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***THE OFFICIAL OT WHISK(E)Y DRINKERS THREAD*** |
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BeltFed
Optics Retard Joined: February/12/2008 Location: Ky Status: Offline Points: 22284 |
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My nephew's best friend came by to put corn out for the deer. He is an Army pilot and just got back in country from flying command staff around to 13 different countries. He picked up a bottle of rye whiskey for myself and Mrs. BF because he knows she likes rye whiskey. Mrs. BF looked it up (it's Colonel E. H. Taylor made by Buffalo Trace), and it retails for $180 a bottle. This stuff is awesome! We love it, but now the problem is, when I try to pour myself a small shot, Mrs.BF runs over, smacks my hands, and says "MINE". She doesn't want to share with anybody. I'm not sure, but I think I heard her call it her "Precious" the other night.
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Life's concerns should be about the 120lb pack your trying to get to the top of the mountain, and not the rock in your boot.
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mike650
Optics God Joined: May/14/2006 Location: West of Rockies Status: Offline Points: 14569 |
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“A hunt based only on trophies taken falls far short of what the ultimate goal should be.” – Fred Bear
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Bigdaddy0381
MODERATOR Georgia peach Joined: February/27/2007 Location: Georgia Status: Offline Points: 13682 |
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$17.95.. I need to drive out there and buy truck loads of it heck of a lot cheaper there.
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P&Z Firearms , Pro gun cleanings and gun repair and wood refinishing.
Ecclesiastes 10:2 |
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Son of Ed
Chuck Norris Joined: June/18/2011 Location: TEXAS Status: Online Points: 122172 |
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Visit the Ed Show
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Kickboxer
MODERATOR Moderator Joined: February/13/2008 Status: Offline Points: 23679 |
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It's only twosies or threesies... the Walmart here in Yuma gets some really good whisk(e)ys now and then. When they don't sell at the regular price (snowbirds are cheap) they put them on sale and sell out. Next time you see it, will be regular price again... or higher than before. I got a bottle of Macallan 12 for $21.99 a couple of tests back. A good friend and I had a few drams and I left him the bottle. He was waiting on me to help finish it, but it looks like that won't happen now. |
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Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.
There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living |
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Son of Ed
Chuck Norris Joined: June/18/2011 Location: TEXAS Status: Online Points: 122172 |
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I have never been to Yuma.... |
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Son of Ed
Chuck Norris Joined: June/18/2011 Location: TEXAS Status: Online Points: 122172 |
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" ...but when I go there I'm going over the Bridge to Nowhere! " |
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Son of Ed
Chuck Norris Joined: June/18/2011 Location: TEXAS Status: Online Points: 122172 |
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" Back to you, Chris...." |
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Kickboxer
MODERATOR Moderator Joined: February/13/2008 Status: Offline Points: 23679 |
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I crossed the bridge...
I managed to acquire a bottle of Compass Box "Hedonism" on my last trip. Had a tasting last night. Strong flavor of heather honey... it has that flowery sweetness... on the front end. Some leather and creamy vanilla in the middle, with a bright, cinnamon finish (not too heavy, but definitely cinnamon). It is, to me, an excellent whisky, very different than the Asyla... really, different. Asyla is more like an aperitif. Hedonism is certainly a whisky to enjoy with a good cigar after a great steak dinner. I've not had that opportunity, yet. Hedonism is defined as the pursuit of pleasure; sensual self-indulgence... this whisky definitely fits that definition. It goes, after a single tasting, into my top 10 category... distinctive, smooth, complex... a "classic". Scale of 0-10, I give it a 9.7.
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Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.
There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living |
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RifleDude
MODERATOR EVIL OPPRESSOR Joined: October/13/2006 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 16337 |
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I’ve never tried “Hedonism” before, but I did recently buy a bottle of Compass Box “Spice Tree,” and I think that stuff is just outstanding! It’s definitely the best blended Scotch I’ve tried thus far. Similar to your description of Hedonism, I get a prominent cinnamon taste, as well as some toasted almonds, vanilla, malt, and caramel. I will definitely buy more in the future!
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Ted
Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle. |
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Kickboxer
MODERATOR Moderator Joined: February/13/2008 Status: Offline Points: 23679 |
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I have not tried the "Spice Tree"... for a period of time it could not be shipped to Arizona... something to do with the shipper's licensing. However, they could ship the Hedonism. Go figure.
I can't get anything shipped into Alabama, or even Georgia. Gotta love the "Bible Belt"... I would love to try the Spice Tree, now... doubt I can get it in Alabama (the ABC buyers SUCK). Plus it would be nearly 100% more than actual cost in states where pricing/sales is not completely set by the bureaucrats.
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Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.
