My First Impressions of Some Recommended Scotches

[Bob]

Marvin and Dave,

I think that any of the Single Malts have all of the blends beat by a mile! When I first started drinking Scotch, I drank blends, especially Johnnie Walker Red and Black. Once I tried Single Malts, there was no going back. I just find that the Singles provide a variety of interesting taste profiles that the blends lack, in my opinion. Whether it's Macallan, Springbank, Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Bowmore (I love Islay whiskies!), Aberlour, Dalmore, Talisker...well, you get the picture. If you like (love) Scotch, go for the Singles!

These Singles, I think compare with the best of Bourbons. We observe, and seek, the wonderful flavors of the best Bourbons. I also do that with Single Malts.

Bob

[cornsqueezins]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />

There is times when nothing will do but a wee little dram of scotch. But...bourbon has them all beat...

[Bob]

Troy,

I think that Bowmore 12 YO actually has quite a bit of peat influence. I'm looking back on some of my tasting notes that I have for it and I noted that the aroma has lots of peat. Flavors included peat (of course), salt, honey and citrus. I think it has a smooth, fairly long finish.

After you get acclimated to the peat flavors, I recommend Lagavulin or Laphroaig more than Ardbeg. Also, Bowmore has lots of different varieties, all of which are good (except Legend). Ardbeg is somewhat expensive, and the quality of their products diminished when they were sold in the mid-70's. Don't get me wrong, I still like Ardbeg, but I think the other 2 are better (IMHO).

Bob

[cornsqueezins]

Bob, thanks for the info. Yes, the impressions I get from Bowmore are almost identical to yours.

Certain comments I read here on this forum or elsewhere led me to believe that Bowmore was a moderate Islay malt. That's why I decided to initiate myself with it. But it's actually good to see some strong peat influence in this bottle. All this talk about Islay malts has got me curious and I know that acquiring a taste for them will definitely be a challenge.

-Troy

[Bob]

Troy,

If I remember correctly, Lagavulin was the first single malt that I tasted. I immediately loved the flavors. One of the things that I also noted, was that although strong in flavor, there was no harshness. Very smooth. That has been a big criteria for me with single malts, and bourbon. Good flavors, and smooth. Strong is fine, I don't like the burn. Stagg is a great example of a very strong bourbon, but it's SOOOO smooth, it's amazing. Keep on exploring the Islays. If you like the Bowmore, I think you'll like trying others from Islay. Let us know what else you try, and what you think.

Bob

[Jono]

Sort of like blurting out an old girlfriend's name in the heat of passion....oops!

[bluesbassdad]

This afternoon started with my attempt to free up some space on the kitchen liquor shelf by polishing off my J.W. Black Label. It took two bar-sized pours to finish that bottle, and afterwards I felt strangely unsatisfied.

As I eyed the Famous Grouse, I recalled that someone had mentioned that Highland Park is one of the malts in FG. I just so happened to have a bottle of Highland Park 12 in the back closet; so I decided to open it.

Although my taster may be a bit dull after the two drinks of JW, my first impression of the Highland Park is that it has the most intense flavor, without being weird, of any malt I've tried so far (not a large number). There's no domination by sherry, seaweed, or iodine, or peat -- just a yummy flavor that I presume comes from the malted barley. Indeed, it reminds me of Famous Grouse, but turned up a few notches.

HP 12 is the first non-weird (pardon the phrase, but you know what I'm trying to say) scotch that has the intensity of flavor that I associate with bourbon, at least one from the milder end of the spectrum.

I'm already looking foward to trying this one again with a fresh palate, but it will have to wait at least a couple of days. I'm committed to bourbon for tomorrow, and I'm thinking about doing a side-by-side with my two expressions of Hirsch.

Oh, and that space I was trying to free up? It's now occupied by Highland Park 12.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[Speedy_John]

Highland Park is one of my favorite distilleries. You're right when you say there is no domination by any single flavor element. In fact, it is the balance of all those elements that makes HP such a terrific malt whisky. Michael Jackson has dubbed HP the "great all-arounder", and I agree. Spend some time with this malt and you will notice all the flavor elements you mentioned...and more. If you ever have the chance, treat yourself to some HP 18yo. Or, if you hit the lottery, try the HP 25yo or (my fave HP OB) the "Bicentennary" 21yo. Yum, yum.

