What Wee Dram are you enjoying now?

[LeoDLion]

I bought a bottle of 12 yr old BenRiach. I have high hopes for this single malt because its one of the heavily peated whisky that is not in the island of Islay. Available in the store was a 10 yr and a 18 yr. Its about 46 abv so added a teaspoon of water. The peatiness is there but I was not very impressed with the body. I thought the aftertaste was thin.

[JamesW]

Drank two nice pours of aberlour a'bunadh and am feeling no pain. I am really floored by how much I enjoyed these drams. Delicious :yum:

[Megawatt]

My first glass of Teacher's Highland Cream. Nothing too mind-blowing, but it is a cheap blend after all. Nice nose, but the flavour is a bit lacking. I'm sure the coffee I had beforehand didn't do my palette any favours, though...

[Gov]

My first glass of Teacher's Highland Cream. Nothing too mind-blowing, but it is a cheap blend after all. Nice nose, but the flavour is a bit lacking. I'm sure the coffee I had beforehand didn't do my palette any favours, though...

Give it time to open up and make sure your palate is cleansed. I am certain that you will find it much more flavorful.

[JamesW]

Enjoying another night with my bottle of Aberlour a'bunadh.

[Megawatt]

Give it time to open up and make sure your palate is cleansed. I am certain that you will find it much more flavorful.

So far, I'm finding a bitterness in the flavour that is turning me off of it...I hope I like it better tomorrow...

[Gov]

Enjoying another night with my bottle of Aberlour a'bunadh.

Careful, its awfully powerful and way way way smooooooooth ! :grin:

[JamesW]

Careful, its awfully powerful and way way way smooooooooth ! :grin:

hehe thanks for that warning. It is really smooth and delicious. It really creeps up on you. I had a pour of Talisker Distillers Edition after that but had to really keep it small as I was already reaching my limit from that AA

[JamesW]

started the night with a'bunadh and now on to a nice pour of Talisker 18. This stuff is magnificent. I'm enjoying it neat at the behest of Gov and I can really taste more of the smoky and spicy elements this way. Very nice and neat

[Gov]

A'Bunadh batch #21 with a splash of water. This is the only whisk(e)y I drink not neat. It needs a splash of water.

[Gov]

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/images/icons/icon12.gif

Glad you are liking your scotch neat :grin:

[PAspirit1]

Highland Park 12. Is this nearly 4 times better than Whitehorse (thats the price difference)? I don't know but it is a great whiskey.

[Gillman]

A 1960's era Haig & Haig 5 Star, possibly late 50's judging by the graphics and heavy tall brown concave bottle. This was found in one of those mini displays in a liquor store, in New York in this case. The Haig was the only oldie, lagging amongst its much younger (in issuance year) Gaelic progeny and modern American whiskey cousins.

The dram is rich, heavy, full of peat, brine, cigar box and something indefinable which may be I think old Campbelltown whiskeys.

I say this because in a 1940's book called The Earnest Drinker, the author mentioned that if anything the Campbelltowns were more intense than Islays. That seems not true today, but today there are only two distilleries left on Campbelltown and I suspect the style of whisky on the near-Island has changed somewhat since the 40's. Springbank's Longrow may come close to the style the 1940's writer had in mind.

Anyway, this is a fine dram and, in my experience, there is nothing quite like it in the blenders' repertoire today. It tastes sort of like Johnnie Walker Gold with a dashes of Johnnie Blue and Longrow. The grain whisky comes in at the end, and is not unwelcome, it is the springs on which the malty mattress lies.

Haig & Haig 5 Star probably is still marketed (possibly in select European and South American markets, maybe the Far East). I'd like to try it to see if it is as good as 40 and 50 years ago.

Gary

[JamesW]

Starting with my aberlour a'bunadh and then moving on to Talisker 18. This one- two combo works well for me

[JamesW]

add to that some Lagavulin 16. It's Saturday night and I'm not working tomorrow so why not?!

[spun_cookie]

James... it is "wee" dram.. not "super sized" dram

[JamesW]

James... it is "wee" dram.. not "super sized" dram

Like Mike Myers on SNL said... a wee, a not-so-wee, and a friggin' huge dram. (I added the dram)

"Welcome to all things Scottish. Where if it's not Scottish, it's crap!"

