So, what are you drinking now?

@Robert99: Here is a link to a Port finish you may find. squidgyashwhiskyfiend.blogspot.com.au/2012/…

My understanding is that there are several versions of Lark Port finish 2 of which are long gone. The prize is the para finish from a 100yo. port cask that held the famous Para Port of Seppelts Wines. I posted a link last year on this thread. I don't have sufficient superlatives to accurately capture the magic of the Para. It's the best port finish; it's the best anything finish!

Bill Lark borrowed the cask which was emptied prior to being Heritage Listed For this specific Whisky and I'm told that he kept it a bit longer than the original deal and brightened up a couple of other expressions - There is a 58% Port finish in 500ml. that I regard with some of the reverence the Para gets; it has similar characters but without the rich spicy palate and depth. Any of the Port Lark Whiskies are excellent and at a tasting last year I had a Rum Finish @ 46% (?) that was the standout 'drop'.

cheers.

@A'bunadhman Thanks for the info. I am now officialy lusting for any Lark with a port finish!

Glenmorangie Nectar D'or.

@Robert99: larkdistillery.com.au/distributor-search/

This may help. Also Masters of Malt had several expressions available...had, they seem to be sold out but may have stock back-ordered.

Cheers and Good Luck!

Sitting in the lazy-boy sippin Bunnahabhain Darach Ur

Cutty Sark Prohibition, 50% abv. Sweet, @Robert99? Yes, but the other flavours are so intense that those are what command my attention. And this is thick and viscous. None of that namby-pamby dilute blended Scotch effect. I like it, a lot.

@Victor, you are right. Cutty Sark Prohibition is thick and viscous. I thing it is good enough to be compare to single malt and high quality blends and it is doing so that I was mentionning the big sweetness. I have to add that with air the fruits flavors are more opened and the sugar more integrated. Conclusion: YES, there is a lot to love!

I have to write an essay tonight on what makes aomeone interesting. I'm not really jnterested so I decided to make it more enjoyable by adding a glass of history to the mix. I'm enjoying a small dram of Macallan CS, the formerly 10 year old, then NAS, now discontinued Sherry monster.

Port Charlotte Islay Barley, I had high hopes and it doesn't dissapoint and some Longrow 10 100 proof, bold stuff:)

A vatting of Speyburn 10 with Glendronach 12 in a 2:1 ratio. The Speyburn needed some creamy mouthfeel and a touch of sweetening and a sherry presence which the GD supplied. The Glendronach needed a bit of american oak and a touch of lightening which the Speyburn has in spades along with some citrus. Really liking this dram along with the one before it. I am presently in a scotch cultural void in Lake Havasu Az. Looking forward to a trip to Phoenix shortly. Jonesz

a Godfather with a Peaty Tang, very nice

Had a rather fancy lineup last night. Laga 12 2011, Laga 12 2012, Octomore Scottish Barley 6.1, and Balvenie 15 yo Single Barrel Sherry Cask. The winner for me was the Laga 2011, hands down. Much better than the 2012. It was also my first experience with an Octomore, and I have to say I was underwhelmed.

@hunggar, can you say more about what you found underwhelming in the Octomore? Not as peaty as you'd hoped? Not as intense overall? Just not tasty?

Do you think it suffered by being compared to the Lagavulin 12s?

I'm considering a plurge on my first Octomore. I partially want to get talked out of it, and I partially want to hear that I should go for it!

@OlJas, I much preferred the Octomore 5.1 to the 6.1, mostly for the reason of overall intensity of flavour. Lagavulin 12 2010, 2011, and 2013 have the reputation of being very robustly flavoured, with the 2012 much less so. I've had the '10 and '12, and agree with that observation.

At my uncle's house. Not enough balvenie 12 YO single cask for 2 so we opened 14 YO Golden cask (rum cask finish). I notice it is different from the Caribbean cask in that the ABV is 47.5 % instead of 43%. Must have been travel retail as it's not at the KGBO.

Does anyone know about any comparisons between the two? This one has a great nose with hints of rum, but a bit bitter, and improves with water. In contrast I found the 12 YO single cask was best neat.

I picked up a bottle of Bunnahabhain 18. First notes I picked up were sulphur! This must be a poor bottle. I will try returning it to the LCBO tomorrow and let them know about the poor quality! It sucks, especially when dropping $180!!!!

@StevieC, return it with a big shit-eating grin to Liquor Control Board Oligopoly...they belong to Canadian Association of Liquor Jurisdictions with the 10 other Oligopolists.

Pappy Vanwinkle 20y and the new Jack Ryan movie. The bourbon is amazing the movie is mediocre. I pour a dram of this twice a year. This bottle is from 2010. This dram has a hint licorice.

@StevieC

Will they accept an open bottle in return? Let us know how you fare...this could have consequences for many of us.

OlJas, you’re probably right about comparing it to the Lagas. I’m sure it did suffer in comparison.

That being said, in a snap judgement I wouldn’t score it any higher than 88 or so. Why? I suppose for me the Octomore just wasn’t all it’s hyped up to be. Very intense, yes. Strong, robust, and heavy. But beyond that it still tastes young and not particularly sophisticated. Personal taste, but I’m just not as taken with it as others seem to be. While other brands are fair game, people don’t seem to get on Bruichladdich’s case for premiumizing young whiskies. Granted they do young well, but they are indeed masters of marketing imho.

@Victor, having done a side-by-side between the Laga 2011 and 2012 the difference is really apparent. The 2011 has a bolder profile with more complexity, particularly in the finish. I still count it as one of the finest whiskies I’ve ever tried. After that night I immediately bought up another bottle. The 2012 is still very good, but it falls short in comparison.

