What are you drinking now?

by **Tom** » Sun May 22, 2005 9:24 pm

Hello Islayjunkie,
Welcome back then

Could you post an extencive tasting note of the OMC Ardbeg 27 please. i have a rare offer to buy one but im hesitating. the price is quite high and i would like to know more about it first, especially about the sherry influence. i prefer a obvious presence in nose and taste and a slightly dry finish due to the sherry in my drams.(Peated ones that is). The short note you made suggests the sherry is only vague. If this is the case i probably better dont buy it.Also, does it holds the usual complexity of Ardbeg from the 70's?
Thanks in advance, Tom

by **jimidrammer** » Mon May 23, 2005 3:33 am

Just opened a bottle of Deerstalker 12 (Balmenach distillery) I found the other day. It is similar to the Scapa 12, but with a better nose. A good, plain malt and i'm glad I tried it since its one of those interim releases between owners and won't be available again. I like to have one or two neutral malts open to balance out my palate between a Peat Monster and a Sherry Monster

by **islayjunkie** » Mon May 23, 2005 4:43 am

Hi Tom,

I'm afraid those were the extensive tasting notes. As for complexity it is hard to compare the 27yo OMC to Ardbeg OB's in the same year since I have never tried one. I thought it was a little pricey for drinking. I have another bottle for collecting.

The OMC Ardbeg was a lot different than the 10yo OB and Uigedail which are very dry. The sherry is there but it's more of an after taste. The '75 is complex, mellow and a little flat on the finish but the finish does linger for a good while. Also a little to sweet and farmy for an Ardbeg but still delicious.

I regret not purchasing the Ardbeg 1974 28yo OMC instead (no sherry) for another £20. If I can keep whisky tasting to a weekend hobby I hope to save up enough money to try more older Ardbegs

by **Tom** » Mon May 23, 2005 4:30 pm

Thanks Islayjunkie.
I think i wont buy it judging from your notes. If i compare your experience with the 75 with my own experience with 70"s Ardbeg i believe this one isnt up for the challenge. If i may be so bold to give a suggestion, any Ardbeg from 74 is superb. The ones i tried are all the best drams i ever had. but they are very excpencive. Still worth buying anyway just for drinking. Its way to good to collect. The 72's i find oddly enough quite different. They are more floral. However that greatly depends on the cask, first fill bourbon tends to be floral whereas refill bourbon adds to complexity IMHO. and the 72's i tried were first fill.
Anyway thanks for your notes, they have helped me more then you know

.
Greetings, Tom

by **Mr Fjeld** » Thu May 26, 2005 5:40 pm

Holy smoke!
Right now I'm enjoying the Highland Park 18 I received as a birthday gift from my mother. This is simply fantastic! And it's so easy to find the different scents and tastes. I love it!
Want more - can't stop!

Skål!
Christian

Edit: Now I've probably had a couple of glasses to many - but it was lovely. Think this is my new favourite. Just as good as the Ardbeg Uigeadail and better than Lagavulin.

by **Crispy Critter** » Fri May 27, 2005 2:12 am

I'm finishing off the last drams of my Talisker 18... and this time, the pepper is back. I'm going to miss this bottle...

by **islayjunkie** » Fri May 27, 2005 4:32 am

I'm drinking a Macallan CS (no date). Reminds me of drinking port. Spice, wood and dried apples. A real heavy sherry monster with a dirty funky finish that I suppose one might love or hate... or choose to ignore. I like it

by **Deactivated Member** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 8:01 am

Balvenie 15. And last night, Balvenie 15. I can't stop...the bottle will be empty soon. Just love the stuff. Tonight it tastes like a Creamsicle tm. Slipped in a dram of Signatory UCF Highland Park 1990...one of the most unpleasant bottles I've ever had, desperately trying to kill it. Need to finish that and a few others so I can open some more.

by **Frodo** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 11:48 pm

MrTattieHeid wrote:Slipped in a dram of Signatory UCF Highland Park 1990...one of the most unpleasant bottles I've ever had, desperately trying to kill it. Need to finish that and a few others so I can open some more.

How about developing one of those big jugs that you can empty all those bottles that you have to force yourself to drink? Perhaps the whisky fairy will give it a visit, and one day by happy accident it will taste like golden dew from the streams of Mount Olympus...

by **Deactivated Member** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 12:20 am

You mean....vatting? :shock:

No, no, no...that would be over the top.

Anyway, It's a rare bottle I feel that way about. There was a Bowmore Darkest several years ago, and a McClelland's Highland a while before that. This one far surpasses both of those. I suspect that if I'd put them all in one vessel, I'd end up with one godawful concoction with all of the characteristics I can't stand in a whisky. I suppose I could use it to remove the rust from the chrome on my motorcycle. But I keep hoping the Whisky Fairy will visit this bottle before I finish it. Probably I will find the very last half a dram to be utterly wonderful.