[boss302]

I'm now enjoying a Glenfiddich 15-year Solera Reserve.

It seems like William Grant's flagship dram has definitely been to charm school.

Seriously, this is one of the best "bang for the buck" Scotch Whiskies on the market, IMHO. The fact that it marries American tradition (refill bourbon casks, plus new American oak casks) with Spanish tradition (refill Oloroso Sherry casks, plus the Solera vat system) is unique to the industry, and quite inventive in its own right.

The Glenfiddich 12-year may be somewhat forgettable, but the 15-year is definitely a keeper!

[Megawatt]

I almost bought that 15-year, but I opted for Talisker 10 instead. Wow! Fantastic stuff. I'm usually not much for the smokey Scotches, but there is such a rich, complex layer of malt in this whisky that I am amazed! The smoke adds some great balance. One of the best whiskies I have yet taste.

[Megawatt]

Highland Park 12. Is this nearly 4 times better than Whitehorse (thats the price difference)? I don't know but it is a great whiskey.

You are comparing an aged single malt to a young blend. It's hard to quantify taste vs. price, but I bet if you were to compare them side-by-side, you'd be spitting the White Horse out after having Highland Park.

[TBoner]

Murray McDavid Leapfrog. This is a Laphroaig independent bottling (not all that common an occurrence): unchillfiltered, no caramel color. The whisky was barreled in bourbon cask in 1987, bottled in 1999. Superb. It displays its origins nicely: peat fills the room; vaguely vanilla-oak sweetness tries to matter, but doesn't. A big deal was made of this stuff upon its release, since Laphroaig didn't allow the distillery name to be put on the bottle (or more correctly, Allied didn't allow it). I'd say it's a great independent bottling, and given that it's my favorite Scottish distillery, this is a great whisky. Worthy of legendary status? Perhaps not, but I picked my bottles up for a song, relatively speaking. Damn fine whisky.

[JamesW]

I almost bought that 15-year, but I opted for Talisker 10 instead. Wow! Fantastic stuff. I'm usually not much for the smokey Scotches, but there is such a rich, complex layer of malt in this whisky that I am amazed! The smoke adds some great balance. One of the best whiskies I have yet taste.

You have to try the 18 yr old. Same smokiness with spice and smooooth as can be.

[PAspirit1]

You are comparing an aged single malt to a young blend. It's hard to quantify taste vs. price, but I bet if you were to compare them side-by-side, you'd be spitting the White Horse out after having Highland Park.

Probably so. Actually, I should compare them side by side.

[shoshani]

Probably so. Actually, I should compare them side by side.

One of the things that everyone should be aware of is that if a blend uses a specific malt, that malt may not be anywhere near what would be recognized from its bottlings.

Case in point: Famous Grouse contains Highland Park and Macallan. However, the HP and Macallan may be younger or older than what gets bottled as a single malt, and may in fact have a different finish. (Macallan does use a small amount of bourbon casks, probably for whisky intended for blending. Independent bottlers have issued bourbon-cask Mac, but you will never find it in the distillery's own bottlings, which focus on first- and second-fill sherry for the single malt expressions.)

White Horse has Lagavulin in it; that's one of its "heart" constituents. But it may well be Lagavulin that is matured further inland, away from the sea exposure and thus the brine.

(I am that rare heretic who believes that, so far as Scotch and especially Irish whisk[e]y is concerned, blends have their place in the world and there are some mighty complex and delicious blends out there, not all of which are or have to be expensive.)

[boss302]

Macallan does use a small amount of bourbon casks, probably for whisky intended for blending. Independent bottlers have issued bourbon-cask Mac, but you will never find it in the distillery's own bottlings, which focus on first- and second-fill sherry for the single malt expressions.

I cannot say this with 100% certainty, but I am fairly sure the MacAllan casks meant for blenders are probably Dry Oloroso Sherry casks-- their refusal to break with traditional Spanish Oak was their primary selling point, for blenders and single-malt drinkers alike.

MacAllan does use a small number of American Oak casks for their Fine Oak series, which are matured in both Spanish and American Oak, following competitors' trends.

While it is possible that some American Oak-matured MacAllan may be used in blends, I would say it is unlikely, as the dominant Sherry notes are MacAllan's real value to a blender.