As a side note, I have some HP 23yo/57% bottled by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. It is one of my all-time favorite whiskies. The interesting thing about this bottling is that it is from a single bourbon cask (whereas HP12, 18yo, etc. contain whisky aged in both bourbon and sherry casks). Without the sherry cask influence, the peatiness of HP really shines through, almost (but not quite) at the level of the Islay heavyweights. A fascinating and delicious study of the differences resulting from types of casks used and the marriage of different casks.

SpeedyJohn

[rwilps]

Didn't I read somewhere that HP has heather mixed in with the peat for malting? I haven't had it for a long time but remember a distinct heather honey note.

Ralph Wilps

[Speedy_John]

According to HP's own website, there is "the odd clump of heather" that gets mixed into the peat used for drying the malt. Whether intentionally done or not is not clear. They claim to use young peat--only the top and middle layers--and thus it would not be surprising to find in the mix heather which has not decomposed. In any case, it contributes to the production of one terrific malt whisky.

SpeedyJohn

[Blackkeno]

As you note, Bowmore is more moderately peated than say Ardebeg, Lagavulin or Laphroig, but this is less obvious in the younger bottlings. Age tends to have a very moderating effect on the peat sensation in many malts. Bowmore 21 was the first Islay I ever had. It was only one of about three whiskies I ever found "addictive" (Stagg being another). It had a peaty chocolatiness that was irresistable to me. I always savour my drinks, but I had to concentrate to not finish each dram within a few minutes!

[Speedy_John]

Agreed, John, that Bowmore 21 is an outstanding whisky. I have spent several evenings dramming it head-to-head with the 17yo, struggling mightily to decide which is superior. A clash of titans, if you will. In the end, I'd have to say the 21yo suits my tastes ever-so-slightly better than the 17yo....at least, on most nights

SpeedyJohn

[bluesbassdad]

I've posted scattered mentions of this bottling in several threads; I really have nothing new to say now, but I decided to mention The Macallan 12 here in this thread, just for the sake of symmetry.

I'm just this very minute finishing my first bottle. I suspect it will be my last. I know there must be some scotch flavors in there somewhere, but they are covered by the sherry influence like a Dachshund under a horse blanket. There's nothing really unpleasant about it, but it seems totally one-dimensional to me. If I want sherry, I'll buy sherry.

I must be in a minority in my regard for this bottling. The label brags on and on about the wonders of aging scotch in sherry casks. I'm sorry; I just don't get it.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[mickblueeyes]

The problem you are having with Macallan, you will probably find with many other "best-selling" Scotches on the market. Macallan is probably "cooked". What many large scale production scotches are doing now is placing whisky in sherry casks and then using increased pressure and temperature to cause "artificial aging". Personally, I find this practice appalling and even more appalling is the fact that the Scotch Whisky Association doesn't want anyone to know about it. Try Aberlour 10 yr instead of Macallan next time, less sherry, more body.

You need to indulge in the following bottles to get a fair representation of true scotch flavor:

Bowmore Legend or 12 yr

Aberlour 10

Aberlour A'bunadh

Oban

Talisker

Highland Park 12 yr

Springbank (whatever you can find)

Rosebank or Auchentoshan

Glen Garioch

This should give you North, South, East and West Highlands, as well as Speyside, Islay, Campbelltown, Lowlands and Non-Islay Islands, which are the main regions, IMO.

[jimbo]

I've posted scattered mentions of this bottling in several threads; I really have nothing new to say now, but I decided to mention The Macallan 12 here in this thread, just for the sake of symmetry.

I'm just this very minute finishing my first bottle. I suspect it will be my last. I know there must be some scotch flavors in there somewhere, but they are covered by the sherry influence like a Dachshund under a horse blanket. There's nothing really unpleasant about it, but it seems totally one-dimensional to me. If I want sherry, I'll buy sherry.

I must be in a minority in my regard for this bottling. The label brags on and on about the wonders of aging scotch in sherry casks. I'm sorry; I just don't get it.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

I couldn't agree more. The wine flavored scotches leave me totally under whelmed. Glenmorangie is a good example of a distillery gone crazy over the "wine finishes".