It occurs to me that, if the angels drink their share of the good stuff, the inevitable...uh...runoff ends up in bottles like this.

by **Lord_Pfaffin** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 6:23 am

Wiser's Very Old Canadian Whisky 18 old
Color: light amber gold
Nose: slight cedar with hint of orange-blossom and other floral feignts very subtle and pleasant.
Palate: almond toffee and choclate orange peel with black currants overall nicely sweet and very smooth
Body: light and smooth
Finish: warm, a tad nicely bitter almond becoming sweeter revealing oak and sweetgrass tones becoming drier; medium in length.
Long time since i had any rye-whisky and this was quite a pleasant surprise, so much so that now i concider this Wiser's 18 to be the best rye that i have tasted as yet.
Ardaíonn ár ngrá muid féin níos airde i gcónaí!

by **Mr Fjeld** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 6:35 pm

Had a couple of glasses of Trimbach Riesling 2001 and right now I'm very much enjoying the Balvenie 15 single barrel. My plan is to continue with the Talisker 10 and end it with an Ardbeg Ten or the Lagavulin 16.

Skål!
Christian

by **bernstein** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 9:06 pm

Dalwhinnie 15, Macallan 12 and right now Talisker 10. Northern Ireland is playing Germany in a very mediocre football (that's soccer!) match. No Bushmills in my cupboard. I think it will all end up in an Ardbeg Uigeadail later on. People say you can see the Antrim Hills from there.
Oh, one of those evenings...

by **Deactivated Member** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 9:30 pm

You can certainly see them from the Oa, and from Kintyre as well. Got any Springbank handy?

by **rthomson** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 9:53 am

Ledaig 8 yo. Some peat and butter in the nose. Actually, it's difficult to descibe the nose but I can see why some say "buttered, burnt toast". Michael Jackson said "maillard reaction" but I don't really see that. Peaty taste and a bit salt and peppery. I like this dram but I think following it with something a little sweeter, like Macallan cask, will be quite nice. But I won't stay up late enough to post about that one :wink:

Ron

by **rthomson** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 10:32 am

Ok, I am staying up late enough for this.

I do like the Macallan cask strength. The sherry and alcohol bite come across as intense but after a few sips I find it to be relaxing and mellow. I've been hearing about the cs 10 yo. I've not seen it in Washington but I may be in Victoria, B.C. sometime in the next few weeks. Is it available there and is it worth purchasing?

Ron

by **Deactivated Member** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 5:49 pm

My understanding is that it is available mostly (or maybe entirely) in duty-free shops--it was in one exiting Ontario that I saw it. I don't know if you'll have access to one exiting Victoria by ferry; perhaps there is one on the ferry itself, although such as those usually don't have a great selection due to lack of space. But that would be the place to look. If you are indeed ferrying, you can have a look on the way up and buy on the way back.

by **Deactivated Member** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 3:42 am

The very last dram of my bottle of Balvenie 15. :cry:

I'll go get another one tomorrow!

I went through this one in three days short of a month, probably the fastest I've ever gone through a bottle. (No one needs to tell me that they've killed a whole bottle in one sitting.) The last dram might be the best, honeyed and orangey and buttery. Down the hatch....

by **bernstein** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 7:59 pm

Macallan 12 revisited - a kind of wholesome experience. Yes, it's definitely just barley-spirit, but whow! - all these sublime sherry notes! Some sweetness, but still something bulky - really something special. It just has the right 'tuning' - if this expression does apply. Again - I like it very much!

by **Deactivated Member** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 2:29 am

Signatory Vintage Straight From The Cask 1979 Port Ellen Burgundy Finish (or SVSFTC1979PEBF for short). This, my bottle of Talisker cs, and one of Lord Of The Isles are very low, and I haven't touched any of them (or anything else heavily peated) for several weeks, not quite having the heart to finish them off. The PE is a weird creature, as I have noted before. The peat hit me hard, not having subjected myself to such in a while. But what I really took note of was how good my glass of Harpoon IPA tasted after. Peat monsters and good beer go well together, I think. Maybe that's one reason I was attracted to Lagavulin and such in the first place.

Where's that Talisker?

by **Tartan** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 3:54 am

MrTattieHeid, speaking of Signatory. There will be (hopefully) a tasting held somewhere in Boston area, site TBA, on the 23rd of this month.

by **Deactivated Member** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 4:12 am

Thanks, Tartan--I'm not likely to attend, since I would have to drive back to Springfield (d'oh!) after. Joe Howell has lots of great tastings at Federal that I never attend, either....

