What Wee Dram Are You Enjoying Now? - Spring/Summer 2015

[t44tq]

Easter dinner was followed by some Talisker 25 cask strength. Wonderful whisky, definitely one of the best.

[garbanzobean]

Battlehill Bladnoch 22 46% version. Tonight I'm getting muted tropical fruit and heavy grass. Still tastes great. Honestly very pleased with the QPR of this. I've spent more than twice as much for half as good. This gives me the confidence to try one or two more Battlehill 46% products, especially when they are on sale.

[Max Power]

That HP25 certainly looked the part ;-)

Which Mortlach 21 did you try?

HP25 is the real deal for sure.

[Darwin]

Now open. Aberlour A'bunadh batch 47, Dalmore 12, Cragganmore 12, Lagavulin 16 Yr and Grangestone 21yr (TW private label). With summer quickly approaching it's time to move to the Speyside's.

[BigRich]

Going away lunch at the old job. I had a Talisker 10 and Aberlout A'bundh

[Tucker]

Rory made the cut, enjoying a pour of Black Bush.

[smokinjoe]

Johnnie Black on a rainy spring evening. What a delightfully drinkable whiskey, but not boring in the least. Very clean on the nose, like fresh air dried laundry. Velvety over the palate, with a small dose of smoke and peat. Could use a bit more heft, but I continue to really enjoy this pour. This is a "you can't go wrong here" type of whiskey.

[ItsJackNow]

Redbreast 12 CS. Very nice!

[T Comp]

Johnnie Black on a rainy spring evening. What a delightfully drinkable whiskey, but not boring in the least. Very clean on the nose, like fresh air dried laundry. Velvety over the palate, with a small dose of smoke and peat. Could use a bit more heft, but I continue to really enjoy this pour. This is a "you can't go wrong here" type of whiskey.

The price of Blue, Gold, Platinum or most other Walker high ends, always strikes me as particularily absurd, considering how good Black is. This and Knob Creek are two of those, really damn good whiskeys, that are often available at even run of the mill establishments, and I'm happy if I have them as options

[smokinjoe]

The price of Blue, Gold, Platinum or most other Walker high ends, always strikes me as particularily absurd, considering how good Black is. This and Knob Creek are two of those, really damn good whiskeys, that are often available at even run of the mill establishments, and I'm happy if I have them as options

Agreed, T. How many times do we hear the the bar "didn't have anything particularly good", only to find out JWB and KC are there. I'll gladly take either any day!

[garbanzobean]

Battlehill Bladnoch 22 last night. I think something more like the Bladnoch profile is finally peeking through. The pineapple flavor seems to have left me, but the varnish/twizzlers thing is still going strong. What a weird, and fun, bottle. Definitely need to acquire more Lowlanders. Got to make up for my previous lack of interest in the subject.

[Gillman]

Don't drink much malt or blended Scotch these days but exchanged some samples with Frodo in Hogtown here and am trying his Black Bull, a 12 year old blend at 50% ABV bottled some years ago by Duncan Taylor. It is really good, the malts and grains meld perfectly, with a marked peated edge yet with honeyed Speysides or that type (I'd infer) in support. This is what a great blend should taste like and what I've tried to achieve in my own blending experiments.

Too bad it's not on the market anymore.

Gary

Edited April 12, 2015 by Gillman

[garbanzobean]

Don't drink much malt or blended Scotch these days but exchanged some samples with Frodo in Hogtown here and am trying his Black Bull, a 12 year old blend at 50% ABV bottled some years ago by Duncan & McPhail. It is really good, the malts and grains meld perfectly, with a marked peated edge yet with honeyed Speysides or that type (I'd infer) in support. This is what a great blend should taste like and what I've tried to achieve in my own blending experiments.

Too bad it's not on the market anymore.

Gary

Their whole age stated lineup is/was great. Not sure what it consists of now, since Duncan Taylor sucks at updating their websites, like pretty much every other IB/bottler. The 40 year remains the subtlest, most gentle dram I've ever had the pleasure of drinking. Really fine stuff.

[Gillman]

Thanks for that and I take it the bottler's name is actually Duncan Taylor so I've corrected my post to say that. A superlative dram (one of the best blends I've ever had).

The bottle (12 year Black Bull) is still listed on its site, so hopefully it is still available somewhere..

http://www.duncantaylor.com/product/black-bull-deluxe-blended-scotch-whisky-12yo/

Gary

Edited April 12, 2015 by Gillman

[garbanzobean]

No problem. I actually didnt even notice your error, so you totally could have gotten away with it! I can still find it around here. Haven't dropped the coin on it, but I may soon since they really may have discontinued it and replaced with Kyloe, an NAS.

[Gillman]

There's a couple of reviews on youtube, one from Ralfy, whose distinctive Scots accent lends a kind of inherent authority to his comments but he is actually very knowledgeable as well.

One of the reviews mentions that the blend is a 50/50 of malts and grains, which makes sense given the rich character. I am convinced that the earliest blends were more in this vein, and only later got watered down so to speak. I had a small tasting at a LCBO tasting counter recently of all-grains from John Glaser's company (it's the long-eastblish brand of Compass Box for this whisky, the name escapes me for a moment) and the classic sherried Glendronach, I think the 12 years old, both excellent. The Glendronach had a taste not just of "fresh sherry" like you get in the cask-finished whiskies, or I emulate myself by adding good sherry to my own blends, but of oxidized sherry, which is an authentic old taste, I once read. The sherry casks were reused countless times and the sherry in the barrel oxidized over time and imparted a hint of character to the malt. It can be a rubbery note and I've noticed it in very aged blends, 20 and 25 years old, that you used to see as fairly anonymous merchants' offerings. I remember a Flordia liquor chain carried one about 15 years ago for $40 or something, crazy value.

