Rum-cask aged whisky ?

[Lord_Pfaffin]

I can remember seeing a Signatory bottling of a Caol Ila 10 yr. old that featured aging in rum-casks, but passed it by and havn't seen anything like it since. In retrospect i haven't lost interest in tasting a rum-cask finish and was wondering if there are available, but don't know where to start looking.
In an interview with SWR during the spring of 1999; Dr. Bill Lumsden, at the time head of distilleries and maturation at Glenmorangie did make the following statement: Quote " In future we may do something with a different cask but probably not sherry; the Ardbeg style does not involve sherry. As for herring-barrel finish I think there is enough of the smoked fish character there already! Whatever we do do it must be something robust to overcome the phenols, rum perhaps." Unquote.
Does anyone know if Ardbeg tried rum-cask aging and are there any other distilleries that are?
Ardaíonn ár ngrá muid féin níos airde i gcónaí!

[Deactivated Member]

I've seen a number of rum cask finishes mentioned around here. Can't you Canuckis get the Glenfiddich Gran Reserva, which is finished in a Havana rum cask? Not available in the US, of course...can't let your peas touch your potatoes.

[Mr Fjeld]

Glenfiddich Havana Reserve 21 y.O.

Have anyone here tried it - the price isn't that bad in Norway at around £ 80,-

Skål!
Christian

[Admiral]

I've tried it a few times, and was impressed enough to buy myself a bottle.

The word I would use to describe it is "buttery". But there's also a very interesting spice to it - almost like a mild pepper or paprika.

It's also worth mentioning that - for all the baggage that comes with the name 'Glenfiddich' - it is almost universally recognised that anything they produce which is older than 15 years is usually bloody good whisky. The 21yo is no exception.

Cheers,
Admiral

[Mr Fjeld]

Hm...those kind words about the Glenfiddich made me very interested. Think I'll order it next month. After all, Glenfiddich was my very first single malt years ago.

Skål!
Christian

GLENFIDDICH Gran Reserva (Previously called Havana Reserve) according to Royal Mile Whiskies:

[Deactivated Member]

The 15 was my favorite, Christian. The bottle of 18 I had was very nice, but not special in any way that I can recall, and thus not really worth the price. The one dram I had of the 30 struck me the same.

[Admiral]

Aahh, the 30yo. Now THAT was a good dram. Liquid white chocolate!!

Cheers,
Admiral

[Mr Fjeld]

Mr Tattieheid, I presume (avoiding the word assume) the Glenfiddich 15 was replaced by Balvenie 15 as your favourite?

The 30 sounds like quite a whisky Admiral

Skål!
Christian

[Lord_Pfaffin]

#GLENFIDDICH 40YR OLD SINGLE MALT SPEYSIDE
Great Britain | Wm. Grant & Sons Ltd
VINTAGES 954909 | 700 mL | $ 2199.00
Oh just one please, and do ya got any straws?
Ardaíonn ár ngrá muid féin níos airde i gcónaí!

[Deactivated Member]

Mr Tattieheid, I presume (avoiding the word assume) the Glenfiddich 15 was replaced by Balvenie 15 as your favourite?

The 30 sounds like quite a whisky Admiral

Skål!
Christian

I meant my favorite Glenfiddich. There I go, being ambiguous again.... Glenfiddichs have always struck me as pleasant whiskies, and that's dramming with faint praise. The 15 is the only one that struck me as having any real character. Wish I could give the 30 a fair trial; I had it in a bar, and only because the fool bartender couldn't find the price and charged me the same as the 18 (which was plenty enough, but who can pass up a bargain?). It did not overly impress me, but I will certainly bow to Admiral's judgment, as I'm sure he paid it far better attention than I was able to at the time.

[Mr Fjeld]

Glenfiddichs have always struck me as pleasant whiskies, and that's dramming with faint praise. The 15 is the only one that struck me as having any real character.

So it is in your opinion worth buying - or would you spend it on the Balvenie 21 Portwood instead?

Skål!
Christian

[Aidan]

There was a Springbank (I think) that was aged in Rum casks and went green! It goes for huge prices now, although I'm not 100% sure it was springbank.

Also, Bushmills has several releases from Rum casks. They're not too hard to find.

http://bushmills-rum-cask.potstill.org/ ... ll_020.jpg

[Lord_Pfaffin]

Not much chance finding that one here, but it looks like a tasty little number though.

[Deactivated Member]

Glenfiddichs have always struck me as pleasant whiskies, and that's dramming with faint praise. The 15 is the only one that struck me as having any real character.

So it is in your opinion worth buying - or would you spend it on the Balvenie 21 Portwood instead?

