. To accompany a killer sticky toffee cake with KCSB –spiked caramel sauce (home-made), we tasted:

  • John J. Bowman single barrel 50% (named world’s best bourbon in 2017 by someone).

  • Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel 51.5% (from Total Wine in New Mexico).

  • Canadian Club 20 YO 40% (2 sips was not equivalent to 1 sip of the 40 YO)

  • Peerless Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey – Barrel Strength – 53.7% - 24 months

  • Thomas Handy 2014 64.6%

  • Jack Daniels Single Barrel Tennessee Whiskey Barrel Proof 66.65% Barrel 17-0161 bottled 1-6-17. This one was BOLD!

  • Deanston 10 YO CS PX finish 57.5%

  • Brennivin Aquavit (Iceland) 37.5%. Better than Lambertus…

  • G&M Caol Ila CS 10 YO 60.5%

  • Laphroaig 18 48%

  • Longrow CV 46%.

After that it kind of degenerated, and it was hard to keep track, but at some point I think most of us each tasted some Springbank 12 YO CS, Longrow 14YO Burgundy wood, and Johnny Walker Green.

Great night, great guests, and great(ful) host. A truly EPIC TASTING event.

6 years ago 8Who liked this?

@talexander
talexander replied

Pam and I spent six days in Kentucky - much was imbibed! To call it an "epic tasting" doesn't do it justice. Here's the rundown:

Sat May 5: Had a Manhattan before dinner at an Italian restaurant in Frankfort (I think it was made with Bulleit); after dinner we shared a Russell's Reserve 10yo and a Handy (63.45%).

Sun May 6: We were late for a tour of Buffalo Trace (took longer buying cigars than I should have, plus the GPS conked out), but went to their lame tasting: you could choose two of Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, White Dog or Wheatley Vodka. I chose the vodka and the Eagle Rare. Then we had some Buffalo Trace Cream liqueur with their root beer (which they make). Then it was Wild Turkey distillery! Met Jimmy Russell (for the second time) who signed our Bourbon Trail passports. Great tour by 78-year-old Bubba. Tasting featured Russell's Reserve Single Barrel, Wild Turkey Rare Breed, Russell's Reserve 6yo and American Honey. Then we had a Manhattan and a Lexington Lemonade (at least, I think that's what it was called).

Mon May 7: Toured Four Roses, where the tasting was just standard Four Roses, Small Batch and Single Barrel. Then it was an epic 2 hour tour of Barton's. Totally in depth. Had some white dog off the still along the way, but the best part was they were dumping 7 year old high-rye Buffalo Trace bourbon straight from the barrel, and they filled our water bottles with it! That lasted us for the rest of the trip, and was honestly the best bourbon we had during our time in Kentucky. The tasting was Barton's Very Old, 1792 Small Batch and their Chocolate Bourbon Ball liqueur. Then we did the Four Roses warehouse tour, which had the same tasting as the distillery tour. Then at the bar after (at the Old Talbott Tavern in Bardstown, where we were staying) we had Russell's Reserve 10yo and Evan Williams 2010 Single Barrel.

Tues May 8: Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Centre, where the tasting was Pikesville, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (65.3%), William Heavenhill 14yo (57.5%) and Elijah Craig 18yo. Amazing. Then we hit Woodford Reserve where we had Distiller's Select, Double Oak and I think their rye (but I can't remember, I forgot to write that one down). Dinner was a terrible restaurant called BJ's Steakhouse, where I had a horrible whiskey cocktail of some fashion.

Wed May 9: Maker's Mark! Had a great private 2 hour tour, tasting the new make, Maker's Mark underaged (1 year), standard Maker's, Maker's overaged (8 years), Maker's 46, Cask Strength, Private Select (as chosen by the restaurant on site) and their Mint Julep premix. We also had lunch there and enjoyed a Manhattan (Maker's 46) and Old Fashioned (CS). That evening I went cuckoo and bought a dram of Booker's Rye. Magical. Then a great dinner at Kurtz's in Bardstown.

