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So, what are you drinking now?

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By @Wodha @Wodha on 15th Jan 2010, show post

Replies: page 427/645

@bwmccoy
bwmccoy replied

Tonight, I was putting together a couple of bourbon samples for a co-worker. Had a few sips each of the following;

High West American Prairie Bourbon - Batch # 18B14 - 46% ABV. A solid, but lighter version of bourbon.

Old Grandad 114 - been a long time since I’ve had this. Wow! Doesn’t disappoint.

After that, settled down with a small dram of heavily peated Glenturret SMWS 16.33 (8 year - Dec. 2009) "Melville’s other monster" - Re-charred hogshead - 62.0% ABV. This one blows me away!

4 years ago 8Who liked this?

Astroke replied

Started with a Glendronach 15 Revival (2015) and moved on to a Springbank 21, sample from a friend. Must say I whistled through that SB 21 quicker than I should have, really good. Shame it carries a Macallanesque price tag.

4 years ago 7Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound

Currently winding down with a nice generous pour of Stagg Jr

4 years ago 3Who liked this?

@bwmccoy
bwmccoy replied

The Society Penderyn that I ordered last week arrived today. I’m splitting it with @jordytropp, so while filling his bottle, I had a sample of my half. Oh my! What a unique (in a good way) whisky! Orange, clove and cooking spices on the nose. Dried apricot / apricot jam on the palate with a huge explosion of flavor and a very long finish. There is a lot of wood influence as well. Big dram! This will be a perfect dram for a cool autumn day, if I can make it last that long.

Penderyn SMWS 128.7 (5 year - Mar. 2013) "Down the old fruit mines" - First-fill barrique (shaved/toasted/re-charred) - 61.1% ABV

4 years ago 6Who liked this?

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@bwmccoy
bwmccoy replied

Last night, I also compared 2 Society Caol Ila’s head to head.

Caol Ila SMWS 53.241 (6 year - April 2011) - "Dense smoke over a tarry deck" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 60.3.% ABV

Caol Ila SMWS 53.281 (11 year - Sep. 2007) "A day at the seaside" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 60.1% ABV

Over the past year and a half, I’ve compared several Society Caol Ila’s to the 6 year old one and each time, the 6 year old comes out on top. Last night was not any different. They are both very similar in nose and palate and they are both excellent (I would happily drink either one at any time), but the 6 year has just a little bigger, longer finish that separates it from the 11 year. Having said that, this 11 year came the closest to the 6 year of the 3 or 4 other Caol Ila’s that I have tasted head to head with it.

4 years ago 6Who liked this?

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@OdysseusUnbound

Today, my wife and I are celebrating 17 years of marriage. She’s not feeling 100% yet (long story), but I’ve had a few things.

  • A glass of Amontillado before making dinner. I like sherry more every time I have some.
  • A small(ish) pour (20 ml) of Ardbeg Corryvreckan while waiting/preparing dinner. I forget how much I like this until I revisit it. Lovely.
  • Stagg Jr. This is my dessert. Wonderful. Glad I have another bottle albeit from a different batch...

4 years ago 5Who liked this?

@cricklewood
cricklewood replied

Visiting my mother, I know she enjoys a dram or two so brought over my bottle of The Laddie Ten second edition. This bottle is really coming along, the nose is so enticing, loads of fruit,nougat, a creamy side brought on by the sherry casks. A great dram to have as I'm prepping supper.

4 years ago 5Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@cricklewood bring some of that next time so we can do a head to head with the first edition

4 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@OdysseusUnbound Happy 17th! My wife and I will be married 13 years in September. I will not be celebrating with whisky if I want to make it to 14...

4 years ago 3Who liked this?

@bwmccoy
bwmccoy replied

For an early Father’s Day present, my wife and son took me to a couple of breweries and a distillery to do some tastings. The two breweries were not the best beer, but the distillery is one of my local favorites and it did not disappoint. We had a flight of 4 whiskies that I haven’t tasted before. Two were single cask, cask strength whiskies that can be hand filled for purchase, if wanted.

First dram was a single cask (#2549) previously used to age Heaven Hill Bourbon (1st-fill). Aged 50 months. This was also a single barley; Washington Select Pale Malt. 60.1% ABV. Loved this one! Bought a bottle. Nose: pear, iced tea, lemon and banana. Palate: spiced cake, vanilla custard and ripe apple.

Second was also a single cask (#2560) previously used to age Heaven Hill Bourbon. This was also a single barley, but it was Maris Otter. 60.3% ABV. Very good, but not as good as the previous one.

Next was their standard 5-grain mash bill that was aged in ex-bourbon casks before being finished in an ex-Tequila cask for 8 months. The nose was pure sugar cane, but didn’t really notice the tequila on the palate. This one was released on April Fools Day, but no joke, it is really good. It is called Celebrious and bottled at 52.7% ABV.

The final dram was their 5th annual Peat Week release. I wasn’t impressed. It was the least favorite of the four. It is 100% Bairds peated malt, which they have used previously. It is 50% ABV.

A fun afternoon with my wife and son!

4 years ago 3Who liked this?

@bwmccoy
bwmccoy replied

@OdysseusUnbound - Happy Anniversary! My wife and I are a few years behind you (14 this past March). Hope your wife feels better and that you both have a great celebration!

4 years ago 3Who liked this?