Skål!
Christian

I'd probably go with the Balvenie without a second thought, especially if the prices are comparable. But the 'fiddich 15 is a good dram, and I don't think you'd be sorry either way.

One caveat--I really liked the Balvenie 21 Portwood, but I have some recollection that the port influence was quite strong and it wasn't very "Balvenieish"--but maybe someone who has had it more recently than I can corroborate. I don't fully trust my memory on that. (Maybe I should make notes after all....)

[Deactivated Member]

There's always "Glenmorangie Golden Rum Cask". It's available exclusively in Sainsbury stores at £29.99.

I'd highly recommend it, although I always struggle to find adjectives to accurately convey my thoughts/feelings on nose, taste and finish.

Suffice to say that it's not syrupy sweet, but - as might be expected - sweeter tan the classic 10yo.

[Mr Fjeld]

I'd probably go with the Balvenie without a second thought, especially if the prices are comparable. But the 'fiddich 15 is a good dram, and I don't think you'd be sorry either way.

One caveat--I really liked the Balvenie 21 Portwood, but I have some recollection that the port influence was quite strong and it wasn't very "Balvenieish"--but maybe someone who has had it more recently than I can corroborate. I don't fully trust my memory on that. (Maybe I should make notes after all....)

Hey thanks Tattieheid! I smelled the bottle a couple of weeks ago but because I was at work I couldn't taste it. Seemed very "winey" though. Unfortunately I find it increasingly difficult to choose what to buy - mabye because I want it all - now! Maybe both the Balvenie and the Glenfiddich is best tasted at the bar first?

Eelbrook:
The state monopoly restricts my choice to the standard Glenmorangie 10 & the 18.

Skål!
Christian

[bernstein]

There is also an Arran Single Cask Rum Finish 58,5 % (1997/2004) available.

Christian: I was wondering lately, what this Norwegian state monopoly is all about. Is it still the state's attempt to prevent excessive alcohol consumation in long and dark nordic winter nights? Experience may have shown that this is always at least an ambivalent business...
And if so - a strict ban of all alcoholic beverages would make more sense to me than ruling out only special expressions. Does 'abv' play any role? How do Norwegian authorities justify this legal regulation?

And - sympathising with our North-American friends with all of their state/province based regulations - the world is indeed full of fixed aversions.

[Mr Fjeld]

There is also an Arran Single Cask Rum Finish 58,5 % (1997/2004) available.

Christian: I was wondering lately, what this Norwegian state monopoly is all about. Is it still the state's attempt to prevent excessive alcohol consumation in long and dark nordic winter nights?

Yes!

If so - a strict ban of all alcoholic beverages would make more sense to me than ruling out only special expressions INHO.

I guess the authoroties are familiar with the skilled home distillers of the rural parts of my country. Too many blind people because of that and political opposition luckily prevents the idiots forcing a ban on alcholol. However, in all fairness it should be mentioned that both the norwegian state monopoly and the swedish counterpart are probably the better deal for the consumer as availability and selection is quite good even in the standard stores in remote areas. The staff is well trained and the expertise is very good. But most importantly, if you happen to be a wine enthusiast you'd be very lucky to live here simply becaue of the selection and the pricing. It is relatively costly to buy cheap wine but very cheap to buy expensive wine as this was bought when the wine was released to the market - before prices skyrockets on auction sales.
The selection of whisky is also quit good - and I'd say better than many stores on the continent. That is if you include the state monopoly's internet shop where the selection is vastly better compared to most shops.

Does abv play any role? How do Norwegian authorities justify this legal regulation? But again - sympathising with our North-American friends - the world is full of fixed aversions.

Now this is where the political stupidity plays a part. The stronger the spirit the more tax you pay! Thus Cask strength whiskies tends to be on the expensive side. I payed around £ 70,- for the Ardbeg Uigeadail. And that's bloody unfair! Alcoholics don't drink Uigeadail - they drink cheap vodka and beer!

Having said that I wholeheartedly agree with keeping the prices relatively high on the cheap stuff. Most Norwegians cannot behave propperly when drinking and if it helps restrict their intake somwhat I'd say it's a good thing. We're a strange people and most of us (not me of course) drink not to enjoy the beverage but to become drunk. Same thing with food really - it's all about quantity and not quality. The only difference is that norwegians eat all week but drink only during the weekend.

Actually, I hope the Wine Monopoly is secured for the future as it works quite good - believe it or not

Have a look yourself: http://www.vinmonopolet.no/
Click "Nettbutikk,prisliste,brennevin,whisky,Canada/Irland/Skottland/USA - there you'll find the standard selection all shops must have.
Then click "ikke lagerførte varer" where you'll find the whisky they can provide you in a couple of days.

