Drumguish

[Droog]

Tasted Drumguish yesterday and found it hard to put words on the nose. What is the odd and IMO unpleasant smell? Anyone who know what I am talking about?

[hpulley]

Unfortunately, the odd and unpleasant smell is Drumguish...

Harry

[Droog]

Harry, but we can't say that the nose is Drumguish, can we? One of my friends suggested a gastro intestinal related word for describing the nose but I want a better word. Maybe we got a bad bottle or do you guys agree on the odd smell?

[richard]

im glad i didnt buy one sound as good as lochdhu and that was
bad

richard

[Admiral]

I can't say I've tasted it, but one of my colleagues once described it as very ordinary. (That's an Australian expression for "really bloody bad!")

I recall him using words like metallic and acetone when describing its characters. Could these be the words you are looking for?

Cheers,
Admiral

[Xavier]

Hi,

Well Droog, I can confirm you probably had a bad bottle, but I'm afraid all bottles are bad... I just looked into my personal notes and I described Drumguish as musty, feinty, mostly unpleasant nose and taste. I guess it still is too young to be bottled. I bought my bottle about two years ago and had only two or three drams, I wouldnt even use if in food : it would probably spoil the food

Xavier

[Iain]

Old boiled cabbage?

[Lawrence]

We tasted some this summer and found it to be .......intereting but not terrible. I think the Speyside distillery has suffered very badly from releasing malts way before their time. If memeory serves then this will be the year for the release of a 10 year old and they can finally bury all the other brands that they've been hiding behind for all these years.

[Frodo]

A couple of years ago I was tempted to buy a bottle of this just to try it (for the novelty I guess). By the comments on this thread, I'm really lucky I didn't.

Frodo

[Admiral]

Lawrence's comment above is interesting.....

Other distilleries, and I guess I'm thinking specifically of Arran, have also released younger malts while they wait for their first distillations to hit that magic 10 year mark.

But the Arran bottlings have generally been met with very positive reviews, and an expectation that the maturing stocks will prove to be great whiskies.

If Speyside's younger or immature releases have been ordinary or worse, surely this doesn't bode well for the prospects of what the final products might be like?

Cheers,
Admiral

[hpulley]

Others are quite impressed but I find a similar "too young for prime time" note in many of the younger bottlings out there and Arran is no exception. I find the undertone of young whisky to be mildly offensive, sufficiently so that I have not yet picked up a bottle. The '98 6yo Benromach has it, as do many 'no age' expressions, especially of the mystery malt variety. It seems that not everyone notices it or finds it offensive, but I do.

Harry

[Nibnub]

Well....that´s the worst malt I´ve ever tasted yet. After I opened the bottle the first time and when I found out wat it´s all about, I used it as "fuel" before I went out partying

[gill1109]

Two years since the last comments on Drumguish... It is the cheapest single malt in my local discount drinks store. The initial aroma is shocking ... until you figure out what it is ... in fact, I think is is the aroma of malt (as in "malting barley"). It is a smell familiar to me from the harbour town of Aarhus, Jutland, Denmark; all through the long dark cold misty Autumn, the smell coming from the big silos at the harbour pervades the whole city.

Once one realises what the smell is a smell of, it becomes much less offensive.

[Gov]

I picked up a bottle today because I felt the need to buy another scotch! Anyway, I satisfied my (at times) OCD with having to buy whisk(e)y, and it did not kill my pocket book I don't expect this whisky to be anything special, but hopefully some what pleasing to drink

[WhiskyViking]

but hopefully some what pleasing to drink

One can only hope...

[Willie JJ]

but hopefully some what pleasing to drink

One can only hope...

Even I struggle to find much merit in this bottling, but good luck Gov.

[Gov]

Thanks for the good wishes. I will only be out $15 if its bad. And is always nice to have on hand for guests who don't know any better

[Ganga]

I'm probably the exception but I see merit in at least experimenting with the bottom feeders. I use them to set my scale.

[UUNetBill]

Ganga, I agree - there are times you need to sip the dregs to help you appreciate the midgrade malts out there.

Also a good idea to have some sludge in the house to give to the people who don't know better. . .the ones that would make a Macallan 30 YO sno-cone, or pour 7-Up in a '02 Opus One to give it some 'kick' . . .

