Ommegang Three Philosophers
Sean

Wild Turkey 101. Lots of it. I'm tying one on.

I'm depressed for lots of personal reasons.

Catch y'all later.

quote:

Originally posted by arabiancowboy:

Laphroaig 10. I'll be honest, I prefer it to the 18. More smokey and less salty.

You should give the cask strength ten-year-old a try if you haven't already. I reckon that you'd enjoy it.

Do you drink old whisky often? Older spirits (say, 15 to 16 years-old and up) are a little more challenging/complex than their younger counterparts. The extra time spent in the wood often makes older expressions a little more subdued and "closed" at the beginning. Accordingly, mature whiskies truly do benefit from a patient approach.

FWIW, I'll typically let an older whisky breathe for a spell before really assessing the quality of the dram. My rule of thumb is to allow the spirit to breathe for about 1 to 2 minutes for every year that it spent maturing in the cask. As such, I won't really "bear down" on a dram of Laphroaig 18 until the spirit has spent at least 20 to 30 minutes sitting in the glass. Sometimes, I'll wait even longer for really old expressions that I occasionally come across. Mind you, I don't just sit there and watch the whisky for the entire interval; I'll have a wee taste every ten minutes or so in order to note the gradual changes in aroma, flavor, finish, etc. YMMV with different distilleries and/or expressions.

If I'm not in the mood to wait on my dram, I'll simply pour myself a younger expression (12 years-old and younger). Normally, younger whisky doesn't need to breathe for very long at all in order to acquit itself.

Additionally, if you're the type who likes to add water to your whisky, be very judicious with older whiskies. Do not "drown" old whisky, that's a sin! Needless to say, absolutely no ice. Be patient and allow mature drams to breathe and develop in the glass. The payoff is definitely worth it, IMHO.

-BK

Taste test: Glenlivet 21 v. Highland Park 18 v. Hakushu 18.

Tried Highland Park and Hakushu against the tried and true favorite The Glenlivet 21.

Nose: Glenlivet gives you a fruity nose, but bit subdued. Highland Park 18 is definitely smokiest on the nose, a bit pungent. Hakushu was somewhat in between, no smoke to be discerned and I thought I caught a very little bit of peat but that could be my imagination as it was so very faint.

Taste: Glenlivet on the tongue was the familiar spicy, tingly taste, very smooth swallowing. Highland Park continued with the smoke, a bit of maybe cinnamon. Hakushu was in comparison a bit subdued with a bit of woodsy or leathery mouth. It was definitely fuller in the mouth feeling as compared to the other 2.

After adding 2 drops of water: Glenlivet's nose opened up just a little more to give a bit of flower. Taste was more of the same, fruity and smooth. Highland Park gave off even more smoke on the nose. The taste was still very smoky. You know you're drinking Scotch as popularly imagined. Hakushu had a bit more fruity nose after the water. The woodsiness on the taste was subdued and a little bit of peat seemed to creep in. Very pleasant to the taste.

The Glenlivet as compared to the other 2 nosed and tasted somewhat damped of subdued as compared to the other 2. Still smoother than the other 2, and I really enjoy the tingling on the tongue that this Whisky gives me.

Because of that I give a very very slight edge to the Glenlivet over the other 2 but it is really slight. On different night Hakushu just might edge it out.

Highland Park came in last not because it was bad Whisky, just not as well rounded or balanced as the other two. It felt "all smoke" as compared to the other 2. Drinking it by itself I didn't particularly noticed the extra smoke, but with the other 2 comparing themselves against the Highland Park, the HP tasted little bit out of balance.

Interesting side note: Tasting side by side, unless I am looking at the labels I would be hard pressed to tell which is Glenlivet and which is Hakushu. However, the tasting notes are different enough, both on the tongue and the fullness in the mouth.

Makers 46.

Ran out of Angels Envy and Crown Reserve and the discount liquor store had already closed.

quote:

Originally posted by badkarma56:

quote:

Originally posted by arabiancowboy:

Laphroaig 10. I'll be honest, I prefer it to the 18. More smokey and less salty.

You should give the cask strength ten-year-old a try if you haven't already. I reckon that you'd enjoy it.

Do you drink old whisky often? Older spirits (say, 15 to 16 years-old and up) are a little more challenging/complex than their younger counterparts. The extra time spent in the wood often makes older expressions a little more subdued and "closed" at the beginning. Accordingly, mature whiskies truly do benefit from a patient approach.

FWIW, I'll typically let an older whisky breathe for a spell before really assessing the quality of the dram. My rule of thumb is to allow the spirit to breathe for about 1 to 2 minutes for every year that it spent maturing in the cask. As such, I won't really "bear down" on a dram of Laphroaig 18 until the spirit has spent at least 20 to 30 minutes sitting in the glass. Sometimes, I'll wait even longer for really old expressions that I occasionally come across. Mind you, I don't just sit there and watch the whisky for the entire interval; I'll have a wee taste every ten minutes or so in order to note the gradual changes in aroma, flavor, finish, etc. YMMV with different distilleries and/or expressions.

If I'm not in the mood to wait on my dram, I'll simply pour myself a younger expression (12 years-old and younger). Normally, younger whisky doesn't need to breathe for very long at all in order to acquit itself.

Additionally, if you're the type who likes to add water to your whisky, be very judicious with older whiskies. Do not "drown" old whisky, that's a sin! Needless to say, absolutely no ice. Be patient and allow mature drams to breathe and develop in the glass. The payoff is definitely worth it, IMHO.

-BK

Lots of great advice! I have a dram 3-4 times a week, but not more than one a sitting. Very much a novice. I mostly drink it neat, but on rare occasion cut with some water. I don't have a good idea of how much water is too much.

quote:

Originally posted by arabiancowboy:

Lots of great advice! I have a dram 3-4 times a week, but not more than one a sitting. Very much a novice. I mostly drink it neat, but on rare occasion cut with some water. I don't have a good idea of how much water is too much.

Anytime, man. Enjoy the journey.

As for watering your whisky, that all comes down to personal preference and palate. FWIW, I'll occasionally add a drop or two of room temperature spring water to a cask strength expression, but I most often have my whisky neat.

Take it slow with the water, only add a little bit at any one time to your dram. Additionally, give the whisky and any added water a bit of time to "marry" in the glass. Observe how the added water alters the body, aroma and flavor of the whisky. Get your nose in there, dude.

You'll eventually figure out how much water, if any, you prefer in a given dram. There's no universal rule for this.

-BK

Springbank Longrow Red 11 (Cabernet Sauvignon Finish).



-BK

George Dickel 12. The other Tennessee whisky.

C+. It's okay. Not something I'd buy again.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ian111,

I have had quite the week. One local store received their barrel selection Old Weller Antique. Today, my usual store received their barrel selection of Eagle Rare along with a full compliment of Buffalo Trace products beyond the norm. I finally have a bottle of Weller 12 year. A lovely whiskey for $30.

Elijah Craig 12 yr.

Stone Saison looks like I could use the head on this beer as shaving cream.

Soon to be some Johnnie Walker Blue neat!

Some blended red with a rib eye for dinner. Either Firestone Walker Sucaba, or Four Roses Small Batch later.

GA Gator,

That's some damn good head you got yourself there!

Dark Lord! Holy shit!

Anyway, cracked open a Widmer Old Embalmer barleywine from 2013.

quote:

Originally posted by Leemur:
Dark Lord! Holy shit!

Anyway, cracked open a Widmer Old Embalmer barleywine from 2013.

Have you had ?

Nope. Dark Lord is a Bigfoot Unicorn if you don't go to Dark Lord day.

Ketel One this evening.