Scotch and Whiskey

[f0rge]

^^^That looks cool.

I always have trouble grabbing an american bourbon or whiskey when I'm standing at the liquor store and there's so many scotches I haven't had yet.

[Flow]

Slacking off during a meeting and found this, from here: http://www.malts.com/index.php/en_us...ky-Flavour-Map. Gives me a road map for future purchases.

[czechm8]

That's a good chart to go shopping with. Is it odd that there's such a big gap in the north to south delicate to smokey scale?
Seeing this chart makes me want to pick up some Laphroaig 10yr.

[Flow]

Originally Posted by f0rge

^^^That looks cool.

I always have trouble grabbing an american bourbon or whiskey when I'm standing at the liquor store and there's so many scotches I haven't had yet.

Yeah, bourbons are mostly not to my taste, but I'm reading that the American craft malt whiskey movement is starting to gain steam, so I'm hoping that we see the same experimentation that the craft brewing and other spirits have undergone.

[Flow]

Originally Posted by czechm8

That's a good chart to go shopping with. Is it odd that there's such a big gap in the north to south delicate to smokey scale?
Seeing this chart makes me want to pick up some Laphroaig 10yr.

I'm already a fan of it, but now need to check out the other 3 around it.

[Fortis]

Laphroaig 10 seems a tad more on the peaty side than Lagavulin 16 and the Lagavulin is slightly more medicinal/iodiney. I've had them side by side on a few occasions and that's my take on the both. The Lagavulin is a little smoother than the Laphroaig but I still prefer the extreme smoke of the Laphroaig. I haven't tried Laphroaig 18 yet but I hear it's an exceptional whiskey.

[Herndon]

Originally Posted by Flow

I decided to sample what America has to offer in the way of malt whiskeys, and this is my first acquisition. The marketing compares it to Islay malts, but there's a big difference between a peaty malt and their 'triple smoke of beech, cherry and peat.' Its not the most complex I've tasted, but it has a decent body, I can taste a bit of the cherry, and it has a nice long, pleasant finish.

Their distillery is really close to me and I have still yet to try anything they offer. Hell the owner is a customer of ours. I think it's about time I go pick a bottle up.

[serialk11r]

I got a bottle of Finnelagan Old Reserve from Trader Joe's for 19 bucks the other day. Supposedly it's a younger Laphroaig or something like that, it's a single malt Islay from a mystery distillery. Tastes a like a weaker Lagavulin, VERY smooth. Smells kind of like Sharpie, which (this might be a bad thing) I am pretty fond of. No I don't sniff markers for fun, drinking damages the brain enough already lol.

[serialk11r]

Did some finals week whisky tasting with a buddy (lol, screwing ourselves over!)!

Highland/Speysides are really fruity. He had a bottle of Dalwhinnie 15 which I got to try, it's got kind of an artificial green apple flavor to it, which I kind of got a little sick of. Glenfiddich 12, a rather harsh whisky, if you add a little water and give it time it develops this interesting peachy taste, and becomes very fruity. Not sure if I'd buy again, but I'll finish this 50mL bottle sometime. I could see the Glenfiddich 15 or 18 being really good as they would bring a little more cask flavor to the table, but I'm not prepared to spend money on them. Glenlivet 12, WOW! I really loved the wheaty bread taste to it, it's kind of like...an apple sauce sandwich? It accompanies the fruity notes really well. I think I'm going to pick up a bottle, a killer deal at 24 bucks, and good intro for non-whisky-drinking friends. Dewar's 12, it's got an interesting flavor to start with, but a lot of the complexity kind of evaporates after it sits out for a bit, not a big fan.

Friend's got a bottle of Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban which he is going to bring to Norcal sometime hehe.

[f0rge]

Originally Posted by serialk11r

Did some finals week whisky tasting with a buddy (lol, screwing ourselves over!)!

Highland/Speysides are really fruity. He had a bottle of Dalwhinnie 15 which I got to try, it's got kind of an artificial green apple flavor to it, which I kind of got a little sick of. Glenfiddich 12, a rather harsh whisky, if you add a little water and give it time it develops this interesting peachy taste, and becomes very fruity. Not sure if I'd buy again, but I'll finish this 50mL bottle sometime. I could see the Glenfiddich 15 or 18 being really good as they would bring a little more cask flavor to the table, but I'm not prepared to spend money on them. Glenlivet 12, WOW! I really loved the wheaty bread taste to it, it's kind of like...an apple sauce sandwich? It accompanies the fruity notes really well. I think I'm going to pick up a bottle, a killer deal at 24 bucks, and good intro for non-whisky-drinking friends. Dewar's 12, it's got an interesting flavor to start with, but a lot of the complexity kind of evaporates after it sits out for a bit, not a big fan.

Friend's got a bottle of Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban which he is going to bring to Norcal sometime hehe.

Glenfiddich 18yr is a waste of money. I got a bottle for my birthday, not good at all. I hear the 15 is where it's at, but in general I'm less partial to Glenfiddich than some other brands.

I also love the Glenlivet 12, but one of my favorite scotches is their 15yr French Oak. Soooooo good. Worth the slight bump in price for sure. I always have a bottle of this on hand, other scotches come and go but this is always in my cabinet.

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by f0rge

I also love the Glenlivet 12, but one of my favorite scotches is their 15yr French Oak. Soooooo good. Worth the slight bump in price for sure. I always have a bottle of this on hand, other scotches come and go but this is always in my cabinet.

I want to buy an older one but you can get Glenlivet 12 for 22 at Costco, 24 elsewhere, but the 15 is over 40, which is kind of a big jump for something that I haven't been able to taste. Hopefully I'll find a bar or something with a Glenlivet 15 to taste. I have a feeling it should be really good, but need to taste it first. Or I could just buy a 12, and share with friends and have it disappear faster so I can buy a 15 as well. Any other Highland/Speysides to try though? My impression is that most of them have that "pear" and "green apple" or "apricot" taste, and honestly I feel like I would get really sick of drinking that. I like Glenlivet because of the strong wheaty taste, which was absent from Dalwhinnie and others.

I also need to get another drink of Laphroaig 10, because I forgot how it compared to Lagavulin 16. The Lagavulin was as Ron Swanson says, "elixir of the gods"...Also need to try Talisker and Ardbeg. Argh, so much money lol.

[f0rge]

Highland Park 12 is another great "everyday" scotch to try. Balvenie Double Wood is also decent and not fruity.

I'm not a fan of the fruity stuff either.

If you're at a bar, give the Talisker 10 a whirl. It's fantastic although more peaty/smoky than the others you've listed. Anywhere that has scotch on the menu usually has the Talisker.

God damn Glenlivet 12 for $22? I need to move to america, it's $52/750ml up here.

[robwbright]

Originally Posted by serialk11r

Got a glass of Lagavulin at a restaurant today...I think it's better than Laphroaig, but the price tag is a bit unfortunate :/ Need to find some Ardbeg to try.

$69.99 Lagavulin and free shipping if you order $100+.

http://www.finewinesunlimited.com/in...f-84f66aaec861

[robwbright]

Kilchoman Machir Bay. It's a non-age statement scotch that's 4-5 years old.

But wow! It's right up there with Lagavulin.

http://kilchomandistillery.com/whisk...-bay-2013-70cl

http://scotchnoob.com/2012/09/17/kilchoman-machir-bay/

If I recall, I gave a bit under $60 for it.

Also recently bought a bottle of Green Spot Irish with some birthday money from my father in law. A bit disappointing for $48. Don't get me wrong, it's good... but it's not Tullamore Dew Phoenix. That's the best Irish that I've had - for $48.