What are you drinking now?

by **Deactivated Member** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 8:58 pm

Really? Every bottle I've ever had of Talisker 10, 18, 0r DE has been 45.8%. I am frankly skeptical of your memory, Harry!

by **hpulley** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 9:05 pm

Sorry, you're right; I was thinking they were more than usual and for some reason I typed 49% to be more than 46% when it is more than the other 40% and 43% classics. 45.8% seems to be correct. Too many malts for my memory to be reliable, it seems...

Harry

by **hir0** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 2:21 pm

well, right now i am drinking laphroaig 10

had a nice evening tonight. started out with a couple drams of Highland Park 12, and i gotta say i was impressed with the flavor it was really good. can anyone tell me if the older versions are better? then i cracked open a bottle of macallan 12 and had a few. then i had a dram of aberlour abunadh for comparison. and then i had a dram of balvenie double wood for comparison. i'd have to say the macallan was my favorite of the 3 sherried whiskies i've had tonight. but no contest for the highland park or the laphroaig for me. (not too into the sherry thing, but i like variety) was a little dissapointed today as i was out hunting for a bottle of ardbeg but never found it. :roll:

by **Lord_Pfaffin** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 7:13 am

Aaah, Highland Park 12, thats what i passed on the shelf by reasoning that i should try something new. Aberlour 10 by no means a better whisky however equally as smooth with some of the same tingle on the tougue as the H.P. 12 and until the fourth glass i was rueing my whim. Earlier glasses left me with a"beer-like" malty ending, witch was not bad at all and i couldn't under stand this differnt taste on the palate. After i broke though the "malt-barrier" the finish became very likeable, drier almost ashy with sweet and salty fients and the palate a spicy and sapid one. A definite friend and a hero for those on the cheep, at under $40cnd. and 43%abv. very worth while visiting. Although this whisky didn't really put a smile on my face it is one that i would buy and enjoy again.

Ardaíonn ár ngrá muid féin níos airde i gcónaí!

by **karlejnar** » Sat Apr 16, 2005 8:05 pm

In the afternoon we went for a long walk in the nearby Rold Woods with our two dogs.

At a nice spot near a small lake we took a rest. I sat on a big pile of timber, and took out my small hipflask. And my Glencairn glass.
Then I poured the Laphroaig CS and enjoyed it very much. There were much more in the nose than usual, or maybe our senses are sharpened when outside. I even detected some chewing tobacco I hadn't smelled since my childhood, when the elder people had that habbit.
Ummm - that's life

After dinner I had the Aberlour a'bunadh Batch 10 to accompany the pudding. A real nice sherry monster.

And now I'm going to finish the rest of the Laph CS from the flask

by **Paul A Jellis** » Sat Apr 16, 2005 10:32 pm

Right now - Linkwood 15yr old. One of the great under-rated drams. Simply one of the best!

Cheers

Paul

by **Crispy Critter** » Sun Apr 17, 2005 1:57 am

At the moment, I'm sitting on the front porch with my laptop and a Talisker 18, listening to the birds sing as night falls, and resting from a 90 km ride earlier today on a recumbent trike. Life is good...

by **Mr Fjeld** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 7:32 pm

Right now I'm enjoying the Lagavulin 16. I have to admit it's growing on me even though I'm unable to enjoy it fully as my nose is affected by hayfever.

Skål!
Christian

Edit: then I progressed to the Laphroaig CS and ended up with the one I thought I should have started it all with; the Bruichladdich 10. Wow, what an underestimated whisky this is! So nice and winey tones of apple and citrus. Now I'm just letting the glass rest for a while in anticipation of the emerging buttery malt!

by **hpulley** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 9:05 pm

Sadly, I am at present drinking the final dram of Port Ellen 24yo '79 3rd release from my bottle... It has lost a bit of its edge since opening but is still good stuff. Expensive, but good.

Harry

by **Paul A Jellis** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 10:42 pm

Linkwood 1954, distilled in the year of my birth, a pressie from my wife. A wonderful dram, it's aged better than I have.

Cheers

Paul

by **Crispy Critter** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 2:41 am

Aberlour 10, from the plain-brown-tube era, a bottle that I had set aside last summer and opened just a few weeks ago. I had forgotten just how good it is...

by **hpulley** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 11:38 am

Sounds nice, Paul. How many years did that Linkwood spend in oak?

Harry

by **Paul A Jellis** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 5:07 pm

Hi Harry

46 years in the cask, and as you'd expect the tannins are very much in the forefront, but only if you add water, neat it is very soft, full bodied and warming.