Speaking of Joe, he was due back from Islay today. Drop in and ask him how his trip was.

by **WestVanDave** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 5:24 am

Ron - Macallan Cask Strength is in BC - so you should have no trouble finding any in Victoria. 'Best bet is to contact Peter Heemskerk, Manager of The Strath liquor store and he can put some aside for you. The BC price is $87 Cdn. (~ $70 US)...

peterh@strathconahotel.com or (250) 370-9463.

The Alberta price is ~ $70 Cdn. ($56 US)... FYI.

Cheers, Dave.

by **Deactivated Member** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 5:42 am

WestVanDave wrote:Ron - Macallan Cask Strength is in BC - so you should have no trouble finding any in Victoria. 'Best bet is to contact Peter Heemskerk, Manager of The Strath liquor store and he can put some aside for you. The BC price is $87 Cdn. (~ $70 US)...

peterh@strathconahotel.com or (250) 370-9463.

The Alberta price is ~ $70 Cdn. ($56 US)... FYI.

Cheers, Dave.

Macallan Cask Strength 10yo? Or no age statement? The nas is pretty widely available. It's the 10yo that is, by all accounts, the prize.

by **WestVanDave** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 6:16 am

Sorry Mr T & Ron - I wasn't paying attention... The Macallan CS prices I was quoting are for the NAS (not the 10 year old)... :oops:

I haven't seen the 10 year old CS in either BC or Alberta...

Cheers, Dave.

by **Lord_Pfaffin** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 4:04 am

Adbeg 10, my first taste of this peaty and absolutely scrumtious little number. Wow, i like alot of what this stuff is about, the second it's aroma hit my schnawze it made me smile. Quickly finding myself at the end of my second glass musing: This bottle doesn't stand a chance and the 21yr old Ardbeg must be heavenly. Just a first impression but i seem to prefer the finish from the C.I.12, but just love the peat from the Ardbeg as it is more intense.
Ardaíonn ár ngrá muid féin níos airde i gcónaí!

by **Deactivated Member** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 6:00 am

Welcome to the club, LP...once you've had Ardbeg, your world will never be the same.

by **Lord_Pfaffin** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 7:30 am

Okay Mr.T. you are spot-on as usual, but don't stop there tell me more about this elixer. Aside from the age and distillery i know nothing else. What kind of barrels and where does all that peatiness come from?

by **Mr Fjeld** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 9:50 am

The malting (and kilning where the peatyness comes from) is done at Port Ellen the once great distillery turned into a malting facility for the islands distilleries. This also includes parts of the peat used by Bruichladdich but they also use some mainland peat in their whiskies. Try the 3D and see the difference in the peat flavour. The casks used for the Ten is second fill bourbon casks but when the Very Young 6/7yo reaches Ten it'll be in first fill bourbon casks - with a darker colour and a slightly different taste.
I haven't tried any 21yo Ardbeg (which independant bottler is that?) but I've tried the Lord of the Isles 25 YO and the Ardbeg Uigeadail. Although the LOTI 25 is very good I bet you'll find the punch and the added flavour from sherry matured whisky in the Uigeadail very very good. Especially if you are so fond (as most of us are) of the Ten. There should ALWAYS be a Ten on the whisky shelve!

Skål!
Christian

by **Deactivated Member** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 5:30 pm

I assume the 21 referred to is a limited distillery bottling from 2002, or thereabouts, bottled from twelve casks at cask strength. Can you tell I'm reading that off the label? I bought it at the distillery in November of 2002; it awaits the proper occasion for opening. I'm always nervous about opening such an irreplaceable bottle, since to open it is to doom it to inevitable emptiness. But it's just as dead unopened as it would be empty.... There's an existential argument in there, and a terrible glimpse into my own character; if I refuse to grow up, I can't get old and die, can I? Alas, I must, and I merely risk doing so without having lived. So I guess I should open the bottle and drink it. Better to live with the memory than never to have tasted at all.

by **Frodo** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 7:49 pm

Lord P.:

I can't find any referance to 21yr old Ardbeg on the LCBO website. Are you sure it's Ardbeg and not Bruichladdich you saw? The LCBO is stocking a lot of different expressions of Bruichladdich these days...

by **andrewfenton** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 7:54 pm

There was a 21yr committee Ardbeg floating around - I had a dram of it once (fantastic). Wasn't a recent bottling though, unless my memory is dotty.

by **Frodo** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 7:55 pm

Andrew:

Was it a "Kidalton" bottling like the 17yr old, or regular leaded like the 10yr old?

by **hpulley** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 7:56 pm

Unfortunately, we'll never see a committee bottling at the LCBO, Frodo...

Harry

by **andrewfenton** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 8:02 pm

The one I had was definitely peated, although not nearly as strongly so as the 10yr old.

Incidentally, I found a 1980/2001 committee:

http://www.maltmadness.com/rep150a.html#150-X

It's definitely not the one I had, which I'm sure was bottled before the millenium, but the tasting notes sound familiar. Maybe it's a yearly thing they do?