@hunggar, those Octomores are not all the same. Far from it. I'd suggest tasting before buying. I'd agree with you about Octomoe 6.1, but I really wish I owned a bottle of 5.1. And there is no bottle I want more now than a second bottle of Octomore 2.2 Orpheus. (with a VERY different set of flavours from 5.1, or 6.1, or 4.2, or....)

I've tasted that Lagavulin 12 from 2012. I'd almost call it "Lagavulin 12 Light".

And for Young/OldJas, Octomore really doesn't taste much like Lag 12,...and, once again, the Octomores are all different. You really need to taste them for yourself if you want to know what they taste like.

Just cracked open the recently purchased Balvenie 15 yr Sherry Cask...Lovely!

@hunggar @Victor I never had Octomore, in fact I had my first Bruichladdich a week ago, The Laddie Ten. For me there is a vegetal note that put it closer to Cambletown than to Islay and, because of it peat and buttery flavor in beetween Hazelburn and Longrow. So I was wondering if you have the same vegetal note and if so do you have it for the whole line of Bruich including the Octomore line?

@Robert99, yes, the grassy (or 'vegetal') Bruichladdich base malt is present underlying the Octomores.

The Octomores vary quite a lot one from the other, but I do indeed very much find that same underlying Bruichladdich grassy base malt (as in The Laddie Ten) in all of them, when I look for it. Most of the Octomores (and Port Charlottes) have quite an enormous "overlay" atop that base, however. You can find the underlying base malt when you look for it, but, for most of them, the Big Peat and Smoke Flavours grab you by the throat first.

I just opened and sampled the auchentoshan valinch 2012. I'll review it later on but let me just say, wow!!

@Victor Thank you for the precision. There is all kind of grassy. For me the kind I found in the Cambeltown has a rotten note when it is strong as in Springbank. In the Laddie 10 it's just on the limit between making it very interesting and not palatable. I would compare it to raw milk blue cheese and industrial blue cheese. In the latest the amonniac is covering everything while in the first one it is just an undertone teasing you. Anyway, that is my way of saying I am still curious about the Octomores.

@Victor, certainly the Octomores do vary, and I have no doubt that there are better expressions of it to be had. But first impressions matter, and I wasn’t taken. I would happily sample it again, but I’ll hold off on buying anything without tasting it first. It’s very expensive and very young, and I expect a lot when spending $200+ on a bottle. I’m sure you understand.

@Robert99, I enjoyed the Laddie Ten more than the Octomore 6.1 that I tried. Actually I’m a big fan of the Laddie Ten. That vegetal note you mentioned is a big selling point for me. It’s got a very special profile, and a solid ten years puts it a notch above a lot of Bruichladdichs out there. I didn’t notice it much in the Octomore that I tried, but admittedly I only had three drams of it. @Victor is much more knowledgeable on the subject and I’d trust his judgment.

@ FMichael, that Balvenie 15 Sherry is a hell of a dram, isn’t it? Deep, balanced, and really easy sipping!

@hunggar

When I tasted the Octomore 4.1 a couple of years ago I made a spur or the moment decision to buy it. It was $150 in Calgary. The next year it was on sale for $120 in one of the liquor stores, and a couple of other Octomores were around the same price. I still haven't opened the original bottle. So at the time, I struggled but could not bring myself to spend that much on it. Now that I'm buying NAS Amruts for $106 and BTACs for $130 I feel my threshold has gone up. At $120 today I would have picked up another of the one I liked and one or two other releases....

I think the prices of the things I like have really increased. Not sure if it's my taste, or the industry....

Last night I drank...

•Writers Tears 40% NAS pot still & single malt blend: Nice, fresh, clean, no complaint other than lack of power.

•Teeling Irish Whiskey Small Batch 46%: A little gross in a way that I hope blows off as the bottle sits open.

•Big Peat Christmas Edition 2011: I still really wish the seller had shipped the 2013 edition, as I had tried to order. This 2011 version is OK but it has a gross little "down" note that I seem to be finding in a lot of young whiskies lately.

•Lagavulin 16. New bottle. I've had this quite a few times before (including at the distillery during the 2010 Feis—go me) and I've had mini bottles, but this is the first time I've had a full bottle of my own. Fresh and beautiful peat. I needed that to clear my mouth of the Teeling and Big Peat cobwebs. Perfect.

---

On the ongoing Octomore discussion: I got an unexpected small windfall today that puts the 5.1 within the reach of my whisky piggy bank. I stopped at the store that's selling it for $150 and had them set aside the bottle (their last one!) for me until I can cash a check and return. So that means I have through Tuesday lunchtime to talk myself out of it. But I think I'll go for it. If I don't buy an Octomore, I'll just wonder about it forever—and unlike other whiskies that I've bought on those grounds, the Octomore is very unlikely to be bad (whether I find it worth the price tag is a different question, but I'm willing to take a spin). And now that I expect to own an Octomore, I'm thinking about when I'd open it and I realize that it would make a good duo with a bottle of unopened PC7 that I'm also sitting on. Score. Thanks to @hunggar and @Victor for the opinions above.

(Incidentally, for anyone who cares and might want to attempt talking me out of the Octomore: If I DIDN'T but it, the $150 in my whisky piggy bank would instead go toward a Springbank 12 CS and a Connemara CS.)

@OlJas

I would say that if you need a windfall in order to buy the Octomore, open your PC7 and leave the money in the bank.

Or buy your wife something nice with it.

Come to toronto and I'll open my 4.1 with you.