So I guess I like spoofy Scotch

So I’ve started checking out higher end Scotch. And I guess I like spoofy Scotch. Although to be fair, wood choice is critical in the making of Scotch.
It started earlier this year when Glenn Beinstock brought out some Scotch to try as we were doing a wine dinner. I liked the first two he offered. He warned me I may not like the third, Laphroaig Scotch from the Isle of Islay. It has fairly intense smoke and iodine notes. I loved it. A few weeks later I was at Chapel Tavern, a well-stocked bar in Reno, and asked for a smoky Scotch. They served me an Ardbeg. Loved it again.
So then when I saw on Facebook that Craft Wine and Beer were holding a Scotch tasting, I was all over it. The tasting featured Scotch imported by Impex Beverage. The tasting was led by Chris Uhde, western district manager for Impex. Uhde wears several hats it seems in the Scotch world. He sells it, he educates people about it, he is active in several organizations, I believe he moderates a discussion board and he writes tasting notes. Just generally a cheerleader for Scotch. I liked Uhde so I didn’t ask him if he has a dog named Hercules. He wore a kilt while leading the tasting.
The tasting included about seven Scotches. I liked all of them. But Uhde seemed to save the best three for the end.
Third from the end was Tamdhu 10-year-old. It was the lightest, most floral Scotch of the night and he had us take a break and cleanse our palates in preparation for it. This may have also been the sweetest Scotch of the night. It had fruity notes and a little bit of nuttiness. The finish was also delicate but it lingered. You almost had to pay attention to notice it, but it was there. I think this was the Volnay of Scotches I tasted that night. It was made in Sherry barrels and I’d say I tended to favor Sherry barrel Scotches.
However, by far my favorite Scotch of the night was the Kilchoman Loch Gorm. I thought I heard Uhde say it was made in a Bourbon barrel, but online they say it made from Sherry barrels. This Scotch solidified my confidence that I’m an Islay man. This was tickling all my receptors in both taste and smell. On the nose, it was smoky and iodine and had a little bit of burnt sugar. The palate seemed more cloves and tobacco. It had one of the best finishes of the night for me. It was lighter but the flavors were fairly intense. Not subtle at all. The price tag as a little too steep for me, but I bought a bottle of the Kilchoman Machir Bay. I haven’t tasted it, but I suspect I will like it. This was like the Vosne-Romanee of Scotch because of its richness and complexity. Another surprise here was that it was only a five-year-old Scotch but it tasted more complex than a 20-year-old Scotch.
The last Scotch of the night was a 2005 Tobermory Ledaig. This was the only Scotch that demanded to be diluted with a few drops of water. Undiluted the alcohol burned and was a bit overwhelming. But add some water and it becomes more balanced. Like the amplifier in “This is Spinal Tap” this was set to 11. I think this also had some peat. More smoke on the palate and a sugary sweetness. Good finish. Because it’s so out of balance, I don’t see it being something I’d drink all the time. But it would be nice to check in with this every now and then. Because of the intensity and bigness, I’d say this is the Sea Smoke of Scotch.
So take the notes for what they’re worth coming from a Scotch newbie. I look forward to trying different kinds of Scotch.

Thanks for the great post.

I searched online to find a bottle of Kilchoman to try!

Holy cow!

Ordered it from the Whisky Barrel shop in Edinburgh and it’s already here!

Trying the Loch Gorm, Machir bay, and 4th Edition.

Tasting this weekend.

Thanks for the thread.

They sell it at K&L in San Francisco.
It fits my tastes. I hope you like it, too.

Hi Steve,
My buddy forwarded me this post. What a cool website! I hadn’t heard of it before, but I will be paying attention now. It was great to meet everyone in Reno and my apologies if I said that the Loch Gorm was aged in a bourbon cask. It is most definitely a limited sherry cask release. The Kilchoman Machir Bay that you purchased however is a mixture of 4-5yr old bourbon cask matured single malt scotch where the 5yr spent the last 4 weeks in sherry casks. I must have been thinking of that one when I was mentioning bourbon cask maturation.

On another note, unfortunately I do not have a dog named Hercules nor am I disciplined enough to moderate a discussion board, but I do take the mistake in identity as a compliment as whomever that is sounds like a cool person.

