OT: Scotch thread

[Fishy]

Productive trip to Total Wine.

 

[Umami Zen]

Productive trip to Total Wine.

Fishy. Nice looking line up. Just remember.--It's a marathon not a sprint! LOL

 

[8893]

I went to a Scotch tasting accompanied by Sally's pizza last night hosted by a friend. Four Lowlands, four Islays and one other. My overall favorite was a special Lagavulin release; my second and favorite of the Lowlands was Auchentoshan Three Wood. There were two other Auchentoshans that were also very good, but that Three Wood really stood out.

I have been invited back for bourbon next week. I think I will look for one of those Breckenridge bottles to bring. @Fishy and @HuskyHawk , which do you think is "best"?

​

 

[HuskyHawk]

I went to a Scotch tasting accompanied by Sally's pizza last night hosted by a friend. Four Lowlands, four Islays and one other. My overall favorite was a special Lagavulin release; my second and favorite of the Lowlands was Auchentoshan Three Wood. There were two other Auchentoshans that were also very good, but that Three Wood really stood out.

I have been invited back for bourbon next week. I think I will look for one of those Breckenridge bottles to bring. @Fishy and @HuskyHawk , which do you think is "best"?

​

I've only had the Port cask. I will pick up the PX cask. I'm less excited about the rum cask, I haven't loved rum cask whiskey (yet I do like rum).

Glad the tasting was to your liking. What else did they have from Islay?

 

[8893]

Glad the tasting was to your liking. What else did they have from Islay?

The Lagavulin was a 1995 Distiller's Edition. The others were Ardbeg Corryveicken, Laphroaig Signatory and Kilchoman.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The Lagavulin was a 1995 Distiller's Edition. The others were Ardbeg Corryveicken, Laphroaig Signatory and Kilchoman.

Those DE's are still out there, although not that one from 95 most likely. They run about $100, but have not gone up the way the 16 year has. So the spread between then has all but disappeared. I like Corryveicken, but Wee Beastie gives me 90% of that for $48.

 

[Fishy]

I went to a Scotch tasting accompanied by Sally's pizza last night hosted by a friend. Four Lowlands, four Islays and one other. My overall favorite was a special Lagavulin release; my second and favorite of the Lowlands was Auchentoshan Three Wood. There were two other Auchentoshans that were also very good, but that Three Wood really stood out.

I have been invited back for bourbon next week. I think I will look for one of those Breckenridge bottles to bring. @Fishy and @HuskyHawk , which do you think is "best"?

​

Personally, the rum is head and shoulders for me.

I’m not quite sure what to say about the Port Finish yet. I had it before, but this is batch 8 and it’s... “something.” Honestly, it’s almost just a rye.

I’m guessing these port barrels were not on their first or second fill here.

(Edit: The Port Cask needs a bit of water - becomes something much different.)

 

[8893]

Personally, the rum is head and shoulders for me.

Thanks for this. Spot on. I picked up a bottle on Friday and am just enjoying my first pour. Four sips in; went with the Glencairn.

I’m not generally big on bourbon or rum, but this works for me for some reason. Reminds me of the Nikka Coffey Grain and/or Malt. Very nice.

 

[Fishy]

Thanks for this. Spot on. I picked up a bottle on Friday and am just enjoying my first pour. Four sips in; went with the Glencairn.

I’m not generally big on bourbon or rum, but this works for me for some reason. Reminds me of the Nikka Coffey Grain and/or Malt. Very nice.

It reminds me of both, too.

What I think they did really well was lean way in on the rum cask. It’s not a bourbon finished in a rum cask, it’s their whiskey diverted to a rum cask instead of an oak barrel.

If you enjoyed this, there are some rums that you would enjoy sipping. (Zacapa comes to mind.) And if you like rum, you’d enjoy this just because they did lean in so hard.

It’s not like Balvennie’s Caribbean Cask - it’s distinctly American and much more influenced by the rum. Plus, it’s just $50.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Thanks for this. Spot on. I picked up a bottle on Friday and am just enjoying my first pour. Four sips in; went with the Glencairn.

