What Dram are you enjoying? Fall 2018

[BigRich]

Usually a bourbon or Scotch guy, but I do enjoy this Canadian Whisky

I like that one a lot too. When Sazerac put it out years ago there wasn’t much fanfare but I’ve always thought that it was one of the better Canadian whiskies brought to the US. Come to think of it....I think I need another one.

[GaryT]

Finishing tonight with some Compass Box GKS DBH 2017 pick.  Such a delicious, balanced, well rounded pour.  Can't wait to try DBH's new CB selections later this week (if the stars align, which looks like they will).  

 

 

 

 

[kevinbrink]

2012 Clynelish DE, yum

[kevinbrink]

Capping my evening by cracking the last two Cairdeas which were all the way in the back of the Laphroaig shelf.  I hadn't opened my bottle from last year, I had tried it and found it to be the most passable of the series so far and my opinion is unchanged, this years however is fantastic and I'm glad I decided to open it while there are still bottles on the shelf. 

[kyrocklover]

On a whim I picked this up today.  

 

This is is a very nice dram.  

[kevinbrink]

Pretty happy to find this at a fair price ($119)

 

[BigPapa]

Pretty happy to find this at a fair price ($119)

 

Love the 18 year old !!!

[Vosgar]

Time for some peat, so having a 7yr Caol Ila from Gordan & MacPhail, selected by Binny's. Tastes older than it is, not as highly peated as many others and is a bit more subdued. Definitely not a big "in your face" Islay whisky. Bottled at 60.3% abv, a little water makes it a nice treat on a Sunday night.

[Kane]

Tamdhu Batch Strenght 2. After many months open it finally lost the car deodorizer fake vanilla nose. It's a decent sherried scotch.

[jeffrey r]

18 hours ago, kevinbrink said:

Pretty happy to find this at a fair price ($119)

 

Nice find there Kevin.  A few years ago, I found my last stockpile of Laphroaig 18's that I picked up.  Glad I did, as it is truly an outstanding whiskey.  Haven't seen one since.  Just had a pour the other night as a matter of fact...  Enjoy.

[GaryT]

Medicating my "case of the Mondays" with some Compass Box Eleuthera.  Sad that this wasn't made for very long (and that I didn't discover it until just a few years ago - already 10+ years after it was toast).  Typically I go for the bolder flavors of a Flaming Heart, but this is just a delicious, well rounded, nicely balanced vatted malt.  Treacle, honey, allspice and smoke - just what the doctor ordered!

[jeffrey r]

A little SBS tonight—you know, for science...  Glendronach 15 Revival, old vs new.  

 

Here’s a little backstory.  Several years ago, I wasn’t drinking scotch.  Didn’t like it.  Then I read up a bit, and focused in on Glendronach Revival 15 as one that I should give a try.  Picked it up in the store, gave it a try, and loved it.  Then, when it came out that it would be discontinued for at least a few years, I bought a bunch of bottles and put them in the bunker.  I generally have one open, but haven’t had a bottle open for several months now at least.

 

Fast forward to this past week, and I saw that my local Total Wine got in a couple of bottles of the newly released Revival, so I picked them up.  To Glendronach’s credit, the new release was priced at $79, around the same price as the prior release, maybe $10 more.   

 

As some of you may be aware, the old release was Oloroso matured only, while the new release is Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez matured.  My bottle of the old release that I opened tonight is a 2013 bottle, so it is probably about 17 years old minimum.  Fortunately, the bottles look virtually identical except for the fine print, so it was easy for me to do a blind tasting.

 

Here is the bottom line.  Both on the nose, and on the palate, I chose one of the bottles as the winner.  And the winner was the old release, comfortably.  It just rose above, and is still amazing.  The new release is nice, but is a little darker on the flavor.  If I had to grade, I’d give the old release a solid A, with the new release a B/B+.  These were both freshly opened bottles, so they’ll open up.  YMMV.

 

 

Edited October 24, 2018 by jeffrey r

[kevinbrink]

52 minutes ago, jeffrey r said:

A little SBS tonight—you know, for science...  Glendronach 15 Revival, old vs new.  

 

Here’s a little backstory.  Several years ago, I wasn’t drinking scotch.  Didn’t like it.  Then I read up a bit, and focused in on Glendronach Revival 15 as one that I should give a try.  Picked it up in the store, gave it a try, and loved it.  Then, when it came out that it would be discontinued for at least a few years, I bought a bunch of bottles and put them in the bunker.  I generally have one open, but haven’t had a bottle open for several months now at least.

