Did somebody want to talk about whisky or whiskey?

[doombient]

Yeah, thatīs right. Seems to be some kind of fad, and frankly, I think some manufacturers/distillers/distributors go over the top a bit. A bit like Grande Latte plus hundreds of possible flavours.... whatīs the point of all this? After all, itīs only coffee and milk.

Iīd recommend the plain Balvenie Double Wood which spent another two or three years in a sherry cask. This is something I can do with very well, the rest would be a bit too posh for me. The Balvenie, plus a nice cigar, and Stevieīs fine.

Stephen

[Hypnagogue]

Here's the line-up I went with for tonight and tomorrow (well, obviously, not all of it will be consumed by then) 

I didn't know Dry Creek was still around. The Fume Blanc was always a favorite.

[mgriffin]

I was a good boy over the holidays, and enjoyed a variety of new scotch and bourbon stuff, without going completely overboard on any of them. Well, our bottle of Glenlivet is half gone, but Lena and I both sipped away at it over a few nights, so that's pretty conservative.

Maybe I'll have to go buy another few bottles to try. You know, give myself a reward for showing such restraint during December?

[Julio Di Benedetto]

Found this thread buried in the archives......thought I would bring it back to life, tis the season!

I have been enjoying single malts scotch's these past several months.....never really got into them until I picked up a mix pack of small bottles that were Craggenmore 12, Talisker 10 & Lagavulin 16.  Well that change everything.  Its hard to image just sitting with a dram and sniffing and sipping for a half hour.  Such a small amount of liquid produces such aromas and flavor.

My list in particular order though I do tend to favor the Islay malts with their heavy peat smoke.

   


Ardbeg Ten, Lagavulin & Laphroiag Triple Wood really stand out.  They are all great whiskies.  The Islay ones seem to manage to bottle the smell and almost taste of the Ocean!

Still much more to discover.

[mgriffin]

What a great post, Julio. Thanks for bumping this back to the top.

For a long time I've favored Glenlivet as my main Scotch, with Laphroaig as an alternate when I'm in a mood for something more exotic.

This past year or so I've been trying to nudge myself out of my comfort zone, and have discovered many new favorites along the way. Ardbeg in particular is something I now rate very near the top of my list.

The Lagavulin 16 is another special one, as Lena and I showed up with a bottle of that to a room party at the NecronomiCon convention in Providence, and found that another guest (one of my favorite weird authors in fact, Michael Cisco) arrived with a bottle of the exact same thing, by chance. So the guests in that room party (which included many other of my favorite writers) consumed two bottles of that fine Scotch in short order, along with several others. Here's the mad genius Cisco offering his endorsement:

[Julio Di Benedetto]

Sounds like a Fantastic evening Mike.....love the photograph and story.

You might like to try Caol Ila Islay malt.  It somewhere between Laphroaig and Lagavulin in taste and not as hard one your wallet as Lagavulin.  It is my current dram.

Writers always seem to have great taste in whiskies....hey maybe ambient musician do to. 

[| broken harbour |]

How the hell did I miss this?

Julio, we have nearly identical taste in Scotch, good man!

[Julio Di Benedetto]

Excellent Blake......this might be a good place to exchange whisky tasting notes,  theres just so much to discover in a sniff and sip.  I still do enjoy wine but its so easy to finish a nice bottle in an evening that it actually cost way more than good scotch.   A bottle of scotch in an evening by yourself....that there would be a problem.

Still working out my preference of a splash of water or not.....the higher alcohol whiskies for sure and thus far whiskies that hit around 56% are harder to drink for me as the alcohol seems to get in the way, which is not what the experts say.

Over time Glenlivet was my go to once in a while......need to go back and taste it again.

I did not realize that american bourbon casks played such an important roll in the initial maturation of Scottish single malt whisky.  Laphroaig use Makers Mark Bourbon cask.

[mgriffin]

Every time I glance back through this topic, and all the pictures, it makes me happy.

I'll definitely have to try Caol Ila soon. It was one of the names mentioned by the many Scotch fanatics I met in Providence. I've been working through the list of great recommendations I received.

[Julio Di Benedetto]

Im curious if you would share that "list" Mike.....suggestions from aficionados!  Recommendation go a long way.   Hope I dont sound too thirsty 

[Julio Di Benedetto]

The Laphroaig story.....

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Could not find a complete video...just theses little ones that came from the website.


As a Friend of Laphroaig this is what you get....makes a Laphroaig dram that much more special

[mgriffin]

Those Laphroaig videos are fantastic! I haven't gotten through the last few yet, but enjoyed seeing the process so far.

Julio, you'll be pleased to know I took your advice and picked up a bottle of Caol Ila last night, and gave it a try. I thought it was fantastic, and Lena really liked it too. I rank that up there with Ardbeg as one of my other recent favorite discoveries.

You also asked about the Scotch recommendations that came from the whiskey fanatics Lena and I met at NecronomiCon. Aside from the discussions that happened at the room party I mentioned, where I only made note of one recommendation (Balvenie Carribean Cask, which I believe is aged in Carribean rum casks), the notes I made actually came from a few weeks later, when a book reviewer we met at the convention tagged a few of us on Facebook and asked for Scotch recommendations.