Anyway, thanks for coming to the tasting and thanks for all the great compliments on the whisky! Hopefully I will see you again the next time I am in Reno. In the meantime, I look forward to reading more posts on this site.

Cheers

Steve, it was actually Lagavulin 16 at my house.

Tough to go up much from there.

I used to feel the same way. Sadly, there is a world of fine whisky that never makes it the States, and many of them are even better than the very fine Lagavulin 16. ymmv, of course.

How did you like the Kilchoman?

A very good whisky site I frequent is whiskywhiskywhisky.com.

Really knowledgeable group over there. I am a HUGE Islay fan, peathead if you will, and LOVE Ardbeg! I have a fairly decent collection of Ardbeg bottles and it is growing. There are a number of really good scotch forums on facebook also.

Took me a while to taste them several times to get a handle on preference, and it is still difficult.

Some low level amateur notes…I did each with one big square ice cube.

The 4th Edition: Lighter smoke than the other two. Faint caramel flavor, pleasant and mild oak notes. It had that pleasant iodine sensation I like in a Scotch, seemingly the most notable on this Scotch of the three. There was some pear on the finish. Of the three, this one had the greatest “fruit” sensation, but I don’t mean that other than to describe a sort of vibrancy rather than specific fruit flavors. Maybe some date/fig kind of aspect to the caramel sensation.

Machir Bay: “Smoother” profile…which to me means less overtly hot alcohol sensation, and more complex mouth feel. tastes like how a great den smells - some leather, humidor sensation. Smokier and less ‘up front’ than the 4th Edition. I’d call this a classic flavor profile of Islays that I like. (This will sound crazy, but it smelled and tasted a bit like how the air affects me along the coast in winter - kind of a salt water feel that was pretty neat. That’s being too loquacious.)

Loch Gorm: This one really grew over a few minutes of interacting with the touch of water from the ice. It had a more subdued or reticent nose, and it gave nice salty air/iodine, even graphite flavors. It had the least heat, and I am sure I could get the vibe of the sherry barrel, but only as a well integrated part of the experience. It really meshed the flavors with its smoke sensation, as well.

I would drink them all “on purpose” if they were offered on a menu.

At first, my favorite was the Machir Bay, but as I had more tasting time, might like the Loch Gorm best, but that changed from tasting to tasting. I vacillate between the two. My wife prefers the Loch Gorm and I will say 51% Loch Gorm and 49% Machir Bay.

In retrospect, I got the most specific flavors from the 4th Edition, but was drawn in by the sultriness of the other two over the enthusiasm of the 4th Edition.

Liked 'em all, and thank you for having started the thread.

So, you guys are a bad influence.

Tried The Belvenie Port Wood.

It’s OK, a bit sweet, actually, which seemed a distant cousin to Jack Daniels, with whom I had a bed experience with as a teenager. So, it might be good, but I think I have a conditioned response not to fully appreciate it. It got much better with a dash of water. MY wife liked it, a lot.

Then this one…

It’s great.

Put me down as a smoky peaty guy.

I’m new to scotch, but so far, the Balvenie’s are about my speed. So far, the Glenlivet 18, HP 18 and Lagavulin 16 have been indistinguishable. The Ardbeg Corryvreckan though - holy peat smoke batman!

Glenlivet and Lagavulin are in very different area codes to me.

It’s definitely me Scott. I am a noob and can’t see through the Peat smoke yet. I’ve reached the bottom of the Glenlivet and really, In hindsight find it less inspiring than the Lagavulin or HP. I’d like to retry both the Lagavulin 16 and HP 18 to be sure, but I still have much discovery to do as Scotch is new to me. Glenrothes on deck, and I’ve yet to try Glenfarclas or any Macallan yet.

That is an odd comment. Lag should be a lot peatier and generally quite different. I think of the Glenlivet as decent quality but a pretty straightforward Speyside.

Is Glenlivet peated at all?

If it is, you can’t taste it.

It might be worth noting that if you are going to drink these together, drink the Glenlivet first and the Lagavulin last. If done in reverse I could see how they’d all taste the same.

Laphroaig 10 has become my new favorite. Intense palate on an elegant texture.