There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living |
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RifleDude
MODERATOR EVIL OPPRESSOR Joined: October/13/2006 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 16337 |
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Dan, the reason you were unable to get Spice Tree in the past might have been related to an interesting controversy Compass Box found itself in related to the production of Spice Tree. The Scotch Whisky Association made them take Spice Tree off the market for a time, because they said its method of production violated the rules for what can legally be called “Scotch Whisky.” Compass Box was inserting oak staves into the casks to give the blend additional vanilla and cinnamon flavors, and that violated the laws for how Scotch whisky must be produced. Nothing can legally be inserted into the casks. So, Compass Box ceased production for a time until they could figure out a way to get the same flavor profile while complying with the SWA rules. Evidently, they succeeded, and a “legal” version of Spice Tree was recently re-introduced.
Full story here: https://scotchwhisky.com/whiskypedia/2826/the-spice-tree/ |
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Ted
Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle. |
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Son of Ed
Chuck Norris Joined: June/18/2011 Location: TEXAS Status: Online Points: 122172 |
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" Sounds yummy, fellas! " |
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Kickboxer
MODERATOR Moderator Joined: February/13/2008 Status: Offline Points: 23679 |
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Ted, that may well be the reason. The purveyor merely told me they could not ship due to legal issues with the shipper. Possibly did not want anyone to know they were violating whisky rules.
Very interesting...
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Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.
There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living |
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RifleDude
MODERATOR EVIL OPPRESSOR Joined: October/13/2006 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 16337 |
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I haven't added any new updates to this thread in awhile, so I thought I would provide my impressions of a few more Scotch whiskies I've tried recently. I apologize in advance for the length of this post, but I've tried several new (to me) ones since I last posted tasting notes. I listed these in order of my preference from best to worst,
though I enjoyed all and none were bad; I just liked some way more than
others. 1.
Glengoyne 15 year old: This
single malt was aged in both ex-bourbon and sherry casks. Glengoyne is
classified as a Highlands whisky. They pride themselves in their very slow
distillation process, as they describe it "slowly nursing the spirit"
through their stills at a lower temperature. They claim this helps
develop greater complexity of flavors. I don't know about all that, but I can
say my taste buds really agree with this stuff! I was very pleasantly
surprised; I think this is some very under-rated whisky; among the top 10 or so
best single malts I've ever tried! If you prefer the big, bold Islay region
single malts over everything else, you may find this one to be a bit too tame.
There are times I really want the punch in the mouth of a powerful, smoky Islay
whisky, but variety being the spice of life, I also enjoy some more subtle
whiskies too. Glengoyne
has absolutely no peaty flavor at all, so this would be a good choice for those
who want a more sweet, less "in your face" style Scotch, or those who
like other whiskies and would like a good intro into single malt Scotch whisky. On the
nose, I get malted barley, butterscotch, toffee, citrus, vanilla, and honey On the
tastebuds: nutmeg, roasted nuts, lemon & orange peel, vanilla, malted milk
chocolate, cinnamon On the
finish, I taste cherries, maltiness, oak, and sweet spices. I think
this is a fairly complex whisky, with some flavor notes that are hard for me to
pin down. I very much enjoyed this one! I don't know of another whisky of its
age I like better. Anything I've tried that I could say I preferred over this
were all older and more expensive, and even then, they only barely edge this
out for me. Excellent! 2.
Kilchoman 2008 Vintage (7 years old, bottled in 2015). Kilchoman
is the newest distillery on the island of Islay, definitely the smallest, and
their whisky shares the bold, peated style with the likes of Lagavulin,
Laphroaig, Ardbeg, etc. Since they are still fairly new to the business, all of
their whisky is still "young," with their oldest age offerings being
7-8 years old. I think
this is one case where long cask maturation time doesn't necessarily define
quality, as they have produced some outstanding whisky despite only spending
3-4 years in the cask in some cases. One thing I really appreciate about
Kilchoman is the fact that they still do things the old fashioned way and they
have a "craft distillery" approach. Unlike some of the larger
distilleries, they still grow, harvest, malt and smoke dry their own barley
on-site. They are literally located on a farm. Not all of their malted barley
comes from the barley they grow, malt, and dry onsite, but a lot of it is.