Cheers

Paul

by **rokipynes** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 5:09 am

My last dram of Sazerac 18 straight Rye.This has been a most enjoyable bottle. I find this Rye quite complex on the tongue with a nice burn that lasts well beyond the swallow. It has a peppery spiciness and unique taste. I like just a small amount of water and find it opens this whisky up. There is also a big linseed note both on the nose and the tongue that is pleasant. This is not an easily available whisky but for the fam of American whsikeys I highly recommend finding at least one bottle to try.

Doug

by **Deactivated Member** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 6:39 am

I've been on the road for most of the past two weeks and haven't had a dram in quite a few days. (Virginia is not for malt lovers.) Couldn't resist a wee bit of the Talisker cask strength. It occurs to me that a dram such as this is like a very powerful athlete, one noted for his sheer strength, but whose grace and balance are overlooked--Jimmy Brown, or Jonah Lomu.

Worth noting that the powerful pepper in this bottling is more like ground dry pepper, white pepper, maybe, rather than the Tabasco-like presence in the old 10yo.

by **Deactivated Member** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 2:39 am

Just draining the last drops of a Glenrothes 1989. Might not be the best Glenrothes, but it seemed to get better as the bottle wound down...a lovely Speyside. The penultimate dram stood up very well last night after a Talisker CS.

I was thinking about the thread on the changing profiles, for better or worse, of various malts, and how Bruichladdich has made a virtue of necessity by not pretending that its expressions are forever. The new Twenty, for example, is an entirely new edition, not intended to be like the old Twenty. And it struck me that Glenrothes has done this for years--its flagship bottlings are all vintages, and, while the basic profile is the same, it is fully expected to be variable. Other distilleries have released vintages and special bottlings, of course, but as far as I know this is the only distillery to release vintages exclusively. Kudos to Glenrothes for being well ahead of the curve!

by **Crispy Critter** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 3:19 am

MrTattieHeid wrote:And it struck me that Glenrothes has done this for years--its flagship bottlings are all vintages, and, while the basic profile is the same, it is fully expected to be variable. Other distilleries have released vintages and special bottlings, of course, but as far as I know this is the only distillery to release vintages exclusively. Kudos to Glenrothes for being well ahead of the curve!

It makes me look forward to opening my recently-acquired Glenrothes '74 - once I drain a couple of currently-open bottles, at least.

I kind of like their minimalist packaging as well - no overwrought wooden caskets, just a simple open-sided plain cardboard box and a little aluminum base, with their signature rounded bottle. More importantly, by all accounts, the whisky inside said bottle is good stuff.

Current dram: Forty Creek Barrel Select, after a couple of margaritas with friends at a local Mexican restaurant.

by Ed » Tue Apr 26, 2005 2:42 pm

Hello All,
Tonight I am sampling several malts. Started with Clynish 14. Now having a Highland Park 12. Will pour myself a bit of Laphroag 10 in a few minutes.
Ed

by Ed » Tue Apr 26, 2005 3:55 pm

Followed by Eagle Rare 101 10 yr.
Ed

by **Pascal** » Wed Apr 27, 2005 2:35 am

I'm currently having another go at this Bruichladdich 10... it's a much more flavourful dram than I'm used to, I'm really having to pace myself... the joys of being a novice... :oops:

by **Frodo** » Wed Apr 27, 2005 3:00 am

karlejnar wrote:In the afternoon we went for a long walk in the nearby Rold Woods with our two dogs.

At a nice spot near a small lake we took a rest. I sat on a big pile of timber, and took out my small hipflask. And my Glencairn glass.
Then I poured the Laphroaig CS and enjoyed it very much. There were much more in the nose than usual, or maybe our senses are sharpened when outside. I even detected some chewing tobacco I hadn't smelled since my childhood, when the elder people had that habbit.
Ummm - that's life

And me, a city boy, can only live vicariously through these posts. Please don't stop. I can hear the birds chirping now...No wait, that's car exhaust :cry:

.

by **Pascal** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 4:06 am

Tonight I figured I'd have another go at the unloved Tobermory 10 I've got here. The bottle is halfway through, has been open for about 6 months, and I feel this has mellowed some of the sharpness to something that I'm actually enjoying right now.

Will try to open up my next dram with a teaspoon of water to see what happens. I'm such a beginner, don't even know how to describe the nose or palate.. :oops:

.. I'm loving this.

by **Pascal** » Fri Apr 29, 2005 1:27 am

And tonight I've just poured myself a dram of Lagavulin 16.

First impression is :shock:

.... both the nose and taste are SO smokey... with strong peat notes as well, I did not imagine it would be so big.