[Willie JJ]

I'm probably the exception but I see merit in at least experimenting with the bottom feeders. I use them to set my scale.

I'm not arguing with that, but I experimented with a whole bottle of Drumguish over a couple of nights up at Blair Atholl 2 or 3 years ago and decided that was probably enough experimentation with that bottling.

[Muskrat Portage]

I have one in the Lair that I haven't as yet opened and it may stayed sealed if it's that indifferent. Thanks for the heads up folks!
Musky

[Deactivated Member]

"Indifferent" may be rather kind--Musky, I think you're just afraid you may have to change your signature! Slip it into one of your blind tastings--I think it's good for folks to taste something every now and then that they can agree is bad.

[Iain]

I have one in the Lair that I haven't as yet opened and it may stayed sealed if it's that indifferent. Thanks for the heads up folks!
Musky

"Indifferent". That's the highest praise I've ever heard for Drumguish

MP, the only way to keep your proud boast alive, is to make sure that you and the bottle of D never get to make each other's acquaintance...

[Deactivated Member]

Drumguish is feinty (the sulphury, vegetable taste), suggesting too wide a cut. It also has a lot of sickly new makey flavours, suggesting it has been bottled too young - and probably filled into worn out casks.

[Muskrat Portage]

I have one in the Lair that I haven't as yet opened and it may stayed sealed if it's that indifferent. Thanks for the heads up folks!
Musky

"Indifferent". That's the highest praise I've ever heard for Drumguish

MP, the only way to keep your proud boast alive, is to make sure that you and the bottle of D never get to make each other's acquaintance...

"Indifferent at best " is my most distainful insult for anything horrible I have the unfortunate experience of running into. Especially indifferent whisky.

Trust me when I say it's not high praise. I think I'll leave the bottle sealed, for a good while longer. ...or until I decide to drink it for effect.
Musky

[Gov]

Well, I could not resist I had to try it out to see if it was that bad. The verdict............ This is the worst scotch I have had yet! The nose is brutal! About the only thing that is OK about it is the peat in it. Even though it is mild peat, it makes it some what tolerable, but only a bit. Thank god it was only $15. I think I smell some menthol on the nose, but maybe its mold and mildew. I can't be sure. This one may go down the drain! It pains me to say that

***update***
I dropped an ice cube in it and it tastes better! Go figure

[Gov]

Final update on Drumguish with ice. The ice has melted now, and its back to sucking! I will hide it in my kitchen and take it out for unsuspecting guests

[Deactivated Member]

I dropped an ice cube in it and it tastes better! Go figure

Have you tried dropping some coke in it? It might make it more bearable, although I can imagine coke enthusiasts around the world shuddering at the thought.

[WhiskyViking]

I dropped an ice cube in it and it tastes better! Go figure

At a tasting with Johnnie Walker they recommended Gold Label straight out of the freezer...

[Gov]

I dropped an ice cube in it and it tastes better! Go figure

Have you tried dropping some coke in it? It might make it more bearable, although I can imagine coke enthusiasts around the world shuddering at the thought.

Maybe I will try it. It doesn't sound great, but why not.

[atishy]

I've just opened a bottle of Drumduish, given to us about six years ago. We compared it to others and it was easily my favourite, liqueur smooth at the beginning without the sweetness. Light peat tones and then a pleasing evaporation leaving some fruit.

[Hokonui]

Poured myself a small Drumguish last night, and after probably an hour and a half of nosing & tasting, was not enjoying this at all. I was going to pour the remains of the glass down the sink, but recalled one of Ralfy's reviews, and instead covered glass and set aside. Tried again after 24 hours and now quite drinkable. Quite light, some menthol, mint, and drying finish. All I need to remember is to pour myself a dram about 24 hrs before I want to drink it. Right; that'll work.

[Ganga]

You could always split the bottle into 1/3s and leave the bottle for 5 years. My last few drams recently of a very old bottle were actually pleasant.

[Willie JJ]

This thread has become surreal

[donss]

Unfortunately, I moved home a year and a half ago, and now reside in a young house called... Drumguish.

I know the guy that built and named it: What on Gods earth was he thinking???

I must remember to have this changed asap to something more palatable.....