What WHISKY (Scotch) are you drinking?

Beer and Spirits
501

Apparently there is some 18 year Kirkland Signature scotch being found at some CostCo’s. Any reviews?

502

Lucky you! It’s so difficult to find Karuizawa in NYC. Where did you get yours? (I guess that goes with where you are located as well)

503

San Francisco area. I think it’s difficult to find Karuizawa anywhere, as demand has gone up astronomically in recent years. K&L purchased 2 casks (1981, and 1999) and those sold out within days.

504

Glen Leinburn 18 year

Distillery bottled. Never heard of this one, but it presents mild and quite on the fruity side. There’s still some tactile feel going down though. 7 for me, it’s kind of a nice change of pace from more authoritative stuff, but not my usual quaff. Got it for $80 at the LCBO (here’s a howl—they have recently run out the Macallan 25 yr at $1,000), which all things considered probably isn’t bad.

4 or so years out from initial opening, the last of my 24 yr. Edradour (PX Finish) is still compelling stuff.

505

I know. It’s almost impossible to get a Karuizawa single cask for less than 500/600 USD. And with that money, I question myself whether it’s more worth it to get Karuizawa or a combination of other single malts.

506

Never heard of it. Is this a real distillery?

507

Interesting and fairly new.

508

Okay, thanks. But there’s nothing that indicates they’re actually doing any distilling - they look more like an independent bottler to me.

509

Yes. Looks like that to me, too. Fairly expensive 18 year old but sounds good.

510

Curious—just went to the website now. The website is definitely listed on the back of the bottle but it seems like this may be their own product in any event. Anyway, it is single malt and it remains a nice change of pace :slight_smile:

511

Winter’s come, people. Time to resurrect the scotch thread.

Last night:

Dalwhinnie Distiller’s edition, cask 1996, bottled 2012.

Big citrus fruity nose that jumps out of the glass at you, but surprisingly hot for only 86 proof at this age. Mild peaty/grassy finish without a ton of smokiness.

512

My wife brought me a Glen Deveron 16 from Heathrow duty free. Excellent and reminds me a bit of Highland Park 18. 40 quid for a litre.

513

up in Speyside right now. Naturally, I’ve come across some decent whiskys …

at bar, night of arrival:
Glendronach 18
I thought this was very good. Heavily sherried, though.


Glenfarclas tour:
Glenfarclas 10
The tour was excellent, but I was very disappointed that this was the only post-tour dram offered.


Pub lunch
Balvenie - Roasted Malt
A friend told me to buy him a bottle of this whisky if I came across it while up in Speyside, so I simply had to try it for myself when I saw it available at the pub. I thought it was very good; I’m scared to find out how much a bottle costs, though.


Cragganmore tour:
Cragganmore 12
Cragganmore - Double Matured Distiller’s Edition
Cragganmore 21
I thought the DE, which saw a Port pipe, was very good; this surprised me, as I don’t normally like whiskys that have been in a Port barrel. The Cragganmore 21 is absolutely wonderful, but I balked at the price (108 pounds, which – truth be told – is actually a pretty good price for it).


Aberlour tour:
Aberlour - Single cask ex-bourbon (16yr cask strength)
Aberlour - Single cask ex-sherry (16yr cask strength)
Aberlour 10 - Sherry finish
Aberlour 16
Aberlour - a’bunadh
Both of the single casks were very good, and were available for purchase on a fill-your-own-bottle basis; I purchased two bottles of the ex-bourbon. The 10yr Sherry finish was interesting considering its price-point (30 quid), but I passed on buying b/c my whisky bill is mounting quickly by this time. The 16 was nice, but shamefully watered down to 43%. The cask strength a’bunadh was rough, and not really to my liking (even with water).


Lunch at Glenfiddich restaurant:
Balvenie 17 Peated Cask
Saw this in a store yesterday, and was intrigued, but balked at the 70 quid asking price (I’ve since discovered that’s not a bad price for this one); when I saw it was available at the restaurant today, I happily gave it a shot. I thought it was good, but not 70 quid worth of good. Again, disappointed to see this watered down to 43%. A bit sweet for my preferences.


Have dinner planned at The Mash Tun for tonight, so I reckon I’ll be adding one or two whiskys to this list before our stay here is over. [cheers.gif]

514

Brian…you suck. [wow.gif]





neener

515

[oops.gif]

[berserker.gif]

516

What an amazing thread this is. Hope for more action soon.

Have had these tonight:

Ardbeg 10 (Robuste, amazing value, and I have to buy a few more)
Lagavulin 16 (so cool and laid back. Wonderfully balanced whisky!)
Springbank 12 years cask strength (4th ed) 52,2% (very good, nice fruity style and beautiful balance)
Bowmore (Exclusive Malts) single cask 9 years 1996-2005 (I really don’t care for the nose on this, as I find it too sour. On the palate it is generous and warm and very easy to like)

517

I had some of this last night, too. I love it, and was very surprised when the first dram I poured showed obvious sherry influence. What’s the bottling code on your bottle? Mine is 12/266

I followed that up with a dram of the Port Charlotte - 10 yo

518

I am not really sure where to find this bottling code. Not easily detectable…

And Brian, can you give me some recs for Springbank and/or Longrow. We seem to have access to most here - if we are willing to pay the bucks :wink: btw; the Longrow 18 is about 170 Euro

519

Look through the bottle — the bottling code is printed on the back of the front label.

And Brian, can you give me some recs for Springbank and/or Longrow. We seem to have access to most here - if we are willing to pay the bucks > :wink: > btw; the Longrow 18 is about 170 Euro

I’ve only had the Longrow 14 and the Longrow 18 — I think both are excellent, although I didn’t have the 2012 bottling of either. M@rk K@pl@n told me the 2012 bottling of the 18 yo was tainted with excess sulphur, so I’d check the bottling code before purchasing (again, the bottling code is on the back of the front label; it is comprised of a two digit number, a slash, and a three digit number — the two digit number represents the year it was bottled). 170 euro for the 18 yo is a bad price — I can find it for ~100 euro in the UK, and in the U.S. I can find it for ~130 euro; but, at the end of the day, it’s fantastic whisky, so … I guess my point is that you could do worse.

As for Springbank: although my experience with them is not very extensive, I do consider Springbank to be of high quality. A friend of mine is part of the Springbank society (or whatever they call their membership), so I’ve had a dram here and a dram there of many of their bottlings, and I’ve never thought one was any worse than very good; many have been excellent.

Sorry to be of so little assistance. Perhaps there are others here who can offer their opinions. [cheers.gif]

520

On the back of the front label of Longrow 18, visible through the back of the bottle, is a stamped code, xx/yyy. xx is the last two digits of the year of bottling. 2011 is 11/yyy, 2012 is 12/yyy. The labels on '11 and '12 are blue, while the '13 version, which I have not tasted, is black. The '12 is a mediocre fresh sherry cask and much darker than the '11, which is refill or refill and bourbon. If you have any sensitivity to sulphur, I’d avoid the '12. The bottles that I purchased from Cadenheads shop and Milroy’s, both in London, are coded 11/181 and 12/155.