Regards, jimbo

[bluesbassdad]

It looks as though this one will be the winner of my unofficial First Single Malt To Be Emptied contest, not that I have many contestants. Every time I take a notion to have scotch, I have to force myself to drink anything else. I imagine it will continue that way until the bottle is empty, which will be about three pours from now.

After one glass this afternoon I decided to switch to bourbon, just for the sake of comparison. After eating a handful of almonds to zero out my taster, I opened a long-bunkered bottle of Wathen's.

Wathen's is still a marvelous pour, but I'd hate to have to choose between it and Highland Park 12 if I could have only one for the rest of my life. (I'm fairly confident that anyone who might be offended by that statement won't be snooping around in this particularl forum. )

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[MurphyDawg]

(I'm fairly confident that anyone who might be offended by that statement won't be snooping around in this particularl forum. )

Nope.

Dave how could you!?!?

Tom(LOL)C

[bluesbassdad]

Tom,

Note that whoever was impersonating me in the post you quoted from misspelled the word "particular". You know I would never do such a thing, right?

Seriously, if you wish to keep from being tempted to cross over to The Dark Side, stay away from Highland Park 12. It isn't bourbon, but it's mighty good. (Until the last couple of years, scotch made me gag -- literally. Some famous bottlings have almost that effect, even today.)

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[MurphyDawg]

Seriously, if you wish to keep from being tempted to cross over to The Dark Side, stay away from Highland Park 12.

LOL I knew it couldnt be you when I saw the misspellings!

In reference to keeping away from the dark side: I am fully into my bourbon enthusiast hobby. I am doing a little exploring into the cigar thing, and this may prompt a purchase of a humidor (because I am still unsure of smoking regularly, and there are no reliable retailers around here ). I simply do not have the funds to make it to the "Dark Side", and thusly will not have any such problems!!

Tom (amused you chose the "darkside reference, I am finally gonna sit down and watch episode 1 tonight) C

[TNbourbon]

I'm with you. I started dabbling with single-malt Scotch a few months before my foray into bourbons -- and I'm fond of my bottle of Highland Park 12yo, too.

Overall, I prefer the bourbons, but on a winter evening w/ a damp chill that just cuts through you -- well, Scotch makes a good pour.

[Blackkeno]

Some (of us) have slipped over to the darkside, despite not having the financial resources to do so. (Bourbon, single malts, pure pot still Irish... they can really add up!)

...but, hey, you've got to have priorities in life.

[ratcheer]

And, I got to try some of it at my favorite bar in Atlanta, last week (Joey D's Oak Room).

It was The Balvenie 15-year old single barrel. A generous pour on the rocks was $6.50 (plus tip, of course). I had been building myself up for The Balvenie for over a year, so I really had my hopes up that it would be very good.

Well, it was simply wonderful! By far the best scotch I've ever tasted. Sweet like honey and with quite a bit of flavor. A bit on the light side, but nowhere near too light.

I wonder what something like that would cost for a bottle?

Now, as to the bar at Joey D's. It has become way too crowded. Good for them, but bad for me. There were two evenings when I couldn't even get close enough to order a drink. I guess I sang their praises too loudly.

Tim

[OneCubeOnly]

Balvenie 15yo is $60.90/750ml in VA. Actually, before you plonk down that much cash for the 15yo, give the Balvenie Doublewood 12yo a try. It's cheaper and I prefer it by a pretty wide margin.

[Speedy_John]

I, too, prefer the Balvenie Doublewood 12yo to the Single Barrel 15yo. The lone bottle of 15yo I tried smelled like wet wool, so much so that it spoiled the drinking experience. When I look back on that experience, I think I may have gotten a "corked" bottle. Yes, hard to believe, but cork taint affects whisky as well as wine. The 15yo sells for $50 in PA, the Doublewood for about $40. Next time the 15yo goes on sale, I may buy another bottle just to see if my first bottle was an "off" bottle.

As for the Doublewood, it is yummy stuff . IMHO, one of the best widely-available single malts on the market today (along with Ardbeg Ten, Highland Park 12yo and 18yo, and Talisker 10yo...I would have included Lagavulin 16yo on this list, but it is in very short supply and not widely available ).

SpeedyJohn

[Blackkeno]

I too prefer the Doublewood to the 15 by a pretty large margin. On the other hand the 21yo is one of my favorate port finished malts.