The Single Malt Scotch Thread

[toddnt]

Had Nikka 17 over the weekend and was absolutely floored.. Pure honey and pineapple notes...

[sefus12]

Not to brag, but the Mrs and I just got back from a fantastic trip to Scotland a few weeks ago. While we were there we hit up several distilleries, with a 3+ hour tour at Balvenie being the highlight. Here's the highlight of what we tried on said tour:

 

Standard Tasting:

• 12 Year Single Wood
  
• 12 Year Double Wood
  
• 14 Year Caribbean Cask
  
• 17 Year Double Wood
  
• 21 Year Port Wood
  

On top of that, we got to try the following straight out of the casks in their Warehouse 24 (all cask strength)

• 15 Year Single Barrel (used bourbon)
  
• 16 Year Single Barrel (Port)
  
• 17 Year Single Barrel (used bourbon)
  

And to finish it all off, we got to try a 43 year single malt. It was the greatest thing I'll likely ever drink. There are countless others we tried (and brought a bottle of a single malt finished strictly in port barrels from a small distillery called Blair Atholl home with us, amongst others.... it was fantastic), but had to let you folks know about this. If you ever get the chance to tour Balvenie, do the VIP tour. It's WELL worth it.

 

And if you are already in the area, you have to stop by the whisky bar at the Highlander Inn in Craigellachie. Trust me, it's worth it.

[sir_templar2]

Not to brag, but the Mrs and I just got back from a fantastic trip to Scotland a few weeks ago. While we were there we hit up several distilleries, with a 3+ hour tour at Balvenie being the highlight. Here's the highlight of what we tried on said tour:

 

Standard Tasting:

• 12 Year Single Wood
  
• 12 Year Double Wood
  
• 14 Year Caribbean Cask
  
• 17 Year Double Wood
  
• 21 Year Port Wood
  

On top of that, we got to try the following straight out of the casks in their Warehouse 24 (all cask strength)

• 15 Year Single Barrel (used bourbon)
  
• 16 Year Single Barrel (Port)
  
• 17 Year Single Barrel (used bourbon)
  

And to finish it all off, we got to try a 43 year single malt. It was the greatest thing I'll likely ever drink. There are countless others we tried (and brought a bottle of a single malt finished strictly in port barrels from a small distillery called Blair Atholl home with us, amongst others.... it was fantastic), but had to let you folks know about this. If you ever get the chance to tour Balvenie, do the VIP tour. It's WELL worth it.

 

And if you are already in the area, you have to stop by the whisky bar at the Highlander Inn in Craigellachie. Trust me, it's worth it.

 

I love that Balvenie 21 Year Port Wood! I bought a bottle for my son's wedding last year and it didn't disappoint

[adam667220]

Question for all you experts. I am not a scotch guy (or much of a liquor guy in general, I'll stick to beer) but am going to be buying a bottle as a gift for someone that does drink scotch, BUT I have no idea what kind he normally drinks and wouldn't have any way of finding out between now and then. So, if I'm going in blind, what kind would be my best bet? If he likes lighter/delicate stuff, I don't want to get something over the top rich/smoky, or vice versa. Should I just stick to something kind of in the middle as a safer bet?

 

I was planning on just getting a single bottle in the $80-$120 range, but I could also get multiple cheaper bottles that would cover both ends of the spectrum. They're not on different ends of the spectrum, but Costco sells three packs of Glenmorangie (Original, Quinta Ruban, and Lasanta) for around $100 if something like that made sense.

 

Appreciate any opinions. TIA.

[jerebear21]

get him a bottle of glenlivet 12 and call it a day. should be 60-70 bucks for a large bottle and enough to satisfy his thirst for a year.

[mikkav]

I really only deal in Irish whiskey and give tasting classes with our guild but just a few notes with regard to the notes that may appear when tasting.

Most "flavours" only realise when you cut the whiskey. As in reduce the ABV. You possibly won't get any flavours until you cut it with some water and then only with a pipette. If a whiskey is 45% ABV then you'll need to reduce it to 42% or 40% top get the top notes like blackcurrant or honey. Keep reducing it until you can taste all the flavours then. Start again with it neat and keep nosing it and gentle tasting. With practise its amazing how you can pick up notes and flavours.