The all-grain whisky was excellent, of course rather neutral by comparison but soft and rich, certainly good in its own way.

Gary

[BigRich]

Finishing the last of my 2012 Flaming Heart

[t44tq]

There's a couple of reviews on youtube, one from Ralfy, whose distinctive Scots accent lends a kind of inherent authority to his comments but he is actually very knowledgeable as well.

One of the reviews mentions that the blend is a 50/50 of malts and grains, which makes sense given the rich character. I am convinced that the earliest blends were more in this vein, and only later got watered down so to speak. I had a small tasting at a LCBO tasting counter recently of all-grains from John Glaser's company (it's the long-eastblish brand of Compass Box for this whisky, the name escapes me for a moment) and the classic sherried Glendronach, I think the 12 years old, both excellent. The Glendronach had a taste not just of "fresh sherry" like you get in the cask-finished whiskies, or I emulate myself by adding good sherry to my own blends, but of oxidized sherry, which is an authentic old taste, I once read. The sherry casks were reused countless times and the sherry in the barrel oxidized over time and imparted a hint of character to the malt. It can be a rubbery note and I've noticed it in very aged blends, 20 and 25 years old, that you used to see as fairly anonymous merchants' offerings. I remember a Flordia liquor chain carried one about 15 years ago for $40 or something, crazy value.

The all-grain whisky was excellent, of course rather neutral by comparison but soft and rich, certainly good in its own way.

Gary

[garbanzobean]

Battlehill Bladnoch 22 again tonight, this time from a NEAT glass. I haven't been real impressed with the NEAT glass thus far, but I have to say that it is working quite nicely for this malt. Getting tropical fruit, twizzlers, varnish, and marshmallows. Not getting much in the way of grassiness at all. And to think, I said a few months ago that Lowland whiskies were boring.

[t44tq]

I opened two neat ones yesterday.

Bowmore 1989 16 yr bourbon cask. Wow, nothing like Bowmore that I've had. A strong fruit like Juicy Fruit gum, but then finishes with a chalky, salty note that is a bit odd. I'm not sure I like it- it's very good, but the finish is a bit off to me.

Ardbeg Uigeadail bottled 2004- this is far better than the current bottling. The sherry influence is much stronger, leaving a strong burnt caramel on the nose and in the finish. The peat and smoke are not overpowering, making this a very well balanced whisky.

Now I see why people are Ardbeg fans. I'm glad I stocked up on this one!

[t44tq]

Battlehill Bladnoch 22 again tonight, this time from a NEAT glass. I haven't been real impressed with the NEAT glass thus far, but I have to say that it is working quite nicely for this malt. Getting tropical fruit, twizzlers, varnish, and marshmallows. Not getting much in the way of grassiness at all. And to think, I said a few months ago that Lowland whiskies were boring.

[garbanzobean]

I gotta get some of this. My only experience with Bladnoch was a 16 yr Signatory bottling at Jack Rose that was spectacularly bad.

Rosebank is a lowland. Very elegant, floral and fruity scotch.

Just want to caution you again that I went into this bottle with really low expectations. If I had high expectations (ala Scotts Selection Highland Park 21), I might be telling a very different story right now.

[t44tq]

Tell me more about the Scott's Selection HP 21. I looked at an HP 25 from them, but really lucked out in finding the old, round bottled OB HP 25.

[garbanzobean]

Tell me more about the Scott's Selection HP 21. I looked at an HP 25 from them, but really lucked out in finding the old, round bottled OB HP 25.

Well, in a blind tasting, my friends couldn't tell it apart from Glenlivet Nadurra 16. The blogosphere enjoyed it a lot more than I did. I think if I had different expectations, I might have enjoyed the whisky, but it just wasn't at all what I had wanted it to be. I wish I had saved a sample to try now that I have some temporal distance from it, but I can't say I'd recommend it unless you really want to taste cask strength HP with no sherry influence (bourbon cask only) and minimal to nonexistent peat/iodine/coastal goodness presence. I paid $185. I'd probably chance it again at $70, but that's about it.

[t44tq]

Well, in a blind tasting, my friends couldn't tell it apart from Glenlivet Nadurra 16. The blogosphere enjoyed it a lot more than I did. I think if I had different expectations, I might have enjoyed the whisky, but it just wasn't at all what I had wanted it to be. I wish I had saved a sample to try now that I have some temporal distance from it, but I can't say I'd recommend it unless you really want to taste cask strength HP with no sherry influence (bourbon cask only) and minimal to nonexistent peat/iodine/coastal goodness presence. I paid $185. I'd probably chance it again at $70, but that's about it.

Thanks, Eric. That's pretty disappointing. There are a couple places near me that have a similar HP 25 for about $175, but I'm glad I never bought them.

You and the Maryland crew need to come up on a Thursday night(I know, middle of the week) to Philly and join us at our weekly gathering. I know a couple people do come up from MD once in a while, but from fairly north, like Aberdeen, I think.

As long as you don't mind some cigar smoke, it's a good time. No one is a snob or pretentious.