Full bodied, thick whisky

by **afviper** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:08 am

I am a beginner to the world of Whisky. I have tried Highland Park 12, Balvenie 12, and Laphroaig 10 which have all been great in their own way. I now want to try something that is a bit thicker, and more full bodied, maybe even syrupy. I want to keep the price down below $50. Some of the bottles that have caught my eye is Talisker 10, Glenfarclas 10, and maybe a Macallan 10 or 12. If one of my choices stands out, or you have a suggestion I would love to hear it.

by **peergynt323** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:33 am

I found all well-aged Glenrothes to be thick and viscous--almost syrupy.

by **Drrich1965** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:52 am

Well, I was hoping post 500 would be profound, how about just a simple opinion :wink:

Some people note that Caol Ila is a bit oily, at times. I find that quality gives many exprssions of the malt a good, think, hearty body, something almost chewy, if you will. If you like an olivy quality, some nice peppery peat, give it a go. Depending where you are, the 12 year old is certainly under $50, and is very nice. There are also many young, vibrant cask strenghts for about the same price. With Caol Ila, young ones give a great intensity, old ones are a bit more mellow.

by **Choochoo** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 5:23 am

(with sultry singing) Gold Member - he's the man with the midas touch Congrats!

As far as the original question. I'm not sure if any of the three choices listed would totally fit the bill of being thick and syrupy.

Talisker is smoke and black pepper with some sweetness (and I find a little tar in it as well sometimes)

I've not had the Glenfarclas 10, but I have had the 12yo and love it! But it's more spicy and punchy, malty sweet. Very good, but not exactly thick & syrupy.

Macallan might be the one to try. Probably the 12yo (make sure it's NOT the "Fine Oak" series - that is a different animal). But the Mac-12 is pretty rich and has a certain syrupy sweetness to it. The Mac-18yo is really quite good. A classic rich and syrupy malt, but it's also about $120 - so maybe wait for some other day to try that one.

Hope that helps a little.

by **afviper** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 5:41 am

Sorry if I was not clear enough, but by syrupy I did not mean sweet, I meant thick, and full bodied.

by **Wave** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 6:38 am

Depending on where you live there are several choices for that thick, full bodied elixir. The 1st that comes to mind is the Aberlour A'bunadh at cask strength. Others include Imperial, Longmorn and Mortlach. I don't consider the Talisker to be "thick" but it's definitely full bodied! :wink:

Cheers!

by **Scotchio** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 9:37 am

Ben Hur/ Nevis 10 or any cask strength 1st fill sherry ie abunnah,Glenfarclas 105, Macallan etc

by **les taylor** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 10:10 am

Like Wave I immediately thought of Aberlour A'bunadh. Or even Macallan Cask strength if you can get your hands on it. Its like an expensive grown up marmalade in a drink.

by **Paul A Jellis** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 10:53 am

A couple more to think about:

Glengoyne 21yr and/or Glen Garioch 21yr

both hearty enough to chew on.

Also a real 'cheapie' to consider: Speycast 12yr (Blend)

by **irishwhiskeychaser** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 11:22 am

Deffo the 'Aberlour a'bunadh'

this is a thick oily dram which is quite robust and full flavoured but it is a sherry heavy whisky at the same time.

For the price top super for what you get and in my opinion much better than any Macallan Sherry Monster.

by **Choochoo** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 1:16 pm

afviper wrote:Sorry if I was not clear enough, but by syrupy I did not mean sweet, I meant thick, and full bodied.

Oh

... Then keep an eye out for The Glenlivet Nadurra. It should be around $50-ish, seems to be commonly available in most areas, and is a great thick, full bodied malt.

by **afviper** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 1:34 am

I have read that Laphroaig Quarter Cask is full bodied, and very good. Since I enjoyed the 10 year would the Quarter Cask be a good choice?

by **peergynt323** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 2:02 am

Laphroaig QC is quite thick, and the vanilla creaminess contributes to that perception.

Definitely a good deal that one.

by **Wave** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 6:59 am

afviper wrote:I have read that Laphroaig Quarter Cask is full bodied, and very good. Since I enjoyed the 10 year would the Quarter Cask be a good choice?

Ahhhh, you seem to like the in-your-face approach in your whisky! Adding in the peat factor then the Laphroaig QC is a good choice as is the Ardbeg 10, both are comparable in price. Another one to consider is the Laphroaig Cask Strength, in my view it's the ultimate in-your-face whiskys I know of, truely lovely stuff! It costs a little above your price range (under $60), but definitely worth the experience. :wink:

Cheers!

by **Deactivated Member** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 8:27 am

Choochoo wrote:Then keep an eye out for The Glenlivet Nadurra. It should be around $50-ish, seems to be commonly available in most areas, and is a great thick, full bodied malt.

I was going to say anything cask-strength and unchillfiltered, for that full-bodied, oily mouthfeel, but couldn't think of anything in the price range you mention. Then Choochoo hits it with a big "D'oh!" That is, if you are in the US, where Nadurra is cask strength (fill in your profile!). If you get the UK version, it's still pretty good, but not quite the same. Since you are talking $ not £, I gather you are good.

by **Deactivated Member** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 10:13 am

I find the request for "thick" to be quite confusing as this is a descritpor for consistency. Does afviper want something that one needs to spoon out of a bottle?
Perhaps á la Heinz Ketchup?

If the request is merely for rich, full-bodied and full-flavoured. then I would agree with many of the suggestions above.
My own list of offerings would probably lean more towards the sherried style and include:

Macallan CS
Macallan 18y "Sherry Oak", dated versions with "Classic" labels
Aberlour A'Bunadh
Glenrothes but only older offerings - 19 years old or more
Glenfarclas Quarter Cask
Glenfarclas 105
Definitely Glen Garioch 15y and older
HP25
The various Bruichladdich 20 y/o 1986 "Sherry" bottlings would also fit the bill
Another and maybe a surprise addition to my list would be Auchentoshan 3 Wood. This is a Lowlander, but it joins my list thanks to the effect that all that wood has had on it during maturation.

But possibly the thickest and richest of all would be the newly released Dalmore 40 y/o ...... but for a price of around 50 USD? .......... :oops:

If I look at the world of peat, then I may suggest:
Ardbeg & Laphroaig as others have done, but possibly the "richest" or "thickest" would be Bruichladdich PC5.

Just my opinion,
MT

by **Deactivated Member** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 10:17 am

Sorry to post so quickly again, but I just looked at another discussion and remembered something else :idea:

Canadian whisky often comes across as being quite "thick".

I recently offered a Crown Royal at a tasting and it did have a reasonably rich full-flavour, but in a very gentle and unassuming way.
It also gives the impression of being really quite "thick", although it doesn't need the help of a spoon to get it out of the bottle (unlike Heinz Ketchup

)

MT

by **irishwhiskeychaser** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 1:02 pm

Malt-Teaser wrote:
Canadian whisky often comes across as being quite "thick".

MT

I even know a few people that come across as being quite "thick". :lol:

but I agree on the definition too, thick to me would be oily and viscous where as richness would be the full flavour profile.

Just goes to show how we all can precieve thinks so differently.

by **irishwhiskeychaser** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 1:04 pm

Ooopps Double post sorry