What dram are you enjoying - Winter/Spring 2019?

[kevinbrink]

1 hour ago, Harry in WashDC said:

Amrut Single Malt Whiskey Cask Strength, 61.8% abv (123.6 proof), NAS (as far as I know).  Made in Bangaluru, India.  Likely MSRP $75-80.  Here is Amrut's website -

http://www.amrutdistilleries.com/

 

I had about 2 ounces neat (water on the side) at an Indian restaurant last night along with lamb curry, Basmati rice, and an array of group sides.

 

HERE are my tasting notes:  Nose - light and sweet.  Taste - alcohol burn was NOT unpleasant, but the expected smoky barley flavor was absent.  Instead, I thought I was drinking Johnny Walker GREEN with one or two demerara sugar cubes dissolved in it.  It had very little peat or smoke, no cedar astringency, and an average color.  It was creamy/buttery in mouthfeel.

 

Here are Amrut's official tasting notes from Amrut's website:

 

Nose : Classic house style with glorious bourbon notes fused with the richest of barley statements; not entirely unlike caramelised biscuit dunked in coffee; oh, and a bit of spicy attitude, too;

Taste : There we go with that unique bitter-sweet overture where the oaks and barley appear joined at the hip; lovely soft oils and then a sharp jolt of blood orange citrus, which is removed by something more buttery and delicate;

Finish : Long, elegant with the most intricate of fades with the oaks showing various bourbon then buttery characteristics; there is a trace of dark sugar and cocoa to help it along its way.

 

I formed my tasting impressions BEFORE I started eating the curry.  Hence, I don't think my palate was "off" when I first tasted the Amrut SMWCS.  OTOH, tasting it was a once in a lifetime experience.

Amrut has both a Peated and Unpeated line, the Peated is actually imported the same malt peated in Scotland that many of the Scottish distilleries use, the non peated is all Indian Malt, I like them both but prefer Fusion which is a blend of both to the others.

[FasterHorses]

Opened Dalwhinnie from the Game of Thrones series. 

[beasled]

First pour of this, good stuff. 

[beasled]

Nikka Coffey Grain this evening. Not a bad little pour, nothing too complicated. Light, creamy bourbony nose, delicate grain arrival leading to spice, short sharp grain finish. 

 

 

[Marekv8]

I absolutely hate the combo screw/cork closure— can’t get the thing back on. The cask blend is rather nice— the ex-Bourbon makes its presence known. 

 

[kevinbrink]

1 hour ago, Marekv8 said:

I absolutely hate the combo screw/cork closure— can’t get the thing back on. The cask blend is rather nice— the ex-Bourbon makes its presence known. 

 

That's weird the only one of those I have on a bottle is on the HP Full Volume, I thought it was a nice closure and I'd assume they are similar.

[Marekv8]

10 minutes ago, kevinbrink said:

That's weird the only one of those I have on a bottle is on the HP Full Volume, I thought it was a nice closure and I'd assume they are similar.

 

Hopefully it’s just this particular bottle, but I can’t get the leading edge of the thread to fully engage. I may need to perform a bit of surgery on it tomorrow. Maybe Edrington assumes that nobody buys The Macallan to open anymore.

 

[kevinbrink]

1 minute ago, Marekv8 said:

 

Hopefully it’s just this particular bottle, but I can’t get the leading edge of the thread to fully engage. I may need to perform a bit of surgery on it tomorrow. Maybe Edrington assumes that nobody buys The Macallan to open anymore.

 

Hysterical!

[Marekv8]

Not sure why Bacardi chose to castrate Macduff and Royal Brackla when such a nice job was done with Aultmore and Craigellachie. Regardless, this one is quite enjoyable.

 

[evasive]

I absolutely hate the combo screw/cork closure— can’t get the thing back on. The cask blend is rather nice— the ex-Bourbon makes its presence known. 
 

I killed a Macallan 18 with a friend last Thanksgiving, and don’t remember the cap being fiddly. Although I’m not sure we ever tried to put it back in... The 18 was dominated by sherry. I have a few 2 oz samples left from it, and that’s probably all I need.

[smokinjoe]

Troyce and I went to a Brown-Forman Scotch whiskey tasting on Thursday, where 6 pours were presented.  Loved the Glenglassaugh Evolution.  Barely had any color to speak of, but it’s paleness belied it’s full flavor.   Aged in first fill Jack Daniel’s barrels and bottled at 100 Proof, it was a very fine whiskey.  

