What Wee Dram Are You Enjoying Now - Spring/Summer 2014

[Max Power]

World Whisky Day...I'm going back to an old favorite - Arran 14 CS from K&L.

[WAINWRIGHT]

I'm paying my respects as well for WWD.

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[ChainWhip]

Happy World Whisky Day y'all!

I'm heading back to the homeland tonight:

Kavalan Solist Sherry

[BigRich]

How is that Delilah's bottling? V&T has some and I think about it from time to time.

I know Tom was very bearish on the new anniversary Peat Monster. Still blows my mind that Tom found a CB he didn't care for. :eek:

Very drinkable. I finished the bottle last night. Thoroughly enjoyable.

[GaryT]

Had so many incredible pours last night, the few that really stood out to me was a Mortlach 22 yr cask strength, Devil's Bit, HP18, and Sullivan's Cove. There was another that I can't make out from the picture I took (Longmorn?) that was pretty amazing as well. Great pours with some great company (although my liver has given me notice that it is taking a few days off!)

[tanstaafl2]

A great way to celebrate WWD last night with a few bottles at the house to share with the GBS as we explored the "dark side"!

I always intend to take a few pics but never seem to remember. I did take some of the bottles I had available prior to the start of the festivities.

Whisky from Scotland more or less divided by region

Some American malts

The international crew with Japan, India, Australia, Wales, Sweden, the Netherlands, France and even the Czech Republic represented!

Since I can drink those most anytime I focused on those other members brought along. No idea how many of them I got to but certainly not all of them! According to the list we collected this included:

Balvenie Tun Batch 9 - No experience with other batches but this was very nice.

Caol Ila from

Macallan cask strength

Old Pultney 12

CB Oak Cross

Glenlivet 21

Sheildaig Highland

Laphroaig Quarter Cask

Cardhu

CB Great King St

Finlaggan

Arran Devil's Punchbowl I - I had the PB II so a few of us compared them. I thought both were good but PB I was better.

Octomore 6.1

Longrow 14 Burgundy Finish - a favorite

Cutty Sark Prohibition

Macallan 18

Glenmorangie 18

CB Peat Monster 10th Anniv.

Glenmorangie Port Weood Finish - another favorite

CB Flaming Heart

CB (regular) Peat Monster

Abelour Abunadh, Batch 18! - very good as well!

Auchentoshen Classic

White Horse Blended and JW Dant blended - meant to try but never made it.

Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix

Laphroaig 15 - seemed to live up to the hype!

Dalwhinnie 29 - also excellent

Cheiftain 13 - not sure which distillery it was.

Macallan 1841 - No not 170 years old! A replica whisky

Jura Superstition

I am told that late in the evening before the Uber shuttles started flocking to the house a few of the late crowd were treated to a visit from a high ranking military officer from Compass Box! Or was it a train from a silent move???

[smokinjoe]

A great way to celebrate WWD last night with a few bottles at the house to share with the GBS as we explored the "dark side"!

I always intend to take a few pics but never seem to remember. I did take some of the bottles I had available prior to the start of the festivities.

Whisky from Scotland more or less divided by region

[ATTACH=CONFIG]18385[/ATTACH]

Some American malts

[ATTACH=CONFIG]18384[/ATTACH]

The international crew with Japan, India, Australia, Wales, Sweden, the Netherlands, France and even the Czech Republic represented!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]18383[/ATTACH]

Since I can drink those most anytime I focused on those other members brought along. No idea how many of them I got to but certainly not all of them! According to the list we collected this included:

Balvenie Tun Batch 9 - No experience with other batches but this was very nice.

Caol Ila from

Macallan cask strength

Old Pultney 12

CB Oak Cross

Glenlivet 21

Sheildaig Highland

Laphroaig Quarter Cask

Cardhu

CB Great King St

Finlaggan

Arran Devil's Punchbowl I - I had the PB II so a few of us compared them. I thought both were good but PB I was better.

