Do you like ACE'd/Enhanced whiskies?

[lohssanami]

This has been talked about plenty, but I just wanted to see how a poll would turn out.

Expand if you like and let us know what types of ACE'd/Mature Enhanced whiskies you like.

Let the craziness begin!!!

[lohssanami]

I haven't tried too many, but I would have to say I have liked about half of them.

[les taylor]

I like Enhanced/Aced whiskies sometimes.

Tim your signature is getting bigger and bigger, is that it or can you add some more?

[martin grant]

I enjoy most ACE'd whiskies. Done well it can really add something extra to the whisky. Done wrong and it can simply overpower the whisky.

[lohssanami]

I like Enhanced/Aced whiskies sometimes.

Tim your signature is getting bigger and bigger, is that it or can you add some more?

I was actually thinking about downsizing...lol.

[Reggaeblues]

I have one dram of the old Glenmo Portwood left. Daren't finish it. I hate funerals...

Got a sherried Laphroaig from SMWS on the go(well, not at this exact moment...cuppa tea is in order!). THAT is one fun, entertaining whisky!

If you precede it with a standard Laph, eg the 10, you'd swear you were nosing and tasting an Aberlour...

then I jus' sits and waits for that good old Laphroaig ruffness to come creeping in! Excellent stuff...

[hilliamash]

I did like the Madeira finished of the Glenmo line--the Port was quite nice as well. I haven't had many others.

[DanAir]

I voted that I've enjoyed most ACE'd/Enhanced whiskies which is true, nevertheless in many of these cases I've preferred the equivalent non-enhanced versions where they exist. For example, I enjoyed the I prefer Glenmo Port and Burgundy casks, but prefered the original.

Diageo in my experience do it better than most with the Lagavulin, Caol Ila, and Talisker DE editions being amongst my favourites.

[mikeymad]

I must say that I have liked Most (not all) finished products. Some of them are just darn tasty... It is just now and then the combo that is put together does not work for me.

Cheers,

[Ryguy]

I voted that I've liked most all I've tried. In fact the only one I didn't enjoy really was that Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or (Sauternes Cask Extra Matured). Strange stuff, very strange indeed. I just didn't get it.

[Ryguy]

I voted that I've liked most all I've tried. In fact the only one I didn't enjoy really was that Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or (Sauternes Cask Extra Matured). Strange stuff, very strange indeed. I just didn't get it.

Thats the one that I want to try but strangely unavailable for me. When I made my thread about the Glenmo-QR a few praised the D'Or out of them.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't terrible, and I'm sure alot of people do like it. I just wasn't able to understand, and found it a bit strange.

[Ganga]

I must say that I have liked Most (not all) finished products. Some of them are just darn tasty... It is just now and then the combo that is put together does not work for me.

Cheers,

Thank you Mikey. I like your choice of using finished.

I tend to like most whiskies that are finished in port, sherry or sauternes. Not a big fan of Madiera finished whiskies and I find the other wines to be a little more hit and miss. I will say that the whiskies finished in red wines like a syrah or zinfandel get much better when they have a chance to breath for a while.

[Ganga]

I voted that I've liked most all I've tried. In fact the only one I didn't enjoy really was that Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or (Sauternes Cask Extra Matured). Strange stuff, very strange indeed. I just didn't get it.

Maybe try it as an after supper dessert as it is on the sweet side.

[corbuso]

At the exception of a few Sherry finished whiskies, I am not very enthusiastic about all these ACEd whiskies. For me, it is more a trick to get rid of the faulty casks.
As long as you like, this is fine. I tend to avoid them.

[irishwhiskeychaser]

Firstly lets get Sherry finished and sherry matured out of the way....I know most of you know this but for those who may not ..... there is a huge difference between Sherry finished & sherry matured.

In finishing the distillery usually takes a bourbon cask and lumps it into a wine barrel of some sort from anything like 3momths to 18months to get a flavour from said wine barrel into the whisk(e)y. This can be finished with sherry like any other wine product but remember we also have Sherry matured where the whisky has been placed in a sherry cask (usually oloroso) for the entire time that it matures. Sherry matured whisk(e)y was the traditional norm back over 100 years ago and still is used as a main stay in maturation of whisk(e)y. It is relatively recent that the bourbon cask has come into play in such a big way and is now the dominant cask of choice mainly because of the cost and availablity. Sherry matured is a real joy for me compared to a sherry finish .... many finish's always tasted to me like there was something added where as a completely sherry matured product seems like it is part of the whiskey. Don't know if that makes sense to anybody????

Back to topic ... I generally have not overly enjoyed many finished whiskies that I've had. Strangely I had an Oloroso finished whiskey which I found a bit off and I've yet to have a port finish that I truely enjoyed. In saying that I really like Tyrconnell Maderia finish and I also really enjoyed a Bladnoch cognac finish. Each to their own

[fishboy]

Firstly lets get Sherry finished and sherry matured out of the way....I know most of you know this but for those who may not ..... there is a huge difference between Sherry finished & sherry matured.

In finishing the distillery usually takes a bourbon cask and lumps it into a wine barrel of some sort from anything like 3momths to 18months to get a flavour from said wine barrel into the whisk(e)y. This can be finished with sherry like any other wine product but remember we also have Sherry matured where the whisky has been placed in a sherry cask (usually oloroso) for the entire time that it matures. Sherry matured whisk(e)y was the traditional norm back over 100 years ago and still is used as a main stay in maturation of whisk(e)y. It is relatively recent that the bourbon cask has come into play in such a big way and is now the dominant cask of choice mainly because of the cost and availablity. Sherry matured is a real joy for me compared to a sherry finish .... many finish's always tasted to me like there was something added where as a completely sherry matured product seems like it is part of the whiskey. Don't know if that makes sense to anybody????

