AaronWF Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 This is what I've been up to the last few weeks: Binny's 1993 Signatory Bladnoch 19 - I have very little experience with Lowland whisky. This was a pick from a few years ago, so the price is right. Binny's 1988 Balmenach 25 - great price for the age. I had a little taste and thought it was on point. Rich fruit and caramel. Binny's 1994 Mortlach 19 - this was one I splurged on. I also had a little taste of this and it was quite decadent with lots of meaty chocolate. First fill sherry. Binny's 2007 G&M Caol Ila 7 - best young CI I've had. Islay peat on the front end, tropical fruit bomb on the back end. Springbank Green - new limited release of a 12yo distilled from organic barley and aged entirely in bourbon barrels. They were asking too much for it, but for Springbank, I took that bullet. Laphroaig 10 CS, batch 005 from Feb 2013 - my first Laph CS. I hope it's better than other OBs I've had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vosgar Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Binny's 2007 G&M Caol Ila 7 - best young CI I've had. Islay peat on the front end, tropical fruit bomb on the back end.Agree completely. Damn glad Lost Pollito recommended this bottle over the 2006 I'd been looking at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggilbertva Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Picked up a Bunnahabain 25 year for $210 which is a steal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trey Manthey Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 I've got one of those Binny's Mortlach's on the way with a Longrow Red Shiraz. Also a SMWS Benrinnes, 1990 Glenfarclas, and a Laga 16 from K&L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t44tq Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Compass Box Peat Monster 10th Anniversary, Port Charlotte NAS (the new, regular line PC), Glendronach 15 Tawny Port Finish, Springbank 12 Calvados Finish, Lost Spirits Ouroboros (not foreign, but a single malt regardless). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Accidentally bought a teelings single grain today, i wasnt paying attention as i just thought it was the small batch in a different bottle, the colour should have given it away, i didnt even know the single grain was a thing!I really like it, i havent had much luck with whiskey aged in ex wine barrels, but i guess none of those were corn whiskey either.The nose is nothing too special, definitely not bad by a longshot, but in the mouth a rollercoster of flavour and texture. Touch of water definitely changes it up, pretty unique stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Added a dash of Dale DeGroff's pimento bitters to 2.5oz of the Teelings and 0.5 oz of Dubonet, had it after dinner but this would make a killer apperetif. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronWF Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Agree completely. Damn glad Lost Pollito recommended this bottle over the 2006 I'd been looking at.I drank through a bottle of that 2006. It was tasty, but boring compared the my sample of the 2007. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronWF Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I've got one of those Binny's Mortlach's on the way with a Longrow Red Shiraz. Also a SMWS Benrinnes, 1990 Glenfarclas, and a Laga 16 from K&L.Mmm, nice choice on the Longrow Shiraz. I've heard great things about that SMWS Benrinnes and have a soft spot for the distillery after tasting a CS 11yo last year. Look forward to your notes on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gusto16 Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Found a bottle of Compass Box Oak Cross on clearance @ $34 -------> SOLD!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryT Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Rolled the dice on a Berry's Longmorn 20yr CS/UCF (55.6 ABV). First indie bottling I've bought without having tried first, so fingers crossed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tucker Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Redbreast 12CS and The Irishman 12yr single malt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Vino Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Gordon & Macphail's Speymalt 1991 Macallan 21. On sale for $139. A whole lot cheaper than Macallan 25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wall Eye Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I was outside of my normal territory and found an Arran 12 CS. Liking this one a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbanzobean Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 I bought a 10 year age stated Glenfarclas 105, and a friend bought me a bottle of Talisker 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t44tq Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 I bought a 10 year age stated Glenfarclas 105, and a friend bought me a bottle of Talisker 10.That's an old bottle, I've never seen an age stated 105. