What Wee Dram are you enjoying now?

[AVB]

He grabbed me a Dailuaine 16. Very dark and sherried. I like it alot.

Randy

Was it the Flora & Fauna like this? It is good stuff.

[Megawatt]

I'm enjoying my first glass of Old Pulteney 12 right now. Lovely stuff. Lightly floral and sweet on the nose. Some sherried sweetness followed by sea salt and bitter oak on the palate. I like.

[Gov]

I'm enjoying my first glass of Old Pulteney 12 right now. Lovely stuff. Lightly floral and sweet on the nose. Some sherried sweetness followed by sea salt and bitter oak on the palate. I like.

One of my favorites! Its just great stuff!

[Lost Pollito]

Pulteney is great!!! One of the most affordable drams with great taste's. I really enjoy the sea salt in Pulteney.

[smokinjoe]

ardbeg 10. For wife's real b-day.

nose: Tester's model airplane glue, mop and glo floor wax, kiwi oxblood shoe polish

palate: turtle car wax fading to olive green high-gloss laquer (Pittsburg paint?)

finish: freshly laid linoleum basement

We agree. Excellent! It's one of our favorite SMSWs.

Yummy! Sounds delish!

[BourbonJoe]

ardbeg 10. For wife's real b-day.

nose: Tester's model airplane glue, mop and glo floor wax, kiwi oxblood shoe polish

palate: turtle car wax fading to olive green high-gloss laquer (Pittsburg paint?)

finish: freshly laid linoleum basement

We agree. Excellent! It's one of our favorite SMSWs.

Nothing like a good scotch. How 'bout it Stu?

Joe :usflag:

[Martian]

edo, great description of the Ardbeg 10. I like it too, as well as the Dalwhinnie 15.

[doubleblank]

Yes AVB, it was the Flaura and Fauna series. I should have bought several as I finished this one during the trip.....which brings me to answer Oscar's Q?

I agree that the flavor or overall "impression" of some drinks are affected by food, location, weather, company, etc. Especially some local wine when you're dining in a cafe in Italy......it never tastes the same when you get it back home. But I haven't had that same experience with whiskeys......plus I finished it over about 5 days (Val even liked it to). So I guess I liked it.

Randy

[Megawatt]

Glenfiddich 15. One of my favourite malts. So many layers of flavour working in perfect harmony.

[Lost Pollito]

Tasted the new Dalmore line. The 12 and Grand Reserve were quite pleasant and affordable. King Alexander really stole the show for me. Really nice and complex. The 15 was not bad either ( Sherry goodness). I just don't find dalmore to have any offensive whiskey. Just nice and pleasant.

[Megawatt]

I had a Rob Roy with Red Label and very old (as in, open on the self) vermouth that was the epitome of nastiness. Now I am trying to wash the taste out with Old Pulteney 12.

[boss302]

I bought a bottle of Clontarf Irish whiskey. Charcoal-mellowed, like Jack Daniel's.

Impressions: Sweet, lots of vanilla, mild, mellow. Almost too drinkable. That's about it. Not the most interesting, but a great "gateway" whiskey, and still enjoyable after a day of work.

[Lost Pollito]

Ardbeg tasting at work tonight, so.... finally trying some Supernova.

[Megawatt]

Ardbeg tasting at work tonight, so.... finally trying some Supernova.

[Vange]

Had some Compass Box Asyla after my softball game last night with a nice Perdomo Reserve 10th anniv cigar.

[Megawatt]

A great birthday Scotch session for me, all with previously untasted malts:

Longmorn 16

The Glenrothes Select Reserve

Auchentoshan 12

Ardbeg 10

Bruichladdich Yellow Submarine 1991

The Longmorn was fantastic, easily as good as the 15 but perhaps a little more refined. The Glenrothes was rather bland. The Auchentoshan was pretty mild but nice in an Irish sort of way.

I had waited a long time to try Ardbeg, and it was worth it! Marvellous stuff. Not as smokey as I would expect. A lovely vanilla sweetness; with water, it smelled like poundcake, and peat of course. Way better than Laphroaig, and right up there with Lagavulin, I would say.

But the highlight of the night was the Yellow Submarine. It was my first Bruichladdich and it certainly won't be my last.

[ILLfarmboy]

Plenty of Redbreast 12......

[DeanSheen]

Plenty of Redbreast 12......

[Luna56]

Balvenie DoubleWood. This particular bottle is pleasant enough, but boooring.

Cheers!

[unclebunk]

I know this is heretical to say but I tasted Ardbeg 10 for the first time last night and was not impressed at all. I can deal with the peat and smoke (I love Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Talisker) but found it very one dimensional--smoke, smoke and more smoke. I admit that I was initially quite surprised at how pale and thin it appeared when it hit the glass, and that may have colored my opinion as to how it would taste. But after a few sips, I just couldn't tease out all these other flavors that I've heard others rave about, and the body was thinner than Don Knotts! When I drink the other Islays and the Talisker I can taste the seaweed, brine, salt, moss, etc. and I feel as if I've been transported back to Scotland again. I just didn't get that sensation with the Ardbeg. I guess I'll have to wipe the slate clean and have another go at it tonight.