 

Fast forward to this past week, and I saw that my local Total Wine got in a couple of bottles of the newly released Revival, so I picked them up.  To Glendronach’s credit, the new release was priced at $79, around the same price as the prior release, maybe $10 more.   

 

As some of you may be aware, the old release was Oloroso matured only, while the new release is Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez matured.  My bottle of the old release that I opened tonight is a 2013 bottle, so it is probably about 17 years old minimum.  Fortunately, the bottles look virtually identical except for the fine print, so it was easy for me to do a blind tasting.

 

Here is the bottom line.  Both on the nose, and on the palate, I chose one of the bottles as the winner.  And the winner was the old release, comfortably.  It just rose above, and is still amazing.  The new release is nice, but is a little darker on the flavor.  If I had to grade, I’d give the old release a solid A, with the new release a B/B+.  These were both freshly opened bottles, so they’ll open up.  YMMV.

 

 

Nice to hear they brought it back at a fair price compared to the competition, $80 isn't a whole lot more than most places charge for the 12 year around here, would be an interesting comparison. 

[kevinbrink]

This is not much of a contest, despite the more immediate nose on the 15 than the 18 every other aspect of the 18 trumps it in spades. 

[beasled]

Sipping on some Bank Note 5 this evening. No frills quality blend. 

 

Last night I got to try a sample of Black Bull 40 year 7th release. It was excellent, and I can only describe it as a very refined Craigellachie 23 as that's the closest thing I've had to it. That said, at a whopping £700+ a bottle, I've had much better for much less. I'd say Bunnahabhain 25 is considerably better quality and better value at less than half the price, a third in some places. 

[Vosgar]

It's "That Boutique-Y Whisky Company Night" this evening. Had the 12yr Bruichladdich first and enjoying the 17yr Glentauchers now. Both are very good.

 

[Kane]

Some folks arranged a Scotch tasting after work. Most (all?) people are new comers to the hobby, so the selection isn't very interesting, but I think we have the basics covered: Lagavulin 16, Ardbeg 10, Balvenie 12, Balvenie Caribbean, Glenfiddich 12, The Glenlivet 12, Walker Black, Auchentoshan  three wood  and as a slight exception Hibiki Harmony. I contributed a Spice Tree, and an Octomore 7.3 (folks weren't ready for it!). I also remembered how much I like the good old Glenfiddich.

Edited October 30, 2018 by Kane

[Tennessee Dave]

Deanston 12 tonight

Edited October 31, 2018 by Tennessee Dave
spelling

[kevinbrink]

1 hour ago, Tennessee Dave said:

Deanston 12 tonight

Underrated pour right there

[Clueby]

A small pour of Ardbeg An Oa.  Still has that signature nose but a little lighter and sweeter on the palate than the rest of the lineup.

[kevinbrink]

11 hours ago, Clueby said:

A small pour of Ardbeg An Oa.  Still has that signature nose but a little lighter and sweeter on the palate than the rest of the lineup.

I haven't been compelled to pick up a bottle yet, seems to me like a weird addition to the lineup price wise, around here I can save $20 buy buying the 10 year which probably comes with a couple glasses or 50mls of Ugigeadail and Corryvreckan

[Clueby]

3 hours ago, kevinbrink said:

I haven't been compelled to pick up a bottle yet, seems to me like a weird addition to the lineup price wise, around here I can save $20 buy buying the 10 year which probably comes with a couple glasses or 50mls of Ugigeadail and Corryvreckan

Here the Ten runs about $45 and the An Oa around $54 so its not a huge step in price.  I agree its a weird addition to the lineup though, both from a taste and price perspective. It was a Christmas gift last year and I doubt I would buy it.  I always keep a bottle of Ten on hand.  Of the lineup, Uigeadail is my favorite.  It runs about $75.

[Tennessee Dave]

Glen Grant 15 and Glenmorangie Astar last night

[BigRich]

Dipping back into the Compass Box Hedonism Quincendecimus. This one is almost at the halfway point which for me means it needs more aggressive attention until the bottle is gone. Start the clock ticking.

[kyrocklover]

More than one of these is in my future.  IMHO the best Irish Whiskey.  

 

Iron Maiden pretty damn good too.