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbanzobean Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 (edited) That's an old bottle, I've never seen an age stated 105.They're all over Maryland. Before they pulled the age statement completely (haven't actually seen an NAS bottle here yet), they transferred the age statement to the back label and buried it in a big block of text. You have to look kind of hard to see it. A lot of whisky writers took note of the label change, but didn't realize the age statement remained for awhile (if in fact it is actually gone in the U.S.). I've actually read that some markets went to NAS immediately and others kept the age statement for quite awhile longer.Bottom line: Glenfarclas isn't above a little label manipulation voodoo, despite being family run. They get points for keeping their older releases affordable, but the reviews seem to indicate that their best whisky has long since been pulled from those and is released as part of the now obscenely expensive family casks series. I still want to try the 21 and 25 since I think a lot of folks sometimes confuse "needs time to open up" with "defective", but I have had a hard time finding truly complimentary reviews of those releases. Edited March 10, 2015 by garbanzobean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t44tq Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 They're all over Maryland. Before they pulled the age statement completely (haven't actually seen an NAS bottle here yet), they transferred the age statement to the back label and buried it in a big block of text. You have to look kind of hard to see it. A lot of whisky writers took note of the label change, but didn't realize the age statement remained for awhile (if in fact it is actually gone in the U.S.). I've actually read that some markets went to NAS immediately and others kept the age statement for quite awhile longer.Bottom line: Glenfarclas isn't above a little label manipulation voodoo, despite being family run. They get points for keeping their older releases affordable, but the reviews seem to indicate that their best whisky has long since been pulled from those and is released as part of the now obscenely expensive family casks series. I still want to try the 21 and 25 since I think a lot of folks sometimes confuse "needs time to open up" with "defective", but I have had a hard time finding truly complimentary reviews of those releases.How much do they get in MD for Glenfarclas 105?I have found my preference to be Glenfarclas 17, although I really liked the 21 as well. I thought the 25 was a bit too muted in flavor- very good and pleasant, but inoffensive in how muted the flavor has become and consequently, not worth the outlay. There aren't too many 20+ yr. scotches that I find to be great- HP 25, Talisker 25 and Bowmore 25 are three that I've found to be great- maybe not worth the $$$, but tasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amg Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Grabbed a Green Spot on sale for $39.99. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronWF Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 How much do they get in MD for Glenfarclas 105?I have found my preference to be Glenfarclas 17, although I really liked the 21 as well. I thought the 25 was a bit too muted in flavor- very good and pleasant, but inoffensive in how muted the flavor has become and consequently, not worth the outlay.I agree with you on the 25 - the oak dominates and butts out the malt character. The 21 is the sweet spot in the line up for me. The 10 and 12 are young enough to remain feisty at 43%, but the 17 is too subtle at that proof. The 21 is old enough to express a good depth despite being watered down to 43%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portwood Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 How much do they get in MD for Glenfarclas 105?I have found my preference to be Glenfarclas 17, although I really liked the 21 as well. I thought the 25 was a bit too muted in flavor- very good and pleasant, but inoffensive in how muted the flavor has become and consequently, not worth the outlay. There aren't too many 20+ yr. scotches that I find to be great- HP 25, Talisker 25 and Bowmore 25 are three that I've found to be great- maybe not worth the $$$, but tasty.I agree with you on the 25 - the oak dominates and butts out the malt character. The 21 is the sweet spot in the line up for me. The 10 and 12 are young enough to remain feisty at 43%, but the 17 is too subtle at that proof. The 21 is old enough to express a good depth despite being watered down to 43%.IMO, the sweet spot for Glenfarclas is the 15yo* (46% abv) although, IIRC, it is not available in the USA? Is that correct?*the 40yo I tasted a while back was mighty fine too but out of my price range ... even though its well priced for such an old single malt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronWF Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 IMO, the sweet spot for Glenfarclas is the 15yo* (46% abv) although, IIRC, it is not available in the USA? Is that correct?Correct. I don't know why it's not here. I would like to try it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbanzobean Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 How much do they get in MD for Glenfarclas 105?I have found my preference to be Glenfarclas 17, although I really liked the 21 as well. I thought the 25 was a bit too muted in flavor- very good and pleasant, but inoffensive in how muted the flavor has become and consequently, not worth the outlay. There aren't too many 20+ yr. scotches that I find to be great- HP 25, Talisker 25 and Bowmore 25 are three that I've found to be great- maybe not worth the $$$, but tasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berto Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Grabbed bottles of Tobermory, Craigcellachie, Benrinnes, and Laphroaig from K&L's recent release. Splitting them all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleCBreese Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Bought a Knappogue Castle 12-year Store Select. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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