What Dram are you enjoying? Fall 2018

[kevinbrink]

[Tennessee Dave]

Glen Grant 15, Tomatin Cu Bocan and Lagavulin 16 last night

[BigPapa]

Glen Grant 15, Tomatin Cu Bocan and Lagavulin 16 last night

What do you think of the Cu Bocan?

[Tennessee Dave]

11 hours ago, BigPapa said:

What do you think of the Cu Bocan?

It's a very unusual flavor profile.  Some citrus notes up front with a lot of grain and a slight hint of smokiness.  I suspect that this is very young whiskey and a bit under maturated but for some reason it all works together pretty dang good.  I am enjoying it. I will buy it again.

[jvd99]

I haven't had a single malt in a while.  Was on bourbon for a few months exclusively and recently been off the sauce trying lose some lbs.  I caved last night and hit the scotch cabinet with three pours, Springbank 18, HP 12 from a dusty squat bottle and Balvenie 15 - one of the old bourbon cask SB's.  All super tasty, but probably should not have followed up with the Balvenie after two sherried drams. 

[El Vino]

Old Pulteney 21 G&M. Really enjoy this when looking for a more “refined” pour. Just relaxing and getting in the proper state of mind to follow the election night entertainment.

Edited November 6, 2018 by El Vino

[Tennessee Dave]

Benromach 10 43%....seriously good malt.

[BigPapa]

Cracked a fresh bottle of Deanston 12 year today for the 1st time. I have to say , this is one fabulous dram.

[Tennessee Dave]

12 hours ago, BigPapa said:

Cracked a fresh bottle of Deanston 12 year today for the 1st time. I have to say , this is one fabulous dram.

Yes it is.  That is an unsung beauty right there.

[kevinbrink]

Comparative research of a couple of big NAS Sherry Forward Malts, this is a pretty easy choice at this point the Glengoyne has a better nose and is much more drinkable even after adding water. @Bigpapa I like this one but I might be tempted to pick up the 15 year next time instead hoping it is closer to my fading memory of the 17 year. Fairly certain I would take the 18 over this but at least here that is a fair bit of a price increase, 70ish vs $100ish. 

 

 

[Kane]

23 hours ago, kevinbrink said:

Comparative research of a couple of big NAS Sherry Forward Malts, this is a pretty easy choice at this point the Glengoyne has a better nose and is much more drinkable even after adding water. @Bigpapa I like this one but I might be tempted to pick up the 15 year next time instead hoping it is closer to my fading memory of the 17 year. Fairly certain I would take the 18 over this but at least here that is a fair bit of a price increase, 70ish vs $100ish. 

 

 

Never tried that Glengoyne, but if it beats the Abunadh I gotta try it. Is it easily available, any notable difference between batches?

[kevinbrink]

 

1 hour ago, Kane said:

Never tried that Glengoyne, but if it beats the Abunadh I gotta try it. Is it easily available, any notable difference between batches?

This is my first bottle someone recommended it I think on of the Jersey guys

[jeffrey r]

Never tried that Glengoyne, but if it beats the Abunadh I gotta try it. Is it easily available, any notable difference between batches?

Another Jersey guy here, but I’ve only seen two bottles of Glengoyne Cask Strength in many liquor store travels, in the same smaller liquor store here in NJ. I bought both bottles, and have one open. As Kevin said, it was $70ish per bottle. Good stuff, and fairly priced IMO.

This might have inspired me to do my own little SBS tonight of cask strength sherried bruisers, and I might have just pulled out of the cabinet my Glengoyne CS, Glenfarclas 105, Macallan Classic Cut, Aberlour A’Bunadh, and Tamdhu Barrel Strength. Just might have...

[jeffrey r]

As I alluded to earlier, I just did a “little” blind SBS x 5.  Glengoyne CS Batch 4, Glenfarclas 105 10 Yr, Macallan Classic Cut 2017, Aberlour A’Bunadh Batch 52, and Tamdhu Batch Strength Batch 003.  All at full strength—no water for this session, so I am a bit fried.

 

Anyway, I think I have a pretty good sense of my ranking.  Top two were the Tamdhu and Glengoyne.  Just terrific flavor, nicely balanced, not too hot.  As far as score, I gave a slight nod to the Tamdhu, so I guess that is the winner.  Next was the A’Bunadh Batch 52.  Very nice flavor, but definitely hot. Water might have tamed that and brought out its best.  Bringing up the rear, but certainly no slouches, were the Glenfarclas and Macallan.  Those are still very good whiskeys, but this was a relative test, and they were slightly behind.

 

     

[Kane]

17 minutes ago, jeffrey r said:

As I alluded to earlier, I just did a “little” blind SBS x 5.  Glengoyne CS Batch 4, Glenfarclas 105 10 Yr, Macallan Classic Cut 2017, Aberlour A’Bunadh Batch 52, and Tamdhu Batch Strength Batch 003.  All at full strength—no water for this session, so I am a bit fried.

 

Anyway, I think I have a pretty good sense of my ranking.  Top two were the Tamdhu and Glengoyne.  Just terrific flavor, nicely balanced, not too hot.  As far as score, I gave a slight nod to the Tamdhu, so I guess that is the winner.  Next was the A’Bunadh Batch 52.  Very nice flavor, but definitely hot. Water might have tamed that and brought out its best.  Bringing up the rear, but certainly no slouches, were the Glenfarclas and Macallan.  Those are still very good whiskeys, but this was a relative test, and they were slightly behind.