Especially the nose, I find that the most overwhelming. Not in a bad sense, just this beginner's take on it. I find the finish to be very smokey too. I'm afraid to say it'll take some getting used to on my part, this is quite the experience!

by Ed » Fri Apr 29, 2005 2:05 am

Tonight you have become a man.

Just kidding! I loved the smoky Islays from the first taste. Mine was Ardbeg 10. A lot of people here who really love Islay peat monsters now initially hated the it. So don't worry that it isn't love at first sight. My best guess it that by the end o fthe bottle it will be one of your favorites. Then again, you may decide that it is too icky to finish. That is fine. too.
Ed

by **Pascal** » Fri Apr 29, 2005 5:38 pm

Many things in life I have learned to really appreciate by slowly gaining experience, I'm approaching this one the same way.

On my next tasting I'm actually going to start with a couple drams of something else, to get my tastebuds used to a certain "base", and then I'll progress to the Lagavulin to see if maybe that goes over better. Looking forward to tonight.

by **Crispy Critter** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 2:07 am

Tonight, a dram of 'Laddie 15 for starters. I'm not sure what'll be next - maybe some of my Clynelish 14 - but that bottle of George T. Stagg is staring at me, too. Must... maintain... discipline...

by **Admiral** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:40 am

Bowmore Legend.

Very smooth, palatable, and enjoyable, and a steal at the price!

Cheers,
Admiral

by **Crispy Critter** » Sun May 01, 2005 2:35 am

Tonight, I started out with Talisker 18 (yummmmm...) and then headed in a completely different direction and opened my bottle of Black Bush that I bought a while ago. Very enjoyable, just as I had remembered it from a previous bottle. It doesn't have quite the intense pot-still tang of Redbreast, but I can recognize it now that I've had RB before.

by **hir0** » Sun May 01, 2005 2:03 pm

after dinner tonight i had a dram of Glen Morangie port wood, followed by caol ila12, laphroaig10, ardbeg10, highland park18, and now another gm port wood to cap off the night.

by Ed » Sun May 01, 2005 3:37 pm

Hello All,
Hello hir0,
How was the GM port wood after the smokie ones?
Ed

by **hir0** » Tue May 03, 2005 2:23 am

Hi Ed, you know, i enjoyed it just the same. seemed a little more toned down, but still a nice dram. actually, i ended up having another ardbeg before i went to sleep. but now it's all gone

by **Crispy Critter** » Tue May 03, 2005 3:56 am

Tonight was Bourbon Night for me... First up, some of my Knob Creek 9yo, and then I just had to open my bottle of '05 George T. Stagg.

The KC is quite good, but the Stagg is flat-out incredible. It's hard to believe that it's 65.9% ABV :shock:

- it's very drinkable without adding even a drop of water. Be careful with this one! :wink:

Both the KC and the GTS give me a sweet punch with orange-like notes, but the Stagg has a rye (rye bread?) savor to it as well. If you find a bottle, buy it!

by **Tartan** » Wed May 04, 2005 2:51 am

Just tried, one more time, the Duncan Taylor bottling of 12-year-old Bruichladdich. I have mixed feelings about it: good, pronounced character, but rather thin body

Perhaps they shouldn't have dilluted it all the way to 40%.

Interestingly, if I'm not mistaken, Malt Maniacs tasted their Highland Park from the same series, Prime Malt, and also noted it as being thin-bodied

But still, $25 for the 12-year-old Bruichladdich is a very good value.

by **ncassidy** » Wed May 04, 2005 9:01 am

Tonight I had a small glass of my new Crown Royal Limited Edition and another of Macallan CS.

I've been working on the CS bottle since mid-February, it's really mellowed down and I'm liking it more and more all the time.

I'm still not sure if I like this Limited Edition CR, I'm on the third glass. First impressions are good... the main sweet/toffee/oily flavors of the regular stuff are less dominant and it adds a really warm, spicy finish and a sherry note in there somewhere. The nose has a really complex fruit odor, reminds me of fruit cake.

by **ncassidy** » Thu May 05, 2005 7:50 am

And tonight, went to my dad's and tried out the Lagavulin 16 and Glenmorangie 18. The Glenmorangie was good, well rounded, but nothing spectacular. I will give it another go later. The Lagavulin absolutely blew me away with the combination of medicine, brine, peat, and smoke. Drew a really "coastal" picture on my senses. I found it very smooth, deep, and appealing. And also very sweet. I'm still a raw beginner with single malts, but I really fell for this one. Must track down my own bottle...