Skål!
Christian

[bernstein]

Very interesting, indeed! - Takk skål du ha!

Bernie

[Mr Fjeld]

No problem Bernie! By the way, it's really annoying not being able to buy from whisky shops abroad like the whisky exchange etc.

And about the "Takk skål du ha" - you know norwegian very well to be able to change this phrase into a joke


Skål!
Christian

[Frodo]

Not much chance finding that one here, but it looks like a tasty little number though.

Actually Lord P, the LCBO does carry NAS single cask CS Bushmills; some bourbon, some sherry, some rum casked. The rum casked can be found (acording to on-line inventory) at Baview Village store as well as the big Ottawa store. I'm sure a store near you will get one if you ask them. If you have trouble in this endevour, pm me and I'll help. One thing though - cost is C$150 for the rum finish. Bourbon finish is only C$90. Whopping difference no?

Frodo

[Lord_Pfaffin]

Thanks Frodo, it'll be quite sometime in the future i'm sure before i go out and spend $150 on a bottle of whisky. Although if i had reason to celebrate and in that case $150 wouldn't be out of line. Afterall the wife and i laid waste to a bottle of Katnook 2000 vintage cab-sav'n and a Wolf Blas platinum label over dinner tonite. I suspect the Bushmills would endure at least three samplings making it a far better value than the wine.

[bernstein]

And about the "Takk skål du ha" - you know norwegian very well to be able to change this phrase into a joke

Believe me, just pretending...

Actually it was a - what's it called? - a typo! It's just like real life: the smallest things can make all the difference .

Takk skal du ha!

Bernie

[JimHall]

Sorry
I may be a bit late but I found a Glen Garioch 1968 36yo Rum Cask Finish. This was under £100
Don't have any tasting notes.

[MGillespie]

And about the "Takk skål du ha" - you know norwegian very well to be able to change this phrase into a joke

Believe me, just pretending...

Actually it was a - what's it called? - a typo! It's just like real life: the smallest things can make all the difference .

Takk skal du ha!

Bernie

OK guys, whose mother did Bernie insult...translation, please...

Mark

[Mr Fjeld]

Translation as follows: "You son of a vodka drinking :"#/&!?
Not really, the norwegian word "skal" means to do/shall and is very similar to "skål" the norwegian word for cheers.

Skål!
Christian

[bernstein]

Just a way to say "Merci!".

[Deactivated Member]

The machine translation engine translates "Takk skal du ha" as "Thank you" and "Takk skål du ha" as "Cheers bowl you have". I have more fun with that thing....

http://www.foreignword.com/Tools/transnow.htm

[MGillespie]

Thought I'd picked up another non-English insult I could save for a special moment...oh, well...

Mark

[Mr Fjeld]

...I'm sure Bernie can teach you a thing or two about cursing as he's familiar with the girls of Narvik. The people of the north of Norway are infamous for their skills in colourful cursing...

Skål!
Christian

[bernstein]

The people of the north of Norway are infamous for their skills in colourful cursing...

Aaaah - talking about Nordlendings - they're really something!

I found this nice little description of north Norwegian cursing practices:

"Swearing in north Norway is an art. It's so much more than an uttering of obscenities and profanities that most people won't raise the proverbial eyebrow unless you really overdo it. Swearing up there is full of nuances. I'm not saying that swearing in other geographical regions aren't, but it's a fact of life that you could be compared to a particularly bad-looking piece of horse g*****lia in the colder parts of Norway, and the person behind it will not necessarily mean you any harm. In fact, a Nordlending who reportedly called a police officer in Bodø by the name of "hæstkuk" was acquitted after being tried on the matters."

So Mark, if you really want to widen your cursing horizon (hæstkuk?), take a look at the site mentioned above. But before you do that, note that I don't take any responsibility whatsoever for any harm this might inflict on you!

http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?nod ... d%20Curses

No idea though, how we could come back on whisky. Wait a moment!
Rum casks and cursing?
Rum??
Cursing, rum drinking sailors???
Captain Haddock!!!

What do you think about Loch Lomond? Any tasting notes?


Skål!
Bernie

[MGillespie]

Is there anything Norwegian girls can do well?

Wait...never mind...forget I posted that!

[Lord_Pfaffin]

Someone told me that a Norwegian girl wouldn't like cool Cockspur rum she'd prefer some hot Dickens cider.
Ardaíonn ár ngrá muid féin níos airde i gcónaí!

[Deactivated Member]

I don't know what "hæstkuk" is, but it must be pretty bad--the machine translator wouldn't touch it.

[Mr Fjeld]

Is there anything Norwegian girls can do well?

Wait...never mind...forget I posted that!

.......playing handball.......

Skål!
Christian