 

     

Thanks for this, interesting take! My ranking would probably look very different, I love the 105 and Abunadh, but Tamdhu Batch 2 is my personal shelf turd.

[jeffrey r]

Thanks for this, interesting take! My ranking would probably look very different, I love the 105 and Abunadh, but Tamdhu Batch 2 is my personal shelf turd.

I hear ya. Could be a difference in the batch 2 and batch 3 for the Tamdhu, or it could just be a case of different strokes for different folks. I will say anecdotally, that the interwebs do speak highly of the Tamdhu, so I also know I’m not crazy...

But this is also why I did this blind. I wanted to take out any potential benefit for the big boys. Fun exercise.

[El Vino]

13 hours ago, jeffrey r said:

As I alluded to earlier, I just did a “little” blind SBS x 5.  Glengoyne CS Batch 4, Glenfarclas 105 10 Yr, Macallan Classic Cut 2017, Aberlour A’Bunadh Batch 52, and Tamdhu Batch Strength Batch 003.  All at full strength—no water for this session, so I am a bit fried.

 

Anyway, I think I have a pretty good sense of my ranking.  Top two were the Tamdhu and Glengoyne.  Just terrific flavor, nicely balanced, not too hot.  As far as score, I gave a slight nod to the Tamdhu, so I guess that is the winner.  Next was the A’Bunadh Batch 52.  Very nice flavor, but definitely hot. Water might have tamed that and brought out its best.  Bringing up the rear, but certainly no slouches, were the Glenfarclas and Macallan.  Those are still very good whiskeys, but this was a relative test, and they were slightly behind.

 

     

Well done!  Of the lot, I am most familiar with the Aberlour and the Glenfarclas.  I trust your palate so will make a point to try and find the Tamdhu and Glengoyne.  I have shied away from the A’bunadh after some unpleasant batch variation.  Many thanks!

[GaryT]

Cracked open a Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey Small Batch Rye.  Just getting over a head cold, so looking forward to spending more quality time with this - but initial impressions are positive.  Being NAS Irish, I assume it isn't too far from the 3 yrs + 1 day requirement - and it doesn't taste much older than that.  But thankfully (at least for my palate), rye is pretty decent at a young age compared to others.  On the nose, it is bright with notes of pine, malted milk, dill, ginger and freshly baked bread.  On the palate, it is a very thick/creamy mouthfeel (maybe oily?) with sweet custard that builds to spicy notes of allspice and ginger with fruit and vanilla.  The SRP on this is $35, and is the only Irish rye whiskey I've tried (although unlike the American definitions, the rye in the mashbill is only 30%).  Definitely more tamed than its American cousins, but I'm really digging the mouthfeel that the pot still is bringing to the party (and I'm assuming this is only distilled twice like Kilbeggan's standard products; I'm waiting on confirmation on that).    

[BigPapa]

Comparative research of a couple of big NAS Sherry Forward Malts, this is a pretty easy choice at this point the Glengoyne has a better nose and is much more drinkable even after adding water.@Bigpapa I like this one but I might be tempted to pick up the 15 year next time instead hoping it is closer to my fading memory of the 17 year. Fairly certain I would take the 18 over this but at least here that is a fair bit of a price increase, 70ish vs $100ish. 
 

 

Thanks for the research

[GaryT]

Opened up The Spaniard (or I guess technically "The Story of the Spaniard", or as it is destined to be referred to here shortly - CBTSOTS )  Was fortunate enough to get to try it before buying it, and when sampling multiple whiskies - even in small volume - sometimes they tend to taste better then compared to when I get them home.  This isn't a case of that - just delicious!  Lovely musky sherry sweetness on the nose, but not a "sherry bomb" by any stretch; nicely balanced with notes of smoke and worn leather.  On the palate, dark fruits with burnt citrus rind, roasted pecans, nutmeg - all slowly winding up in a lovely finish with a rich texture.  Folks who don't like heavily sherried whiskey but like a little sherry should definitely give this a try.  

[Old Hippie]

Was in the mood for a little peat so tried the Benriach 10 yr Curiositas. This is a peated Speyside  and while plenty smokey, it lacked the iodine/sea salt components of Islay but I really liked it. The peat is up-front on the nose and pallet but then gives way to light honey and fruit notes. Normally if I drink a big Islay monster, the smoke stays with me the rest of the night. This one eased off on the finish to where I could actually taste and enjoy something else. 

[smokinjoe]

Johnnie Black after a Scotland weather type day, here in the Deep South.  BTW, this is the Jane Edition.  So so good. Blows away Sarah bottles.  

 

Edited November 14, 2018 by smokinjoe

[Kane]

SBS of Octomore 6.3 vs Octomore 7.3.

 

The former is a sample sent by a scotch buddy of mine, the latter is my bottle. I remember there was a lot of competition between these two back in the day. I'm glad I got the 7.3, it has the typical Bruichladdich weirdness factor, and that wine cask aging adds a whole different dimension. The appeal of the 6.3 is supposed to be its 258 ppm phenol level compared to 7.3's 169, but I guess these are both already beyond what my internal smoke detector can pick up, I don't see much of a difference in peatiness to be honest. 6.3 is good, but ever so slightly boring, at that price I'd rather drink any one of the mainstream Islays.

[jvd99]

Last pour out of this classic semi-dusty.  Great stuff

 

 

[beasled]

This is rather good you know. Very unique.