45% to 42%

42% to 40%

40% to 37%

Etc etc all the way to about 11%

It's extremely interesting

[Kgglonghorn]

That is really good info to have. Been drinking scotch for almost 30 years but I guess we are never too old to learn something new. FWIW to anyone else out there...one night in a bar they were not pouring any of my normal drinks (Oban, Glenlivet, Glenfiddich) but they were pouring Auchentoshan so I ordered it. It is a lowland scotch. Very light and easy to drink. In Scotland they call it "breakfast whisky". I actually enjoyed it but more importantly it is a great scotch to introduce to someone who does not drink scotch. I like to think of it as a gateway scotch!

[bscinstnct]

Had couple of Johnnie Blacks tonight.

 

2 pints of Guiness. 2 JBlacks with a cube or 2.

 

Had shrimp tacos and beef sliders too.

 

Fuhgedabodit.

 

Oh, wait, sorry.

 

This is the

 

*single malt*

 

Thread.

 

My bad ; )

 

 

 

 

[jerebear21]

One bottle left at TW in the state of Florida. Had my best men go there and grabbed it since it was next to his office.

 

The lady asked him to spell it out before pronouncing it. =P

 

 

[Lagavulin62]

Wow. Just saw this. Will share my favorites. Obviously I like Lagavulin. Don’t think I have ever disliked anything from Islay. My Islay regulars are Ardbeg and Laphroig. Then to the Isle of Skye for Talisker. Then it’s all the way to the Orkneys for Highland Park. Back on the mainland not really a sweet tooth, however hard to pass up Balvenie Doublewood which goes very well with Godiva Chocolate after dinner. I have had the Portwood on occasion and it’s very good too. Working back to the southwest coastal area never pass on Oban.

 

That pretty much does it. I haven’t ventured much beyond that in a few years. I drink my Scotch while cooking and during dinner. That’s why I prefer peaty and smoky. Hard to drink Balvenie with marinara sauce. Of those I have had a few turned to Scotch lovers with Highland Park, which I would consider middle of the road as far as taste. Short of that I would stick to the lighter Speyside Malts like Glenfidich for first timers.

[Kgglonghorn]

After being a loyal scotch drinker for my entire adult life, I let a nice Irish couple convince me to try Irish Whiskey. I have to say I really enjoyed it...redbreast I think is what I drank. Since then, I have also tried the Jameson cask mates aged in the stout barrel (LOVE Stout beers). Also VERY enjoyable! Not abandoning my scotch any time soon, but I have found that an occasional Irish whiskey is a nice change of pace.

[Pulledabill]

After being a loyal scotch drinker for my entire adult life, I let a nice Irish couple convince me to try Irish Whiskey. I have to say I really enjoyed it...redbreast I think is what I drank. Since then, I have also tried the Jameson cask mates aged in the stout barrel (LOVE Stout beers). Also VERY enjoyable! Not abandoning my scotch any time soon, but I have found that an occasional Irish whiskey is a nice change of pace.

 

I try Irish every so often, but just cant tolerate it...

[Kgglonghorn]

After being a loyal scotch drinker for my entire adult life, I let a nice Irish couple convince me to try Irish Whiskey. I have to say I really enjoyed it...redbreast I think is what I drank. Since then, I have also tried the Jameson cask mates aged in the stout barrel (LOVE Stout beers). Also VERY enjoyable! Not abandoning my scotch any time soon, but I have found that an occasional Irish whiskey is a nice change of pace.

 

I try Irish every so often, but just cant tolerate it...

 

 

what I cannot tolerate is bourbon or tennessee whiskey. may as well drink shards of glass.

[No Gimmes]

 

Not much of Whiskey drinker but have these in my cabinet from a couple of trips to Japan.

[Matt J]

siegel - if you liked HP12, you'll most likely enjoy the following scotches:

- HP15

- oban14

- clynelish14

- glenlivet12

- johnnie walker black label

 

if you didn't like lagavulin, but want to try something along those lines (but palate friendlier):

- auchentoshan12

 

crossover scotches:

- balvenie carribbean cask 14

- balvenie doublewood 12

- balvelie single barrel (12 or 15)

- bowmore small batch bourbon cask aged

 

bourbon: i've really been loving buffalo trace. really really good.

