What Wee Dram Are You Enjoying Now? - Fall/Winter 2014

[beasled]

Home Alone on the box and Bunnahabhain 12 in the glass. No complaints here

[garbanzobean]

Finally taking a moment to celebrate my daughter's arrival on the very cool date of 12/13/14 with the Bruichladdich 1973 my wife got for my 30th birthday. Tasting notes and a toast for us all:

Nose: rich oak, sherry, varnish. Sweet and sour, tropical fruits. Pineapple, hint of coconut. Apples and pears.

Water: the varnish note explodes out. Maple syrup, brine. Tropical fruits come to the forefront, stonefruits. Maybe some Oban-like peat.

Taste: arrival is brief with hints of oak andvarnish. Development brings sweet andsour oak, vanilla oil, calvados. Mildbrine. Mouth feel is light but tonguecoating.

Water: oak bitterness turns to oak sour. Letting it sit on the tongue evokes strongvarnish/calvados flavors

Finish: finish is oak heavy and a little bitter. Somesherry. Calvados again. More brine. Fairly brief. Dry with somebitter grapefruit rind, makes you want to take another sip.

Water: Lengthen s the finishdramatically, really cleans it up and pulls the experience together!

1-2 drops of water really brightens the entire event up, removes a lot of oak bitterness, and makes all of the flavors pop, if not really change.

Toast:

May you always have walls for the winds,

a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,

laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,

and all your heart might desire.

Edited December 19, 2014 by garbanzobean

[garbanzobean]

Just to sum up, the Bruichladdich 1973 is pretty oaky without water and has some obvious flaws. A little water turns this into one of the better drams I've had in my life! Very unique. Best part is that it's still quite approachable for those who don't care to ponder over their drink too much, so I can share it with friends and family who will admire it for its "smoothness."

[ccleve23]

Finally taking a moment to celebrate my daughter's arrival on the very cool date of 12/13/14 with the Bruichladdich 1973 my wife got for my 30th birthday. Tasting notes and a toast for us all:

Nose: rich oak, sherry, varnish. Sweet and sour, tropical fruits. Pineapple, hint of coconut. Apples and pears.

Water: the varnish note explodes out. Maple syrup, brine. Tropical fruits come to the forefront, stonefruits. Maybe some Oban-like peat.

Taste: arrival is brief with hints of oak andvarnish. Development brings sweet andsour oak, vanilla oil, calvados. Mildbrine. Mouth feel is light but tonguecoating.

Water: oak bitterness turns to oak sour. Letting it sit on the tongue evokes strongvarnish/calvados flavors

Finish: finish is oak heavy and a little bitter. Somesherry. Calvados again. More brine. Fairly brief. Dry with somebitter grapefruit rind, makes you want to take another sip.

Water: Lengthen s the finishdramatically, really cleans it up and pulls the experience together!

1-2 drops of water really brightens the entire event up, removes a lot of oak bitterness, and makes all of the flavors pop, if not really change.

Toast:

May you always have walls for the winds,

a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,

laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,

and all your heart might desire.

Congrats on the new baby. Glad to see someone else in the no sleep club.

[ChainWhip]

Congrats GB - thx for sharing your thoughts on the Laddie

[michaelturtle1]

Seemed like a good theme tonihht

[AaronWF]

Finally taking a moment to celebrate my daughter's arrival on the very cool date of 12/13/14 with the Bruichladdich 1973 my wife got for my 30th birthday.

Congrats buddy. My wife is begging our baby to crawl out of her ASAP! Could be any day and has been that way for over a week now. My birthday is tomorrow. Wonder if that's what he/she is waiting for?

[garbanzobean]

Congrats buddy. My wife is begging our baby to crawl out of her ASAP! Could be any day and has been that way for over a week now. My birthday is tomorrow. Wonder if that's what he/she is waiting for?

Thanks! Our daughter actually showed up 9 days early (very happy and healthy thankfully). With this being our first, we assumed she would be late and show up on or after Christmas.

Is this your first? Congratulations regardless, and I hope mama gets her wish soon!

[AaronWF]

Thanks! Our daughter actually showed up 9 days early (very happy and healthy thankfully). With this being our first, we assumed she would be late and show up on or after Christmas.

Is this your first? Congratulations regardless, and I hope mama gets her wish soon!

Thanks! This is our 3rd. We have two girls and decided to be surprised with this one. First was a week early, second was a week and a half early, so we have been expecting this one to be more like 2 weeks early. Short labors too, so we have to be primed to rush to the hospital. Staying on high alert is exhausting!

[Old Lamplighter]

A cold dreary day turned into night...and I turned to an old & ever-reliable favorite in such conditions: Lagavulin 16

[jvd99]

Congrats on the new edition to the family.

I tried the Mortlach 18 from the premium whisky advent calendar last night. It was a nice dram, but did not stand out as being exceptional. Typical sherry characteristics and clearly not worth $300+ asking price. This is why I don't like Diageo, because they seem to take the customer for a fool.

[garbanzobean]

Apparently the new Mortlach 25 retails for around $1000. They literally could have picked any other unloved speyside distillery for this stupidity. I'm assuming they went with Mortlach because it starts with an M. Ugh. Really NOT regretting my decision to put a few bottles away prior to this madness.

[ChainWhip]

Apparently the new Mortlach 25 retails for around $1000. They literally could have picked any other unloved speyside distillery for this stupidity. I'm assuming they went with Mortlach because it starts with an M. Ugh. Really NOT regretting my decision to put a few bottles away prior to this madness.