I’m not generally big on bourbon or rum, but this works for me for some reason. Reminds me of the Nikka Coffey Grain and/or Malt. Very nice.

Have you tried many good rums? While the category is becoming popular, it remains a huge bargain compared to Scotch and Bourbon. There is also a lot of variety, from Jamaican stuff with a lot of fruity funk, classic stuff from Barbados (Bajan), to Cuban style rums (and the French island rhums (Agricoles), which often have a more grassy profile.

It's really a fascinating spirit category to explore. Some really good rums made at Privateer in Massachusetts too. Maggie Campbell the distiller is brilliant and very nice. A good and entertaining book is And a Bottle of Rum, by Wayne Curtis. It's a history story told through rum.

 

[Umami Zen]

Have you tried many good rums? While the category is becoming popular, it remains a huge bargain compared to Scotch and Bourbon. There is also a lot of variety, from Jamaican stuff with a lot of fruity funk, classic stuff from Barbados (Bajan), to Cuban style rums (and the French island rhums (Agricoles), which often have a more grassy profile.

It's really a fascinating spirit category to explore. Some really good rums made at Privateer in Massachusetts too. Maggie Campbell the distiller is brilliant and very nice. A good and entertaining book is And a Bottle of Rum, by Wayne Curtis. It's a history story told through rum.

Don't sleep on the Tequila space for a sip in the Glencairn.. Anejo has similar blending combinations going on by certain companies. El Padrino de mi Tierra has a nice sipping Cristalino Anejo if you're looking for a cleaner anejo.

Would expect all of you to have experienced the Angel's Envy spin on port wine cask seasoning on their Bourbon.

Will share a Four Roses discussion with you in future.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Don't sleep on the Tequila space for a sip in the Glencairn.. Anejo has similar blending combinations going on by certain companies. El Padrino de mi Tierra has a nice sipping Cristalino Anejo if you're looking for a cleaner anejo.

Would expect all of you to have experienced the Angel's Envy spin on port wine cask seasoning on their Bourbon.

Will share a Four Roses discussion with you in future.

Tequila is ok, but I find Mezcal is more interesting. Still, the Agave stuff is fifth on my list of spirits categories.

Four Roses is great, but the store pick Single Barrel Selects are now too scarce and too expensive.

 

[Umami Zen]

Tequila is ok, but I find Mezcal is more interesting. Still, the Agave stuff is fifth on my list of spirits categories.

Four Roses is great, but the store pick Single Barrel Selects are now too scarce and too expensive.

Interesting. I have an Irish buddy( who has been around the block) whose "go to" first drink (Pre-Covid) at the watering hole is an anejo neat. His preference-no judgments made.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Interesting. I have an Irish buddy( who has been around the block) whose "go to" first drink (Pre-Covid) at the watering hole is an anejo neat. His preference-no judgments made.

It can be good. Vanilla from the wood with the usual blue agave flavors. But Mezcal gets some wild variation in flavor profiles with no wood. Uses different agaves. Sometimes wood fire drying that adds smoky flavors. It's as craft as craft gets, with people following specific mescaleros, since much of it is made by people who don't own the bottling/brand. Tequila is made in giant factories, it's like Budweiser compared to a small craft brewery.

 

[8893]

Have you tried many good rums? While the category is becoming popular, it remains a huge bargain compared to Scotch and Bourbon. There is also a lot of variety, from Jamaican stuff with a lot of fruity funk, classic stuff from Barbados (Bajan), to Cuban style rums (and the French island rhums (Agricoles), which often have a more grassy profile.

It's really a fascinating spirit category to explore. Some really good rums made at Privateer in Massachusetts too. Maggie Campbell the distiller is brilliant and very nice. A good and entertaining book is And a Bottle of Rum, by Wayne Curtis. It's a history story told through rum.

I haven't. I drank a ton of it in Puerto Rico in high school on a trip with a friend's family, during which we visited Bacardi, and I brought back several bottles as gifts and souvenirs. That was probably the height of my rum drinking, despite tending bar for a decade and making all manner of drinks--especially frozen drinks--with it.

So I always dismissed it as having a lot of sugar and not really my thing, but I do realize now that there are much better rums than the Bacardi, Meyers and Captain Morgan's that I was pouring. I do remember trying some Mount Gay back then and thinking it was better than the others, but that's about the extent of it.