This is a really important point - and made very well IWC. Two of my favourite ever malts were matured exclusively in ex-Fino casks. I'm also currently enjoying a 13 year old Springbank matured exclusively in a port pipe!

Back on topic, I've had some wonderful finished malts (Tullibardine Moscatel finish, much of what Bruichladdich do, most of what Benriach do and either of the Springbank Rum finishes for example). But then some particularly bad ones (Longrow Gaja Barolo, and a few of what Bruichladdich have put out). Some work and some definitely don't as far as I'm concerned.

FB

[Willie JJ]

I wouldn't go so far as to say that I don't like finishes, but there are some I wouldn't buy again (The Laddie 18yo Willi Opitz springs to mind). They're not unpleasant, just too sweet for my preference. That's where it tends to fall down for me, when they use a very sweet wine that overpowers the malt. There have been lots of good ones though.

As far as maturation vs finishing goes I'm not convinced that one is better than the other. I love sherry matured whisky and there are a few sherry finishes that have been great too, but the Tokaji matured edradour is just as much of a failure as the Longrow or Arran Tokaji finished versions imo.

It really just depends what's in the mix.

[Reggaeblues]

I lost out on the old Glenmo Port finish but I do like the Quinta Ruban new bottling and always need to have it. Some Sherries I don't like but I wish there were more lower port finishes available.

For something really different, have you ever tried Bowmore Dawn? "A "Port Casked" Islay that brings an interesting toffee/molasses twist to a smokey malt. Nice strength too, at 51.5%

Probably still available, tho' officially discontinued.

[irishwhiskeychaser]

As far as maturation vs finishing goes I'm not convinced that one is better than the other. I love sherry matured whisky and there are a few sherry finishes that have been great too, but the Tokaji matured edradour is just as much of a failure as the Longrow or Arran Tokaji finished versions imo.

It really just depends what's in the mix.

Good point Willie..... When I was thinking of Sherry matured I was thinking of Oloroso which is wrong to base comments on solely and even then we can get oloroso matured with the over sulphured effect so nothing is ever cut and dry.

[Deactivated Member]

I voted for the half option but in reality I would say I have liked some and disliked some.

Probably more like 60% in favour of.

[Spirit of Islay]

I didn't cast a vote because nothing seemed to fit my thoughts !
I don't like the policy of Enhancing Laddie (give me 100% Bourbon anytime !) but.......
There are a few i've enjoyed , the Yellow Submarine is the one that springs to mind , i didn't believe it was aced ! Also the Utter Fake Valinch , the PC6 and the 15yo DoE Awards one .

[Wave]

I also voted for the Half option. I've had great Sherry enhanced malts along with Rum and Cognac enhancing. Port enhanced seems almost too sweet to me and the wine enhanced malts I've tasted were not to my liking.

Cheers!

[hilliamash]

I keep looking for a rum finished one, but have not tried. It sounds great, though!

[Muskrat Portage]

GLENFIDDICH Havana Reserve 21. Cuban rum finished.
I've tried it at a tasting but have not as yet opened my bottle.

I enjoy the ACE'd/enhanced whiskies but like to have a traditional aged one to compare them to. Glenmo 10 compared with the older Sherry, Port, Madiera & Burgundy finishes springs to mind. I generally prefer the original over the finishes. They are novelties to own but you still can't beat the old standby.IMHO.

Interestingly enough, I do prefer the Edradour Madeira cask over the present 10 yo offering. Fancy that!

Muskrat Portage

[hilliamash]

The Glenmo is a tasty thing, IMHO. It's hard to beat...finished or otherwise.

[Reggaeblues]

Agreed, Hillamash.

As Will Rogers said: "I never met a malt I didn't like."

Especially true of the wide Glenmo family!

One of the best "finished" whiskies I had was 2(of 343) bottles of "The Vintage House Macallan," bought to celebrate my daughter's birth 3 years ago. 16 YO, finished in a "Bonnes - Mares Grand Cru First fill burgundy Cask."

Quite a mouthful, in every sense! One of the best Macs I ever tasted...

[pkt77242]

I have liked most ACE'd/Enhanced whiskies that I have had (All the DEs, Balvenies, etc), though I found the Bruichladdich 15yo 2nd ed. was ok. I am sure that I didn't like one or two of them but I can't think of them right now.

Sean

[The Third Dram]

...many finishes always tasted to me like there was something added whereas a completely sherry matured product seems like it is part of the whiskey. Don't know if that makes sense to anybody????

It makes perfect sense to me, highlighting that yin-yang charcateristic that many specialty-cask finished spirits seem to display. I do like quite a few of these sorts of whiskies, as they offer a variation on a theme. And some of them can be quite exciting palate-wise. But when it comes down to the question as to how well the finishing process integrates with the intrinsic traits of the distillate, a lot of these examples fall just short of ideal, those aspects derived from the finishing contrasting with rather than fusing with the elemental nature of the malt.

Case in point... Bowmore Darkest. Here is a whisky that has certainly seen its ups and downs through the years. However, the newest 15-year old edition I`ve tried appears better rendered than most of the non-age-stipulated ones of the past little while. Still and all, when compared side-by-side with a Bowmore that has been aged exclusively in Sherry wood, it pales by comparison.

It all boils down to a matter of exactly what one is seeking in one`s pour, I suppose.