What Wee Dram are you enjoying now?

[JamesW]

Caol Ila 12 yr and then Talisker 13yr Distillers Edition. Now moving on to bourbon with WLW Centennial 13yr (Julio's edition)

[Gov]

A'Bunadh #21. Each time I have this whisky, I am reminded how really good it is!

[Megawatt]

I did a side-by-side comparison of Glenfiddich 12 and 18 last night. The 12 was fruitier, with sweet apple flavours, while the 18 had a woody, spicy taste and aroma. This weekend I will get into my new bottle of Solera Reserve. Judging from the nose, it will be quite complex and layered, with some good bourbon notes from the new oak...

[JamesW]

Aberlour A'Bunadh #18. Very nice. Bottle going too fast

[mgilbertva]

Macallan 18yr Fine Oak finish. Some iodine, grass, then lots of vanilla. Not as good as the regular expression (sherry finished), IMO, nor worth the high price.

[JamesW]

Very much enjoying a neat pour of Highland Park 18. Marvelous flavors, nice long finish, and so smooth its incredible. Every time I reach for this I pick up different flavors. Tonight I can't taste any of the smoke or peat that I did last time... odd that it comes and goes. The last time I had it after some Balvenie 21 Portwood and immediately tasted the contrast of smoke and peat in the dram... tonight I can't find it... I guess it's so subtle that you really need to have a contrast to pick it up.

[boss302]

It isn't exactly a Wee Dram, in the proper sense, but tonight I purchased a bottle of Bushmills 10 year Single Malt-- a steal at 13 bucks off (barely more than the regular Bushmills now...)

A very nice dram, much in the manner of the Glenmorangie Wood Finish series. The American Oak is definitely dominant-- I picked it up at first whiff. The Spanish Oak is there... but you really have to look for it. With a small sip, you can pick up a note of cream sherry with a walnut-like dryness, both of which are tasting notes I have found in other spirits matured in Spanish Oak, such as the MacAllan, the Dalmore, and the Balvenie Sherry Wood.

While previous versions of this single malt were more heavily-sherried, it is worth mentioning that the Bushmills website does mention that the maturation is now mainly American Oak. Quite frankly, I'm fine with that. If I want a fruitier whiskey, there's always the 16-year Triple Wood, which is matured in American, Spanish, and Portugese Oak. To be honest, the difference between Spanish and Portugese casks is negligible at best.

If anything, to round out their lineup, I think Bushmills NEEDED a single malt that displayed the character of American Oak. IMHO, though Jim Murray isn't thrilled with it, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoy it.

[Gillman]

I had some Bushmills recently, a 16 year version (seemingly American oak or mostly) bottled for the LCBO in Canada.

It had the waxy flourish so typical of many Irish whiskeys, yet is an all-barley malt product whereas the Jameson pot still whiskey and that type from Irish Distillers is pure pot still (using some unmalted barley).

I wonder what accounts for this similarity?

One would think it might be the lack of peat in Bushmills yet Scots whiskies I've had, even Lowlands, don't really have this waxy-like note. I wonder if it is a characteristic of Irish malting barleys.

Gary

[boss302]

I had some Bushmills recently, a 16 year version (seemingly American oak or mostly) bottled for the LCBO in Canada.

It had the waxy flourish so typical of many Irish whiskeys, yet is an all-barley malt product whereas the Jameson pot still whiskey and that type from Irish Distillers is pure pot still (using some unmalted barley).

I wonder what accounts for this similarity?

One would think it might be the lack of peat in Bushmills yet Scots whiskies I've had, even Lowlands, don't really have this waxy-like note. I wonder if it is a characteristic of Irish malting barleys.

Gary

I think it has something to do with the water and the type of still.

Clynelish, from the Eastern Scottish Highlands, definitely has a rather pronounced waxiness to it. But that is from a build-up of non-toxic sludge that pot stills accumulate throughout the distilling season. Most distillers clean this sludge out of their stills. Clynelish does not.

I don't know if there exists a similarity here, but it is possible.

[Gillman]

I'll have to check out Clynelish, thanks.

Gary