So far...

 

[HuskyHawk]

I haven't. I drank a ton of it in Puerto Rico in high school on a trip with a friend's family, during which we visited Bacardi, and I brought back several bottles as gifts and souvenirs. That was probably the height of my rum drinking, despite tending bar for a decade and making all manner of drinks--especially frozen drinks--with it.

So I always dismissed it as having a lot of sugar and not really my thing, but I do realize now that there are much better rums than the Bacardi, Meyers and Captain Morgan's that I was pouring. I do remember trying some Mount Gay back then and thinking it was better than the others, but that's about the extent of it.

So far...

My main experience with it was Bacardi 151 at UConn, which didn't end well. Some whiskey drinkers encouraged me a few years ago and I bought Appleton 12. It was a good one to start with.

For sipping rum, avoiding the sweet stuff is critical. Nothing from Barbados or Jamaica can have added sugar. It's an area of debate, with some wanting to dose the rums and still use the geographic designation. Hydrometer tests. Bacardi has sugar, Plantation has sugar, Captain Morgan, El Dorado, Ron Zacappa, Diplomatico, Ron Abuelo will all have added sugar.

If you liked bourbon more I'd suggest a Privateer Distiller's Drawer or Queen's Share, but most of it is aged in new charred oak. If you find one not aged in new charred oak (lighter color), it's generally a single barrel cask strength rum (around 55%) from Ipswich, MA. Aside from that, Appleton, 12, anything from Foursquare including Doorly's 12 at Total Wine, Mount Gay Black Barrel or XO. There are many others. The Agricole style rhums aren't my thing, but some love them.

Worst case you just upgraded your summer cocktails for $15 extra. I've been making Hemingway daiquiris and true Mai Tais in the summer.

 

[storrsroars]

I haven't. I drank a ton of it in Puerto Rico in high school on a trip with a friend's family, during which we visited Bacardi, and I brought back several bottles as gifts and souvenirs. That was probably the height of my rum drinking, despite tending bar for a decade and making all manner of drinks--especially frozen drinks--with it.

So I always dismissed it as having a lot of sugar and not really my thing, but I do realize now that there are much better rums than the Bacardi, Meyers and Captain Morgan's that I was pouring. I do remember trying some Mount Gay back then and thinking it was better than the others, but that's about the extent of it.

So far...

Ah yes, the Bacardi tour. Took it in 1981. Nothing like having 4 drinks (the limit then) at 10am to start your day. I do recall that their dark rum with tonic and lime was more appealing to me than the standard Cuba libre. Went to St. Thomas after that where Cruzan was cheaper than bottled water.

I've dabbled in anejos over the years, never really took - I prefer tequila anejos for straight sipping. We do have a multi-award winning rum producer here, Maggie's Farm, that I've bought as gifts for my rum loving brother, and it's good, but it's not something I'm regularly tipping. But I haven't tried their limited editions, which I may soon due to this thread.

 

[Umami Zen]

Get in trouble with rum and my sweet tooth LOL. Last rum cocktail was a Mojito at a HH at a former Italian monastery overlooking the Med Sea about 10 years ago. A lot of work for the bartender(s).

No question rum drinks/cocktails are tasty.Just go down too easy. Mai Tais in Kauai made our wedding rehearsal dinner pretty lively. Enuf said!

 

[HuskyHawk]

Ah yes, the Bacardi tour. Took it in 1981. Nothing like having 4 drinks (the limit then) at 10am to start your day. I do recall that their dark rum with tonic and lime was more appealing to me than the standard Cuba libre. Went to St. Thomas after that where Cruzan was cheaper than bottled water.

I've dabbled in anejos over the years, never really took - I prefer tequila anejos for straight sipping. We do have a multi-award winning rum producer here, Maggie's Farm, that I've bought as gifts for my rum loving brother, and it's good, but it's not something I'm regularly tipping. But I haven't tried their limited editions, which I may soon due to this thread.

Suggest trying the Sherry cask rum. Have not hard theirs, but one I had from Spain was wonderful. I would not get the Pineapple rum. I did try that and was not fond of it, sweet and young.