I don't remember what I recommended to him, but a few others spoke up:

Ilan Lerman, a horror writer from Scotland, suggested Aberlour 16 year, which I haven't tried yet.

Our own Ian Boddy (this is the fun thing about Facebook -- the cross-pollination of your friends from different realms) spoke up and suggested Isle of Jura 16. I believe I've had the younger Isle of Jura and liked it quite well but haven't tried the 16 yet.

The horror writer John Langan, whose excellent collection The Wide Carnivorous Sky I just finished reading, suggested Auchtentoshan. That's next on my list to try.

The room party we attended in Providence was John Langan's room, which he shared with perhaps my favorite active fiction writer, Laird Barron, whose books I strongly recommend for anyone interested at all in weird, dark fiction. Laird's recommendation was Glenrothes. Now, because of my extremely high regard for Laird's writing, this was the first of the recommendations I tried, and while it was a high-quality scotch and had pleasant enough qualities, I didn't really love it. Probably worth a try, but to my taste it was not nearly as distinguished and "deep" as some of the others we're discussing.

[Julio Di Benedetto]

Excellent recommendations Mike....Glad your enjoying the Caol Ila.

I have had my eye on Aberlour 16 and Auchtentoshan.  Belvenie  Carribean Cask should be interesting with the rum influence.  Belvenie make a peated whiskey but its about $130 so that's gone to the bottom of the list

Oban is another I want to try.

Below is a flavor map that is handy to have on my iPhone when Im starring unknowingly at the well stocked whisky section at the liquor store.  Really helps get a idea of contrasting flavors.

Auchtentoshan is the complete opposite or the Islay malts.....hopefully not to light and delicate though that could be good nevertheless.

[mgriffin]

Great, now I have to buy all the examples in that chart so I can compare for myself. 

[Julio Di Benedetto]

Tell me about it.....the list keeps getting longer!

[| broken harbour |]

Personally for myself, I prefer Islay scotch's and drink those almost exclusively.  However when I don't feel like assaulting my senses I have always enjoyed the various Highland Park offerings, the easy to find 12 and 15 year.  I like the 15 year as it sort tastes of green apples to me.



My regular go to scotches tend to be:

Laphroaig 10yr
Ardbeg 10yr
Ardbeg Ugedall
Lagavulin 16yr

If you can bring yourself to try a blended scotch (I can I'm not a snob!) the Big Peat is a great choice, it literally tastes like a tour of Islay.

[| broken harbour |]

My absolute favourite was some Ardbeg Alligator I tried once, it was incredible, but ultra rare, I can't bring myself to spend $300+ on a bottle....

[Bill Binkelman]

For me, it's still a toss up between Cragganmore and Balvenie DoubleWood. I'm a Highland and Speyside man, and not that fond of peat. There are some great lower priced Scotches out there, such as the undated McClellands, which I've always enjoyed. Last time I bought it, it was about $18 bucks...for a single malt, that's pretty good. It's not dated, but I'd imagine it's a 7-9 year old Scotch. A lot smoother than you'd think, IMO.

http://www.mcclellands.co.uk/

[saulstokes]

I personally have found Bulliet Bourbon Frontier Whiskey to be great right before bed. I think of it as a reward for making it through another day alive!

This is the crazy part. I've been doing this for almost a year now and I have not had ONE SINGLE COLD. I use to deal with 3-4 colds a year so I'm of the opinion a tiny bit of this stuff a day is sort of killing off germs.  Plus I sleep way better!

[Julio Di Benedetto]

I really did enjoy the Highland Park 12, some smoke but not Islay strength. I have to try the 15 yr and the 18 yr most be really special.  I do tend to favor Island malts, well the UK is and island so that would be Isle malts I guess.  Talisker from the Isle of Sky was the exception.  Theres one from the Isle of Orkney is it Skye called Scapa that is intriguing and pricy. And Jura is on the list.

Have to try Big Peat...thanks for bring that up Blake.  It s got to be a blast mixing Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore & Port Ellen spirits.

Saul I cant get a picture of Clint Eastwood stand at a saloon bar out of my head....Bullet Bourbon Frontier Whiskey. I love the name.  I will look for that one.

I picked up a bottle of Lagavulin yesterday for the holidays......Finishing Caol Ila and enjoying Laghroaig Triple Wood.  I like to have a few bottles going at a time, sort have my own little tastings. Definitely a lot of peat right now.

Ardbeg do some wonderfully unusual distilling from what Ive read where they take current production spirit and mix it with their much older stock to create some extraordinary Whiskey...I think the "Alligator" that you mentioned Blake may have been such a bottling.

One thing Im finding is that the older malts are certainly smoother but I notice I miss that untamed sometimes in your face complex wildness that an Ardbeg 10yr has of a Laphroaig.  It can be such an event. I wonder if age mellows intensity....hey Im almost 50yrs old, bet Im not as exciting as when I was 25.  Ah but so much wiser! 

This could turn into a Whiskey, currently drinking thread....