@Hewie
Hewie replied

@bwmccoy that was a thoughtful treat for you and a good looking flight. Interesting to see them stating single grain and specifically Marris Otter - that is very much the craft beer brewing way and MO is commonly used for beer making. I wonder then what is the typical barley variety used for whisky? Guess I could Google that.

4 years ago 2Who liked this?

@cricklewood
cricklewood replied

@Nozinan that would be an awesome session, I'm down.

4 years ago 1Who liked this?

@cricklewood
cricklewood replied

@bwmccoy what a nice Father's day treat. Being able to pop into Westland to try single casks sounds like fun. I believe the Maris Otter whisky is part of their new barley exploration line.

We will be seeing more Tequila casks in the future I believe with the SWA having relaxed the laws concerning previous cask contents. I know lots of local breweries use them here in any case.

4 years ago 3Who liked this?

@bwmccoy
bwmccoy replied

@cricklewood and @Hewie - yes, the maris otter is the first release in a series of single barley. They are releasing one per month (June,July and August). Maris Otter was June, followed by Pilsen and Golden Promise. It will be interesting to taste all 3 head-to-head.

4 years ago 3Who liked this?

@cricklewood
cricklewood replied

@Hewie I believe the head distiller at Westland is from a craft brewing background, I've seen a few interviews where he talks about their process. It's really interesting to hear him talk about barley varieties and such.

From what I gather the main barley strains for malting tend to cycle every couple of years as they introduce strains with better disease resistance, yields etc. Optic was the mainstay for a long time, I believe the current superstar is Concerto.

4 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

BIL (@nosebleed) visiting from Calgary (no muling this time) and niece who has been studying here the last 2 years (and leaving soon) are both over. We had all you can eat chicken wings so nothing subtle for us tonight.

She had never tried JW Blue so we poured that. It was surprisingly nice. My niece very astutely said "it's nice, but there are better things in your cabinet".

4 years ago 4Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

After my niece and nephew went home, I put our puppy to bed, then the kids, and then @Nosebleed and I lingered over some of the Linkwood I picked up last year. It is becoming quite a delicious dram.

4 years ago 5Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC replied

Just opened a Pikesville rye - first impressions are excellent! Quite muted on the nose (for a rye) but there's a lovely icing sugar note with the spice that doesn't dominate but rather sits alongside the sweetness. Very clean and soft for the abv. Water brings out more oak and toffee. Yum!

4 years ago 3Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC replied

Well that was a beautiful rye that I felt turned more towards a (heavy rye) bourbon with some water and air. It definitely had some nods to Booker's - so much so I went and poured one of the latter and then have added about one third Pikesville to it.

Result - a little sharper on the nose but the palate . . . wow! So much sweetness and spice and what a body! I may need some alone time.

4 years ago 3Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound

Currently sipping some CR Northern Harvest Rye. There is so much Batch variation with this whisky that it’s a new adventure every time. laughing This Batch has a strong flavour reminiscent of Juicy Fruit gum. It’s not bad, to be honest.

4 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Victor
Victor replied

McClelland's Islay Single Malt. I still have a little more than half of that 1.75 L "handle" of it that I bought in 2011. Depending on mood, sometimes (yes, not always) I can drink this stuff and enjoy it. I remember well that I liked this bottle a lot during the first three months it was open, then it changed with air exposure, and heat...I didn't air condition during the summer of 2011. That was a very educational inadvertent experiment on my part about the effects of heat on whisk(e)y. .

So, here's a practical trick for drinking rough around the edges whisk(e)y. The glasses for the alcohol sensitive and the nose-alcohol diffusing glasses, such as Norlan and NEAT, actually help for the McClelland's Islay or for the rough batches of Jameson, Tullamore DEW, or Johnnie Walker Red Label. Will they turn these into gems? No, but they will be noticeably easier to drink, and for some, like me, enjoyable enough that I will sometimes choose to drink them.

4 years ago 4Who liked this?

@MadSingleMalt

NEAT... The glass that can make even McClellend's palatable!

I feel a new advertising slogan coming on.

4 years ago 6Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@Victor I couldn't even finish the glass I was poured at a party... I can't imagine a handle...

I would rather 1 dram of Bowmore Tempest than a litre of McLelland's...

4 years ago 5Who liked this?

@Victor
Victor replied

@Nozinan yes Tempest is the pick of the litter.

@MadSingleMalt I own 2 Norlan glasses and 2 NEAT glasses, all received as gifts. The NEAT glasses look like miniature spittoons, and are very awkward to handle. The Norlans are attractive to look at and light and handy...but for me both NEAT and Norlan glasses diminish not only the nosing experience but also the tasting experience. If I had to choose between them it would always be the Norlan glass. The Norlan looks and feels good. I can't say that for the NEAT glass. The Norlan also makes a cool beer tumbler.

4 years ago 4Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC replied

@OdysseusUnbound - I almost bit the bullet on Sunday and was about to pay near £15 for a 30ml sample of Laph 10 CS . . .

4 years ago 4Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC replied

A freshly popped Caol IIa 12 - Man that peat is good ! Gorgeous nose and it tastes as good as I remember but it does seem quite thin. I've been out in the rain a lot lately and even though it's June, all I need now is a roaring fire to sip this by (my better half won't allow it though laughing )

4 years ago 4Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@RianC I liked CI 12, but ever since I've had different versions of the CI CS (both peated and "unpeated") I just can't find room in the cabinet for the 43% version.

4 years ago 4Who liked this?

Liked by:

@Nozinan@NamBeist@fiddich1980@Timp@RianC + 61 others

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