[smokinjoe]

I know this is heretical to say but I tasted Ardbeg 10 for the first time last night and was not impressed at all. I can deal with the peat and smoke (I love Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Talisker) but found it very one dimensional--smoke, smoke and more smoke. I admit that I was initially quite surprised at how pale and thin it appeared when it hit the glass, and that may have colored my opinion as to how it would taste. But after a few sips, I just couldn't tease out all these other flavors that I've heard others rave about, and the body was thinner than Don Knotts! When I drink the other Islays and the Talisker I can taste the seaweed, brine, salt, moss, etc. and I feel as if I've been transported back to Scotland again. I just didn't get that sensation with the Ardbeg. I guess I'll have to wipe the slate clean and have another go at it tonight.

[unclebunk]

I don't think your comments are heretical, at all Uncle. I agree with you 100%. The Ardbeg 10 is a weeny scotch. I'm not much of a scotch drinker, but I have both the Ardbeg and the Lagavulin on my bar, and the Lag wipes the floor with the Ardbeg. Heck, my bottle of McCarthy's has more heft, and is infinitely more enjoyable, than the Ardbeg. The Ardbeg is thin, pale, and painfully boring. Maybe, you'll get a better result on your second try with it tonight. I, however, did not.

Glad to hear I'm not alone in my initial assessment. I had read all these wonderful things about Ardbeg 10 on the internet and in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible. So you can imagine my surprise when I tipped the bottle for that first pour and out came something akin to diluted pee. And when I tasted it there was no heft at all--the whisky's appearance matched its body. I absolutely LOVE Lagavulin too and was looking for that kind of experience with the Ardbeg. But having spent nearly $50 (tax included) on the bottle, I owe it to myself to keep trying, though I don't see myself ever running out to buy another bottle when so many other killer whiskies can be had for the same price.

[Stu]

Glad to hear I'm not alone in my initial assessment. I had read all these wonderful things about Ardbeg 10 on the internet and in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible. So you can imagine my surprise when I tipped the bottle for that first pour and out came something akin to diluted pee. And when I tasted it there was no heft at all--the whisky's appearance matched its body. I absolutely LOVE Lagavulin too and was looking for that kind of experience with the Ardbeg. But having spent nearly $50 (tax included) on the bottle, I owe it to myself to keep trying, though I don't see myself ever running out to buy another bottle when so many other killer whiskies can be had for the same price.

Compared to Lag or Laph, Ardbeg is lighter in color, however the peat is there in abundance. I still find the 10 a little less satisfying than other expressions. If you were lucky enough to find a 17, 21 or Lord of the Isles you might change your opinion. Comparing the 10 you'd have to compare to a Lagavulin 12 (Which I personally don't consider Lagavulin) or one of Robert Hicks' modern "dumbed down" Laphroaig expressions. He hates that term, but it is my opinion of what he has done to one of the worlds finest whiskys. However the subject is Ardbeg. Try another expression before you give up on it. The beast is a good one, and it is much more affordable than those mentioned previously.

[unclebunk]

Compared to Lag or Laph, Ardbeg is lighter in color, however the peat is there in abundance. I still find the 10 a little less satisfying than other expressions. If you were lucky enough to find a 17, 21 or Lord of the Isles you might change your opinion. Comparing the 10 you'd have to compare to a Lagavulin 12 (Which I personally don't consider Lagavulin) or one of Robert Hicks' modern "dumbed down" Laphroaig expressions. He hates that term, but it is my opinion of what he has done to one of the worlds finest whiskys. However the subject is Ardbeg. Try another expression before you give up on it. The beast is a good one, and it is much more affordable than those mentioned previously.

Thanks for the advice, Stu. I'm sure you're right about the other expressions. I guess I was just a bit let down after all the build up about the Ardbeg 10. There's certainly plenty of peat, as you mentioned, I'm just not sure what some folks are talking about when they refer to the 10's "richness," "fullness," "roundness," etc. I never give up on a whisky though after just one try, so I'll be back at it tonight.

[unclebunk]

Ardbeg tasting round two: Still puzzled as hell about the whisky's lack of body, but starting to really get into the intensity of the peat and smoke. This time around I was able to get more peat than simply an overload of smoke. And, more importantly, some malt sweetness was shining through in the finish which I hadn't picked up the first time around. Speaking of finish, after my two little pours last night I woke up this morning and my mouth tasted like I had been smoking cigars or licking ash trays, such is the power of Ardbeg's peat smoke in the glass. It's the whisky that just keeps on finishing!