[BigRich]

I’m having some Jameson Stout Caskmates with a Oliva V Melanio while my charcoal gets going for ribeyes. I always enjoy the interplay of cigar and whiskey and seeing how that plays out with different combinations. The Jameson isn’t doing anything for the Oliva but the cigar is bringing out chocolate notes and a rich creamy mouthfeel in the whiskey. This is working much better than pairing the Jameson with a Padron 2000 last night.

[BigRich]

I absolutely hate the combo screw/cork closure— can’t get the thing back on. The cask blend is rather nice— the ex-Bourbon makes its presence known. 
 

Is that the new closure for most standard bottles now? I haven’t bought a “standard” Macallan in a while. Just a few special editions.

[Marekv8]

3 hours ago, BigRich said:

Is that the new closure for most standard bottles now? I haven’t bought a “standard” Macallan in a while. Just a few special editions.

 

I reckon so, but my OB Macallan purchases are few and far between. I ended up having to remove the black teeth on the neck component to enable the closure to fully seat. 

Edited March 31, 2019 by Marekv8

[Marekv8]

Double Ardbeg 10 at the Delta Sky Club, gotta counter the flight of grown men (and I mean grown) ordering mimosas, Chardonnay and Coke Zero at the bar. What the hell? 

 

[Marekv8]

3 hours ago, Marekv8 said:

Double Ardbeg 10 at the Delta Sky Club, gotta counter the flight of grown men (and I mean grown) ordering mimosas, Chardonnay and Coke Zero at the bar. What the hell? 

 

 

Sorry, it was actually Laphroaig 10-- should be easy to tell from the e150-a. Should have ordered a second double, given my seating situation on the forthcoming flight-- squeezed between a pair of guys who had no business buying single tickets-- I became their collective armrest.

[BigRich]

Double Ardbeg 10 at the Delta Sky Club, gotta counter the flight of grown men (and I mean grown) ordering mimosas, Chardonnay and Coke Zero at the bar. What the hell? 
 

Do people drink Chardonnay with Coke Zero or is that an Oxford comma issue? I’ve seen stranger.

[GaryT]

Enjoying a nice pour of CB GKS Artists Blend (DBS 2017 pick).  Such a delicious, dangerously drinkable pour.  A bit of a hodge podge of everything I like in Scotch, and a great example of why blends ain't so bad.

[Vosgar]

Wanted a little bit of peat tonight, but easy on the iodine and bandaids, so having some Bowmore 12

[Marekv8]

First ever trip to a Specs-- between the multiple discounts and trickery the nice cashier walked me through, it was one hell of a deal on two wacky malts. The only issue with these SCS bottles in regard to traveling is the bulk and weight-- but at least the TSA will have met their match. Looking forward to the heavily peated ex-bourbon Jura.

 

[kevinbrink]

1 hour ago, Marekv8 said:

First ever trip to a Specs-- between the multiple discounts and trickery the nice cashier walked me through, it was one hell of a deal on two wacky malts. The only issue with these SCS bottles in regard to traveling is the bulk and weight-- but at least the TSA will have met their match. Looking forward to the heavily peated ex-bourbon Jura.

 

Intrigued by that Jura having not found one I've gotten along with yet, looking forward to your notes on it. 

[Marekv8]

17 minutes ago, kevinbrink said:

Intrigued by that Jura having not found one I've gotten along with yet, looking forward to your notes on it. 

Serge's notes on similar Signatory "Heavily Peated" Jura expressions were so captivating, it was a must buy. The Samaroli Jura I picked up in NYC a few weeks back is really nice, so I have high expectations here-- at least in regard to general weirdness.

[lcpfratn]

Troyce and I went to a Brown-Forman Scotch whiskey tasting on Thursday, where 6 pours were presented.  Loved the Glenglassaugh Evolution.  Barely had any color to speak of, but it’s paleness belied it’s full flavor.   Aged in first fill Jack Daniel’s barrels and bottled at 100 Proof, it was a very fine whiskey.  

Saw a bottle of this and another variant today, and knew I had read something about one of them recently, but couldn’t remember for sure if it was this particular bottle or another. So, I went back through the threads after I got home to see if I could find this post. I’ve now added this to my future shopping list. The price was pretty reasonable too.

 

After some further research, I realize that BF not only owns this distillery (Glenglassaugh), but also owns BenRiach and Glendronach. That explains why I’ve recently started to see more of the various bottlings put out by all of those distilleries in my area.

[Marekv8]

In this case, heavily peated translates to an unusual savory, fermented meat thread running through a silky, oily and powerful dry malt. I was expecting good things, but this is really great (at least in my book).

 

[Vosgar]

18 minutes ago, Marekv8 said:

In this case, heavily peated translates to an unusual savory, fermented meat thread running through a silky, oily and powerful dry malt. 

THAT'S an intriguing description!