Whats made you sit up and take notice recently?

Hi @dougwatts , nice thread. For me it would be The Compass Box Spice Tree. It's all about spices (no waaaaay?!), but WOW! Very nice whisky indeed. If you ever have the chance to try it, don't let it slip away.

Cheers.

Hi @drinix, Compass Box is one of those that has been on my radar a long time but there's always been just one or two ahead in the priority list each time I go to the store. I've heard good things about Spice Tree before though, so with your tip too I'll try and get hold on one. I think CB also did a single grain didn't they? I'd like to try that too...

@dougwatts yes they did, it's their Hedonism expression :)

That's the one, cheers @lucadanna1985, I'll keep an eye out for that one too.

I've always had a soft spot for Irish whiskey and enjoyed quite a few of the Connemara expressions. Recently they released the Turf Mor, the highly peated one (58ppm). While I'm not a peathead (although I do have quite a few Islay in my cabinet and enjoy them thouroughly from time to time), this one really knocked me off my socks. I've seen both rave reviews of it as well as doubters (among novices, like myself, and connoisseurs alike), but to me that was a real eye-opener and a joy to have in my cabinet.

@dougwatts That was last week, my friend opened a BenRiach Arumaticus Fumosus. This is a heavily peated expression of BenRiach that was finished in port casks. It is very good with a nice peated nose and a longer-than-expected finish that surprised me. I haven't tasted a lot of BenRiachs so I did not have big expectations and from now one, BenRiach will be in my whishlist, at least for their peated with a finish.

As someone who has a love of strong peated tastes, I was always pretty quick to dismiss most non-Islay offerings, until I tried the aberlour a'bunadh. Powerful, rich, complex, it has everything I love about the Islays, without the medicinal, leather, and peat notes.

@Peatpete Do you remember what release it was you tried? If so is it commendable?

@Youngupstart The bottle I got is a batch 21, found it nestled in amongst half a dozen batch 30s at a small local bottle shop. Commendable? Hell yes! In the same way that Ardbeg 10 is my default peated whisky, the aberlour a'bunadh is now gonna be my default unpeated. It is the first a'bunadh that I have tried, so now I am just hoping that the other batches out there can maintain the standard that has been set by the 21.

The whisky that really made me think twice recently has been the SMWS 76.70 Sherry Fusion. I was lucky enough to visit the SMWS fairly recently, and we (4 of us who were there) all sampled this dram. It's a Mortlach malt, and just gave me something different to anything i've tried in the past few months. Everything about it, from the nose, though the colour and of course down to the taste was a great surprise and thoroughly enjoyable. It made such an impact that i had to buy myself a bottle, which at the moment hasnt been opened, but that will change shortly i promise you that!

This lovely brunette...er...oh, you mean whisky? Bushmills 21 ; )

I've always focused on Scotch , esp SMWS bottlings. I like comparing the SMWS bottles with the branded distillery offerings when I can. I've been a bit closed to non-Scotch. A couple of years ago a SMWS friend introduced me to a Yoichi in Edinburgh and i subsequently compared a Yamazaki to a Now i've just returned from Mexico where the choice of Scotch malt was limited, so I had a few Jim Beams and JDs. Maybe it was the change in environment or the moment but they surprised me because I could get more than the sweetness I've remembered them for before. Also I had 18 month old spirit a few years ago , peated and unpeated , from St Georges , and it was something which promised much. I'll try the 1st release soon. So I'm not going to be a closed off jock who only drinks Scotch anymore. And I'm looking forward to the exploration and discovery.

last post should have said ' compared a yamazaki to a SMWS Macallan bottling'

Whats made you sit up and take notice recently? A bottle of $25 (US) Blended Scotch, that was much better than expected.

It was a seemingly rare bottle of Macleod's "Isle of Skye 8 year Old Whisky". I say rare, because it's not even listed here.

No, this is not a great whisky, but it is surprisingly heavy on the Malt Whisky for a blend. The best description I can give, is it's similar to Johnnie Walker Black Label 12, but peatier and not as rounded. Overall, it's a nice daily dram at a bargain price!

We had all been given a Rosebank 14yo miniature (Chieftain's Bottling) at a meeting of our Whisky Society last year and mine had been gathering dust due to my (stupid) preconceived notions about Lowlands. On Thurdsday another member mentioned how great he had found this Rosebank to be and this spurred me to try it last night. WOW !!! I do not know how other Rosebanks are but this one is amazing. Sure it's "Lowlands gentle" but has a really full flavor and loooong lasting taste. I will now start investigating Rosebank.

Balvenie 17 year Madeira Cask. Wonderful stuff.