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


GaryT
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Johnny Walker Blue last night. Obviously not worth the cost, especially to a primarily bourbon guy such as myself, but a very solid Scotch.

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Mrs. Vosgar was able to get us an upgrade to 1st class on British Airways for our trip to Switzerland and northern Italy, so I forced myself to take advantage of free pours of Johnnie Walker Blue Label. Hats off to BA for being very generous!

While in Switzerland, I was able to try Swiss Highland Single Malt Whisky in both the Classic and Ice versions. The Classic is 46% ABV and was much better than I expected, being nicely balanced, flavorful and with a decent finish for what I'm guessing is a relatively young whisky. The Ice is 58.5% ABV and supposedly gets its name because it's aged in an ice cave in the Joungfrau mountain. This concept makes absolutely no sense to me and might explain why I thought it came across as kind of harsh, even after adding water a couple of times to try and tame it a bit. I don't see how the wood can do its thing when the temperature never changes but I'm certainly no expert on these things. Regardless, it was fun to try a couple of whisky's I'd never had before.

If you ever happen to get to Varenna, Italy, which is on Lake Como, Lagavulin 16 will be your drink of choice. For some reason it's dirt cheap there. We stopped at a lakeside bar for a drink before dinner and they had it for 8 Euro's ($8.66). That price also included peanuts, olives, carrots, potato chips and a small dish of macaroni salad to snack on. We then went to a restaurant where it was only 5 Euro's ($5.41)! The next night at a different restaurant it was again only 5 Euro's. I don't know how or why but I certainly took advantage of it since Lag 16 is a favorite of mine. We're home now and back to reality, the place we went to last night charged $18 for a pour.........I passed.

Sounds like a wonderful trip, Gary. At those prices I'd have ordered the entire bottle and a straw![emoji2]

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It's been hot and muggy here this week, so last night I went with what I think may be the most "summery" Scotch I have tasted: Littlemill 8yo. It's a Lowland malt (from the oldest distillery in Scotland) and has a distinctly "grassy" character. About ten years ago I grabbed several bottles of what I think was the last of the distillery-bottled production (they've been closed since 1994), and rumor has it that toward the end, the 8yo contained a fair amount of older whiskey, but I don't know if that's true---it's not the smoothest Scotch, but it is definitely a taste of summer for me.

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So... how is it?

It's a lot of chocolate, menthol and smoke, and I can't stay out of it. It's delicious.

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It's a lot of chocolate, menthol and smoke, and I can't stay out of it. It's delicious.

Thx man - I have one inbound... can't wait to give it a spin in my glass ;)

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Having a pour of the new TWE Signatory Laphroaig 16yr. Agree w/ Jarrod, it's delicious!

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Having a pour of the new TWE Signatory Laphroaig 16yr. Agree w/ Jarrod, it's delicious!
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The FedEx man just let me join that club today. Can't wait to try it out. :toast::toast:
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:toast:

I think I'm 2 weeks out from being able to try mine

I ordered July 29 and it got here yesterday w their standard shipping charge. Crazy fast.

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Stumbled upon a few bottles of early 90's & 86 proof johnnie walker black, very delicious, seriously delicious, the nose is gorgeous and complex and rich, i dont mind the current stuff, its more than OK but I wouldnt put it in the same class as this older release, this stuff is great.

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Stumbled upon a few bottles of early 90's & 86 proof johnnie walker black, very delicious, seriously delicious, the nose is gorgeous and complex and rich, i dont mind the current stuff, its more than OK but I wouldnt put it in the same class as this older release, this stuff is great.

Should try it in a blind side by side with perhaps a couple of other blended style whiskies to see if the perceived difference holds up.

Well, that is probably the first thing I would do, anyway! :cool:

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Should try it in a blind side by side with perhaps a couple of other blended style whiskies to see if the perceived difference holds up.

Well, that is probably the first thing I would do, anyway! :cool:

I was planning on doing a blind against the current stuff, but including other blends is a very good idea.

I an even thinking about including balvenie double wood as a wild card, the black seemed to hold some resemblance to it.

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I was planning on doing a blind against the current stuff, but including other blends is a very good idea.

I an even thinking about including balvenie double wood as a wild card, the black seemed to hold some resemblance to it.

Sounds like a good plan. I will be curious to hear the outcome!

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Nothing fancy, just plain old glenfiddich 15 solera - sherry, raisin nose, sweet taste. Decent sipper.

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Opened up a AD Rattray 22 year old Mortlach and a Glenlivet 16 Nadurra. Both beautiful! That Nadurra is really the deal of the century, especially at around $60.

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Highland Park 18. Had kind of ignored it in the 3-4 months since I've had the first few drams. It's really opened up and hitting all those HP sweet spots on a delightful evening here in Alabama.

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I wanted a less sweet pour tonight, so I'm going back to a Laddie Ten that I opened months ago. Still a little rough for my liking. Pretty interesting that this "unpeated" malt has almost no peat on the nose, but a fair amount on the palate. An oddity for sure.

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Muirhead Silver Seal 20 yo. Apple and milk chocolate flavors are dominant. I don't usually drop the coin on scotch much older than 12 years but I really dig this stuff.

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