Another thing that defines their "craft distillery" approach is the
fact they do not add any caramel coloring or do any chill filtering to their
whisky. I don't know how much that really affects the taste of a whisky, but I
appreciate the fact that they leave things au naturale. Just good quality
whisky. They don't typically put age statements on their whisky, but I can
forgive them for that since they haven't been in existence for very long and
all of their offerings are young. Their stuff probably wouldn't sell as well if
it had "aged 4 years" on the bottle. In fairness, I do get a bit of
the "young whisky," slight "metallic" note in their stuff,
but overall I really enjoy everything I've tried from them. Their product is
consistently high quality and tasty, if you like the peated, Islay style. Most of
Kilchoman's whisky is aged either partially or entirely in ex-bourbon casks
that they buy from Buffalo Trace distillery. They do use sherry casks as well,
and several of their whiskies are aged in both bourbon and sherry casks (such
as their "Machir Bay" and "Sanaig") or entirely in sherry
casks ("Loch Gorm"). They also offer a couple of limited release
whiskies matured in casks once containing other types of wines. It is my
impression that most of their stuff has similar high phenol peatiness of say,
Ardbeg, but their peatiness has a distinctly different character to me than
what I get from Ardbeg and Laphroaig. I think the latter 2 have maybe a bit
more salty/briny notes to their peat. Back to
the "2008 Vintage," I believe this one was aged entirely in
ex-Bourbon casks. Supposedly this is aged for 7 years, and it does taste
"less young" to me compared to some of their other offerings. Nose:
citrus, lemon peel, peat smoke, honey Taste:
malted barley, peat smoke, vanilla, butterscotch, honey Finish:
peat smoke, jerky, vanilla, slight fruitiness, spicy oak This is
good stuff, roughly on par with Sanaig as my favorite Kilchoman among those
I've tried so far. I haven't done a back to back tasting with Sanaig to say
which I like better, but they are close. Both are outstanding! I am amazed that
Kilchoman manages to get so much flavor out of such young whisky. I can't wait
until they start offering some older age-statement whiskies. I imagine a 10 YO
Kilchoman will be some incredible stuff! I expect some really great stuff from
them in the future! 3.
Glenfarclas 17 This
one is from one of the many Speyside region distilleries, but it differs from
most Speyside whisky in that it is an entirely sherry cask-aged whisky, with
the normal characteristics you expect from the type. It is bold, sweet, and
rich. Nose:
toffee, oranges, raisins, cherries Taste:
fruit, raisins, cherries, slight citrus/orange, cinnamon, nutmeg Finish:
maltiness, cherries, spice Unfortunately
I was a bit disappointed in this one, given all of the glowing praise it
typically gets. I get a slight sulphur note I in the finish that is a bit
off-putting for me. I don't know if this is a normal characteristic of
Glenfarclas or if this is just in my sample, but it diminishes an otherwise
very good "sherry bomb" style single malt. It is a good whisky,
bordering on very good, but I can't quite get past the sulfur note. Again, it
may just be a sample variation thing. 4.
Macallan 15 Triple Cask Matured. Supposedly
the new "Triple Cask" series is replacing the former "Fine
Oak" series. Per its name, this is said to be matured in a combination of
ex-Bourbon, European and American sherry casks. I really liked their 15 YO
"Fine Oak," and I would place this "Triple Cask" variation
roughly on par with it. Since I no longer have any of their "Fine
Oak" juice onhand, I'm just going by memory here. My memory may be failing
me, but I do seem to remember the Fine Oak 15 version to be a tad sweeter than
the Triple Cask 15 version. Nose:
nutmeg, cinnamon, orange peel, molasses Taste:
chocolate, oranges, cherries, vanilla, oak Finish:
chocolate cherries, oak, finishing dry and slightly bitter This is
good stuff, but honestly, I was expecting a little more complexity in a single
malt of this age, and I wish it were a little less bitter on the finish. The
thing that most lets this down for me is the value. At over $100 a bottle, I
personally believe it is overpriced for what you get compared to other single
malts of the same style. I like Macallan overall, and I believe you can never really
"go wrong" with (most of) their stuff, but I think they have
"rested on their laurels" a bit too much, and have priced their
whisky according to their "luxury" reputation. If this whisky was
priced about $30 less, I would be more likely to buy it again. As it is, there
are a few other 15 YO single malts in the $60 - $75 range I MUCH prefer over
this one...Glengoyne 15 and Glencadam 15 being among them. Again, it's good,
just not a very good value for the money in my opinion. 5.
Auchentoshan Three Wood This
one is unusual among those I've tried in that it is from one of the few
distilleries found in the Lowlands region of Scotland. This is a "no age
statement" single malt, which annoys me a little, as I'm a fan of full
disclosure on the bottle, but if something is good and I think it is worth the
money spent, I'll buy it. As its name implies, this whisky is aged in a
combination of ex-Bourbon, Oloroso sherry, and PX sherry casks. Nose:
brown sugar, oranges, sherry Taste:
sherry, fruit, malt, dark chocolate, roasted nuts, caramel, vanilla Finish:
cherries, almonds, oak, caramel This is
very good stuff for the price (around $45), in my opinion! For what I paid, I
really have no complaints, it just doesn't stand out from the herd in any
particular way. I would buy it again. 6.
Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 YO This
Speyside region single malt was first aged in ex-Bourbon casks, then finished
for 1 year in ex-rum casks, which is unusual for Scotch. I know of no other
single malt Scotch that has a rum influence. That being said, if I didn't know
it was finished in rum casks, I wouldn't identify any rum flavors present. It
does have a kind of brown sugar note to it, which might be the rum
talking. Nose:
red wine, raisins, fruit Taste:
brown sugar, caramel, vanilla, toffee, nutmeg, malt Finish:
vanilla, oak spiciness, honey My only
other experience with Balvenie single malts was their "Double Wood"
12 YO. I first tried this based on recommendations when I was fairly new to
single malt Scotch and really liked it, especially for the low price. Over
time, however, my opinion of Balvenie DW12 took a nose dive, not because I
thought it was "bad" whisky, but after repeated tastings after I had
sampled many other single malts, it just started to seem "lackluster"
and bland to me -- "safe," "tame," and rather
"watered-down" tasting. Again, it isn't bad, especially for the
price. It just "lost its luster" over time, and I gradually began to
realize it isn't as flavorful as most of the other single malts I began to appreciate.
I thought several times that I wasn't giving it a fair shake, so I went back
and tried it again multiple times later, and... nope, I just couldn't get too
enthusiastic about it. Because of this, I was always reluctant to try any more
Balvenie single malts, especially since many of their offerings can get rather
expensive. After
reading multiple favorable reviews, I decided to take a chance and try this
one, mainly because the rum cask aging was so different from other single
malts. I do like it, and it is much more flavorful than their DW12, but I
really can't say I taste a rum influence. Maybe the fact I haven't tasted any
rum in a very long time might be contributing to this. Although I really do
like it, at its current price, I don't think I would ever buy it again. If it
were about $30/ bottle less, it's good enough it would be worth a repeat buy
for me. 7.
Aberlour 16 Another
Speyside region single malt. I'm a fan of their whisky in general. I really
love their 18 year old, and especially their "A'Bunadh" (however the
hell you pronounce that) cask-strength stuff, which is really rich and powerful
for a Speyside whisky. Their 12 YO is o.k., but nothing spectacular IMO. This
one has a lot of the "floral" character of their 12 and 18 year old
stuff, and I would place this one equally between those two. Nose:
vanilla, honey, caramel, floral Taste:
cinnamon, vanilla, butterscotch, spicy-floral Finish:
malty, vanilla, fruity, oaky, finishing dry I like
it. It's good; it just doesn't really stand out for me and I probably wouldn't
buy it again. For just a little more money, I would rather buy their 18 YO, and
for about the same money, I would much rather buy the A'Bunadh, which I love
even more than their 18. 8.
Glenkinchie 12 YO This is
another of the very few Lowland region Scotch single malts. I think it has a
distinctly different flavor profile from just about any other single malt, with
its fairly prominent lemon flavor. Nose:
citrus, oatmeal, lemon peel Taste:
lemons, honey, malt Finish:
lemons, malt, oak, bitter dry finish I like
it, and it's reasonably priced, so I would buy it again since it is so
different from anything else I've tasted. That being said, I think it's good
but not exceptional; just a nice change of pace from the typical Speyside/Highland
malts. |
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Ted
Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle. |
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koshkin
MODERATOR Dark Lord of Optics Joined: June/15/2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 13181 |
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Try 18 year old Glen Grant some time if you are looking for a good Speyside.
ILya
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Son of Ed
Chuck Norris Joined: June/18/2011 Location: TEXAS Status: Online Points: 122172 |
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RifleDude
MODERATOR EVIL OPPRESSOR Joined: October/13/2006 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 16337 |
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Will be sure to give it a try. I’m beginning to get all the various “Glens” mixed up. Speaking of which, I did try some Glen Scotia 15 about a year ago and thought it was very good. I believe they are a Campbelltown region distillery. |
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Ted
Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle. |
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RifleDude
MODERATOR EVIL OPPRESSOR Joined: October/13/2006 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 16337 |
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How many “Glens” are there among Scotch distilleries? Let’s see, off the top of my head, there’s Glenmorangie, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, GlenDronach, Glengoyne, Glencadam, Glen Scotia, Glenfarclas, Glenkinchie, Glen Moray, Glen Grant, Glen Garioch, Glenglassaugh, Glenrothes, Glenturret...
...and I sometimes drink a “Glen” out of a Glencairn glass! Any others? |
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Ted
Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle. |
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Kickboxer
MODERATOR Moderator Joined: February/13/2008 Status: Offline Points: 23679 |
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There's a few...
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Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.
There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living |
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