Thurs May 10: great tour of Jim Beam, where we had the choice of tasting anything we wanted (up to 3). I had Booker's, Knob Creek rye and Baker's. We bottled our own Knob Creek Single Barrel (14 years old, 60%). Had lunch at Proof on Main in Louisville. Did Even Williams Bourbon Experience, where we tasted Evan Williams Black Label, Evan Williams Single Barrel 2010, EW Master Blend and EW 12yo (101 Proof). That 12yo was incredible. Then the Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse where we tasted the 100 Proof Urban Stillhouse Select, as well as JB Honey, Black Label and Knob Creek, and one other....then we did their cocktail class where we made a whiskey sour with JB Devil's Cut. Then went to the Old Seelbach Hotel and had their version of a Manhattan (made with pecan liqueur - really good!) as well as their Knob Creek Single Barrel (selected by the staff). Then we flew back the next morning. That's all, folks!

5 years ago 7Who liked this?

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge replied

@talexander, the days seem be to be so much shorter in Kentucky. Thanks for sharing. You must be in game shape after a week of two-a-day sessions.

5 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander replied

Ah, I'm pretty well recovered!

5 years ago 0

@cricklewood
cricklewood replied

@talexander, thanks for sharing the experience, seems like you had a rather amazing trip

5 years ago 0

@cricklewood
cricklewood replied

Still rubbing the sleep from my eyes after an epic session yesterday with @Robert99, Maryse, his sister and her husband. I brought along a few Elegant Bastards with me, it was a beautiful summer day, great food and amazing company.

The drams!

*Balcones Texas 1 Single Malt batch SM148 53%, Chewy, lots of oak, peaches and caramel, almost like a cognac at times. An interesting take on single malt from a bourbon distiller, the influence of virgin oak.

*Benriach SC Bourbon barrel 11 yrs, 53.6%, Powdered sugar, light fruits, grassy and mineral on the palate with a bit of lemon. A nice contrast to the previous whisky.

*Benriach Septendecim 17yrs, 46%, Earthy, vegetal, forest peat surrounding Benriach gumdrops and fruit. A good lesson in non Islay peat, Robert you are right this is such a contrast whisky.

*Scapa Skiren NAS 40%, Candied orange, lots of wood spices , honeycomb and oak, black tea, green raisins. It was fresh and a nice break, I had the feeling of having eaten good nougat at the end.

*Clynelish 14, Hart Brothers IB, 46%, my second Clynelish only and a character whisky, waxy, slighlty mineral a bit of caramel, powdered ginger, I could see how this fits into a blend like oak cross. Garçon, more Clynelish for me please!

*Old Pulteney 17 46%, So aromatic and well balanced, milk chocolate, tobacco, salt, sweet, savoury... now I know what all the fuss is about, I must get some of this.

*Benromach Hermitage 2005-2014 45%, lamp oil, smoked jam, earth, dark chocolate, a good dose of sulfur but not unpleasant since there is some peat...the distillate's character is a bit stifled by the finish.

*Redbreast Lustau 46%, A quality sherry used here, sharp, not too sweet, tobacco, a slight vegetal feel, like some rums. It has less of the pot-still character present for fans of the classic RB but still a nice whisky, my taste could be influenced by the previous whisky.

*Michel Couvreur, Overaged 43%, Very old school, dark sherry notes, french oak, pepper, copper, prunes, umami, Robert mentioned a certain cognac style.

*Octomore 8.3, Islay barley 61.2%, A farmy fetid beast, riding a lathered up horse away from a burning barley field into a peat bog....it was late I took creative liberties.

A great evening, where everyone was comfortable playing jokes on each other by the end.

Merci encore mon ami!

5 years ago 5Who liked this?

@Hewie
Hewie replied

@cricklewood wow, nice line-up. I especially like your description of the Octomore "Octomore 8.3, Islay barley 61.2%, A farmy fetid beast, riding a lathered up horse away from a burning barley field into a peat bog...." @Robert99 no Nadurra 16??

5 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Hewie
Hewie replied

@Hewie whoops, embarrassing. Sorry @Robert99 that's just me getting people mixed up - I thought it was you who was hoarding the Nadurra 16. Sounded like a great night.

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

@cricklewood
cricklewood replied

@Victor thanks for the Bastille day wishes. While we didn't choose the date in consequence our celebration was appropriate.

@Hewie I can't take all the credit for that one @Robert99 is the one who exclaimed how much it smelled of sweaty horse laughing I just took it and ran.

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

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@Timp@paddockjudge@NosebleedJ@SKEPTIC

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