Octomore 6.1

Longrow 14 Burgundy Finish - a favorite

Cutty Sark Prohibition

Macallan 18

Glenmorangie 18

CB Peat Monster 10th Anniv.

Glenmorangie Port Weood Finish - another favorite

CB Flaming Heart

CB (regular) Peat Monster

Abelour Abunadh, Batch 18! - very good as well!

Auchentoshen Classic

White Horse Blended and JW Dant blended - meant to try but never made it.

Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix

Laphroaig 15 - seemed to live up to the hype!

Dalwhinnie 29 - also excellent

Cheiftain 13 - not sure which distillery it was.

Macallan 1841 - No not 170 years old! A replica whisky

Jura Superstition

I am told that late in the evening before the Uber shuttles started flocking to the house a few of the late crowd were treated to a visit from a high ranking military officer from Compass Box! Or was it a train from a silent move???

Thanks for the great hospitality, Bruce. That was a great time, and it was fun to learn about the different Scottish whiskies and distilleries, and also learn how my palate lines up with each. I am discovering, I think, that the heavily sherry finished Scotches are not to my liking. But, I find a touch of sherry to be quite nice. With sampling several from the vast array of Islays on the table, I confirmed that they are definitely in my wheelhouse.

And, the Compass Box whiskies may be my personal great non-bourbon finds of 2014. I may make the CB lineup my house scotches. The nose and finish on The General are as great as I remember them from the CB event. Thanks again for breaking out that bottle.

:toast:

[ChainWhip]

Well done gents - killer spread Bruce!

[Max Power]

I'm paying my respects as well for WWD.

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That stuff is very good. I don't have a full bottle, but I bought a bunch of 12/15/21 mini bottles when it was on closeout at TPS for $13 each. I have a bunch of tiny bottles to go back to when I need them. Really good stuff. I like port finished malt.

[Max Power]

Well done gents - killer spread Bruce!

What this guy said.....

[Old Dusty]

Not the breadth or depth of the GBS, but TomH's BBB had a nice lineup of world whiskey-RB 12 CS, Nikka Coffey Grain, and then the scotches-Balvenie Tun Batch 8, Loki, Thor and the other Norse God, CB The General, and CB Hedonism "Maximus" come to mind. I am not a scotch guy but I have now been exposed to some really stellar pours. The Maximus stuck out to this bourbon guy.

[tanstaafl2]

Not the breadth or depth of the GBS, but TomH's BBB had a nice lineup of world whiskey-RB 12 CS, Nikka Coffey Grain, and then the scotches-Balvenie Tun Batch 8, Loki, Thor and the other Norse God, CB The General, and CB Hedonism "Maximus" come to mind. I am not a scotch guy but I have now been exposed to some really stellar pours. The Maximus stuck out to this bourbon guy.

That Maximus does sound tasty! The regular Hedonism is also a nice pour for those looking for a gentle introduction to the dark side. Cost a bit more than some of the other CB bottles but I thought it was worth it. Definitely on the lighter side.

[flahute]

I know it's highly thought of, but I'm struggling with Lot 40 2012 tonight. I've been drinking a lot of barrel proof bourbons lately which might be the problem. The Lot 40 comes off thin and watered down on the palate which is making it hard to taste what should be there. The nose is muted which doesn't help. Interestingly, the finish is the best part which is where I pick up some of the spices and the finish does hang around for a while. Does anyone else have a hard time with this one or is it just me?

[DaveOfAtl]

Thanks for the great hospitality, Bruce. That was a great time, and it was fun to learn about the different Scottish whiskies and distilleries, and also learn how my palate lines up with each. I am discovering, I think, that the heavily sherry finished Scotches are not to my liking. But, I find a touch of sherry to be quite nice. With sampling several from the vast array of Islays on the table, I confirmed that they are definitely in my wheelhouse.

And, the Compass Box whiskies may be my personal great non-bourbon finds of 2014. I may make the CB lineup my house scotches. The nose and finish on The General are as great as I remember them from the CB event. Thanks again for breaking out that bottle.