 

[storrsroars]

Those DE's are still out there, although not that one from 95 most likely. They run about $100, but have not gone up the way the 16 year has. So the spread between then has all but disappeared. I like Corryveicken, but Wee Beastie gives me 90% of that for is$48.

I hadn't really ever given Wee Beastie a thought. Maybe it was the 5 years, I don't know. But based on the above post I picked up a bottle and have to say, I like it much more than the Ardbeg 10 which I bought last month, which to me seems "defanged" for an Islay and a profile closer to say a Speyside, which isn't a bad thing, but not what I was looking for. I can see keeping a bottle of WB on hand in the future.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I hadn't really ever given Wee Beastie a thought. Maybe it was the 5 years, I don't know. But based on the above post I picked up a bottle and have to say, I like it much more than the Ardbeg 10 which I bought last month, which to me seems "defanged" for an Islay and a profile closer to say a Speyside, which isn't a bad thing, but not what I was looking for. I can see keeping a bottle of WB on hand in the future.

Remember that 5 years is the age of the youngest whisky in it. It’s not all 5 years. Young spirit can add some interesting stuff. I really like it at the price.

 

[8893]

I needed to hit the meat market in Branford on my way home yesterday and stopped into Coastal next door to check out their whiskey selection because my Lagavulin and Ardbeg An Oa are both almost kicked and I want to start working in another bottle of something.

I was shocked to see that they didn't have a single Lagavulin bottle except for the GoT version, and not a single bottle of any Nikka, period. This is one of the largest and best booze retailers in CT with three different stores. Glad I stocked up on the Nikka when I did!

Anyway, based on liking it so much at the Scotch tasting my friend hosted a couple weeks ago, I picked up a bottle of the Auchentostan Three Wood, a Lowland Scotch that is triple distilled (like Irish whiskey) and then aged in three different barrels (12 years in bourbon barrels; then two different sherry casks). This is almost decadent. Very nice and deceptively smooth and sweet sipper, like a velvet fist.

@Fishy , I think you would like this one.

 

[HuskyHawk]

So no comments on the tariffs coming down. I wonder how long it will take to have an impact. I suspect that the Scotch that sells fastest was most impacted. I know that I can buy a lot of pre-tariff Scotch and the prices aren't up. Yet all you Lagavulin 16 fans have been taken to the cleaners. You may see a price dip.

I grabbed some Glen Garioche 12 to try. It's ok. Won't rebuy it.

 

[8893]

Yet all you Lagavulin 16 fans have been taken to the cleaners.

I grabbed a bottle for $85 two weeks ago and considered that lucky given the prices I've seen for the past year, but I'm hopeful to see it in the $70s again soon.

 

[Fishy]

I needed to hit the meat market in Branford on my way home yesterday and stopped into Coastal next door to check out their whiskey selection because my Lagavulin and Ardbeg An Oa are both almost kicked and I want to start working in another bottle of something.

I was shocked to see that they didn't have a single Lagavulin bottle except for the GoT version, and not a single bottle of any Nikka, period. This is one of the largest and best booze retailers in CT with three different stores. Glad I stocked up on the Nikka when I did!

Anyway, based on liking it so much at the Scotch tasting my friend hosted a couple weeks ago, I picked up a bottle of the Auchentostan Three Wood, a Lowland Scotch that is triple distilled (like Irish whiskey) and then aged in three different barrels (12 years in bourbon barrels; then two different sherry casks). This is almost decadent. Very nice and deceptively smooth and sweet sipper, like a velvet fist.

@Fishy , I think you would like this one.

I will definitely try it out.

Darnedest thing happened....whenever a bottle gets near empty, I dump the last inch into another bottle. Over the course of time, that bottle became a full bottle. And it’s amazing.

I didn’t put anything with any smoke in it out of fear that it would take over. (Plus, as time goes on, I really do not enjoy that as much anymore. I won’t be replacing the Lagavulin when it’s gone.) But I did pour the remains of Nikka, Westland, Westward, Balcones, Monkey Shoulder, Breckenridge and probably something else I am forgetting.