 

irish whiskey wise:

- red breast

- jameson

 

 

good luck bud. i remember starting my scotch odyssey a few years ago with JWB with a ton of ice and a few splashes of club soda. i now can happily savor a lag16 with only a few drops of water. others, neat.

 

it's a fun process, take your time and enjoy the journey.

Just picked up a bottle of the Auchentoshan tonight. I usually drink Glenmorangie, although I have a bottle of Macallan open right now, that was a gift.

 

Headed to Scotland in a few weeks, so am pretty fired up about trying some new single malts soon.

[xxio]

 

Not much of Whiskey drinker but have these in my cabinet from a couple of trips to Japan.

 

That Yamazaki 10 has been discountinued for a while now.

[cardoustie]

Beer in bourbon casks is quite solid

Some great comments on here as of late

Thanks for sharing the info on the Balvenie tour

Just off the phone with my good buddy from university golf team, we're thinking of an Ireland trip in 2020 while the Ryder Cup is on ! He's Scots and has been a few times to Scotland and I did St. Andrew's in 2012 while the RC was on at Medinah.

Will definitely expand the whiskey knowledge

[Hawkeye77]

This may have been referenced but this thread shouldn't die, lol.

 

Had this when the wife and I were on our trip in '19.  Kept thinking I should get some.  Just arrived earlier today.  Still think it is excellent, had a wee tiny bit off the top before dinner!

 

 

[PixlPutterman]

Just got this hutch, had to load it up before the wife could put her stuff in it....

 

 

[Hawkeye77]

11 hours ago, PixlPutterman said:

Just got this hutch, had to load it up before the wife could put her stuff in it....

 

 

So she's got a couple sock drawers? 😆 Braver man than I!

[PixlPutterman]

2 hours ago, Hawkeye77 said:

So she's got a couple sock drawers? 😆 Braver man than I!

Nope, full of other whiskey glasses hahahaha

[cardoustie]

A whisky hutch, very well played indeed

[Carsten Svensgaard]

My dad passed away in January, I inherited a mixed case of malts dating from the eighties, all unopened:

 

Talisker (2 pcs)

Laphroigh 10y (2pcs)

Ardbeg

Glenfiddich 18y

Glen Moray 16y Black Watch

 

Guess I will be drinking his health for a few years to come 🙂

[Highstrung]

Sorry about your loss.

 

I just kinda looked through this part of the forum for the first time.. Haven't dug deeper, but man it's refreshing seeing a single malt thread. I'm in the industry, own a couple stores, and I cannot tell you the amount of times I get asked about bourbon a day, plus messages, phone calls, cell calls, texts, facepage messaging, people walking across a tee or a green if they see me.. dern. I have a daily running count with a white board. It reads "the number of times we've been asked for Blanton's today".

 

With that said, that Ardbeg is peaty,  I think that Glennfiddich 18 is in a rum barrel, all of that still should be cool, maybe down in the bottle a little,  but no harm, and stamped I guess? 

 

Nice to see the Balvenies up there too, some of my favorite. The 12 year double wood has been out of stock with my suppliers for like two months. My single malt section finally has some double facings with the shortages our state is going through. Don't know if out of the south east is having a hard time. 

Edited August 11, 2022 by Highstrung
Edited to add

[PixlPutterman]

Love me some peat!

[PixlPutterman]

Also, for an American.....this is delicious 

[Highstrung]

A corner of it

[PixlPutterman]

Wheres the stinky Scotch corner?

[Highstrung]

Here's some of it, I can't get a hold of really anymore Balvenies at the moment,  our state is looking at some hitting I'm a couple of weeks, Macallan as well, it's frustrating 

 

I wholesale to our club as well, got a few old men upset about not having regular Macallan sherry oak, 12

 

 

[Rory4Pres]

2 hours ago, Highstrung said:

A corner of it

Lucky to have gotten one.