:toast:

Now that I've fully recovered, I'll join everyone else in thanking Bruce for a killer evening that was a really nice change-up from the normal GBS bourbon & rye get togethers. A few take-aways:

- the Octomore 6.1 surprised me with how balanced it was. I was expecting a peat bomb but instead got a really nice peated whiskey with plenty of sweetness and mouthfeel to drink regularly. This was my first Octomore, so that may be typical.

- I wish I had access to K&L's stuff. The Mortlach and Lomgmorn were outstanding. Two of the best of the night.

- The Arran Devil's Punchbowl 1 was the hands down winner for me over the 2.

- Blind tasting the Laddie 10 versus the new Laddie Classic was very interesting. The Laddie 10 was much more complex and balanced for me than the very sweet Laddie Classic (which some preferred).

- the Longrow 14 year Burgundy finish did not taste of feet as I feared it might. Really good.

- the Kilchoman Loch Gorm was really really good. I am into this distillery, as the Machir Bay (or MAcker Bay, as Joe pronounces it) is also very good.

- The General was a great treat and just as good as I remembered. One of the great noses in whisky.

Thanks again Bruce!

[MtnDew]

Sipping on some Berrys' Caperdonich 17 year from TW. It's the last of my bottle and I brought it with me in a sample bottle on my current work trip. It's nice crisp pear flavor makes a great break from the oppressive heat that is Phoenix.

Edited May 21, 2014 by MtnDew

[GaryT]

Reading BigRich's blog reminded me that I hadn't opened my Glenmorangie Original 10 yet (or the cute 50mL bottles that came in the "Discovery Pack"). Saving those three for this weekend, but counting this as "study hall" so I'm more familiar with the malt. Can't say I'm a big fan of this first pour, but I blame the GBS for spoiling me last weekend

[cbus]

Lagavulin 16. Yay!

[smokinjoe]

Revisited my Aberlour A'bunadh. Still a meh, for me.

[Yeti]

Glenfarclas 105, a vatting of Lag 16, Lag 12 2012, and Longmorn 17 year CS, then Ardbeg Galileo.

[BigRich]

Revisited my Aberlour A'bunadh. Still a meh, for me.

Well then meh-by you should just drop it off at my place and save your palate the horror.

[DaveOfAtl]

Glenfarclas 105, a vatting of Lag 16, Lag 12 2012, and Longmorn 17 year CS, then Ardbeg Galileo.

That vatting sounds interesting. How was it?

[Yeti]

That vatting sounds interesting. How was it?

Needed a little more oomph. The flavor was heading in the right direction, but following the 105 it was a bit thin. If I did it again I'd add more of the Longmorn.

[Max Power]

Needed a little more oomph. The flavor was heading in the right direction, but following the 105 it was a bit thin. If I did it again I'd add more of the Longmorn.

Do wear a lab coat and do sinister laughter when doing that kind of stuff? That sounds like fun.

[amg]

Needed a little more oomph. The flavor was heading in the right direction, but following the 105 it was a bit thin. If I did it again I'd add more of the Longmorn.

I've had that 105, and following that I'd say a lot of things would seem a bit thin!

[GaryT]

Opened all three of the 50 mL from the Glenmorangie Discovery Pack to see which I preferred. It included The Nectar d'Or, The Lasanta, and The Quinta Ruban. All are a definitely step up from The Glenmorangie Original 10yr. I had never tried either of these three before, although have had port and sherry aged malts. I had to look up wth "sauternes" was. To me the Nectar d'Or was a bit briny, and reminded me of the seashore (even a bit salty?) Not what I expected, but quite interesting. The Lasanta was decent, although I think BigRich nailed this in his recent review - it does seems more like sherry was added (it isn't like a finish, the sherry seems to be over the top a bit, and just not as well balanced). My favorite of the three was The Quinta Ruban, which I thought was a bit richer with a little more bite to it (obvious port finishing).

I was really excited when checking the prices at one of the local shops and The Quinta Ruban was the cheapest of the three! Definitely adding that to my list for another day.