I don't think they'll move many bottles at that pricepoint but who knows? Recent plans to expand Mortlach have apparently been put on hold so perhaps demand hasn't been as strong as they'd hoped.

There is still a lot of IB Mortlach out there I would buy before spending my loot on the new OB (the old F&F was just fine IMO).

[BigRich]

A little Longmorn tonight. The K&L 21 is very nice.

[drunk]

Congrats Eric. Aaron, happy birthday and congrats on #3! Nervous and exciting times. Those last few weeks before delivery are brutal. My wife and I had our 4th and last on 11/3/14. I hope all goes (went) well. I'll have some Springbank for you tonight. Cheers!

[garbanzobean]

Congrats Eric. Aaron, happy birthday and congrats on #3! Nervous and exciting times. Those last few weeks before delivery are brutal. My wife and I had our 4th and last on 11/3/14. I hope all goes (went) well. I'll have some Springbank for you tonight. Cheers!

Thanks! For my part, mama and daughter are doing really well. My wife is already within 10lbs of her pre birth weight, and all the hurts and aches of childbirth are going away. Daughter is awesome and very healthy, though she is wearing her mom out by eating 10-13 times a day and doesn't like to sleep unless she's being held.

Consider my virtual glass raised in salute to you and all the other proud mothers and fathers on SB!

[chrisg]

Last night I had some Signatory Laphroaig 7Yr UCF collection. Second fill sherry butt.

[clingman71]

My wife is on a mild Islay kick and I am sort of enjoying a little change of pace. Picked up a Lagavulin 16 for her Friday, it is a damn nice pour. I think I still prefer the peat of the Ardbeg, but the thick palate of the Lagavulin is very nice.

[BigRich]

Hanging at home today. All is quite with the kids at the grandparents. Had a little Dailuaine followed by Ardbeg Auriverdes. The wife and I are going out later to celebrate her passing her professional certification so I'm sure there will be plenty more where those two came from.

[ChainWhip]

Hanging at home today. All is quite with the kids at the grandparents. Had a little Dailuaine followed by Ardbeg Auriverdes. The wife and I are going out later to celebrate her passing her professional certification so I'm sure there will be plenty more where those two came from.

[garbanzobean]

Hanging at home today. All is quite with the kids at the grandparents. Had a little Dailuaine followed by Ardbeg Auriverdes. The wife and I are going out later to celebrate her passing her professional certification so I'm sure there will be plenty more where those two came from.

[jvd99]

Before dinner, Springbank 15 old label. Now watching my fantasy football championship dreams go down in flames to Knob Creek SB store select 120 proofer.

[garbanzobean]

Kavalan King Car. Wish the first half of the bottle had been as nice as the last half is turning out to be.

[tanstaafl2]

Kavalan King Car. Wish the first half of the bottle had been as nice as the last half is turning out to be.

[jvd99]

So here is the full line up of the Master of Malt Premium Whisky Advent Calendar that arrived courtesy of Mrs. jvd99 & my mother-in-law.

These are in more or less the order in which they were opened, the first being on December 1st and the last being December 24th.

I don't keep tasting notes, but I'll highlight my favorites and a few comments:

Glenfarclas 40 year old 46% - I've had this before and it was excellent once again

Isle of Jura 21 year old 44%

Paul John Peated Select Cask NAS 55.5%

Nikka Teketsuru 17 year old 43%

Johnnie Walker Blue Label NAS 40%

Highland Park 18 year old 43% - Wished they had put in something outside of the core offerings, but solid as usual

Spirit of Hven Uranis NAS 45%

Glen Garioch 1999 (Bot. 2013) Batch 30 56.3%

Balvenie 15 year old Single Barrel Sherry Cask 47.8% - Recently finished a bottle of this - Love this stuff

Auchtentoshan Virgin Oak NAS 46%

Bowmore 23 year old 1989 Port Matured 50.8% - The highlight of the calendar - outstanding - but at retail is $600 so probably not purchasing

Yoichi 20 year old 52%

Dalmore King Alexander III NAS 40%

Reference Series III.2 NAS 47.5%

The Girvan Patent Still Single Grain 25 year old Launch Edition 42%

Ilse of Jura 22 year old 1992 (Cask 10362) Old Particular (Douglas Laing) 47.9%

Teeling Silver Reserve 21 year old 1991 Single Malt 46%

Mortlach 18 year old 43.4% - Middling and I'd never buy this for myself

Balvenie Portwood 21 year old 40% - Had this before and it's solid as expected

Hudson Baby Bourbon NAS 46% - This is not a premium bourbon and shouldn't have been included - didn't like before & still don't

Rock Town - Batch 1 - That Boutique Whisky Company NAS 52.5%

Glenfiddich 21 year old Gran Reserva 40% - I really liked this one - a little under proofed but an easy drinker

Dalmore 18 year old 43% - Not opened yet but curious

The Lost Distilleries Blend - Batch 49.3% - Not opened yet - but looking forward to it & hoping its one of the best here

Overall, this was a great advent calendar. I really like the international offerings, some of which I'd probably never purchase for myself. I particularly liked the inclusion of the Asian whiskies, however, my favorite remains the inexpensive Nikka From the Barrel Blend (which arrived from Santa yesterday). The only downsides were (1) the bourbon offering, they can certainly could do better than an overpriced sourced bourbon that isn't even that good to begin with; (2) add more peated offerings like Ardbeg, Laphroig etc.; and (3) have gotten a little more adventurous with the Highland Park, something like the Thor series or even Dark Origins. I'm really nit-picking here on a great overall experience.

Happy Holidays