Any One for a Scotch?



ama said:

This post says nothing useful. What about it did you hate?

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It did say a lot about Aerostat. Everything deserves at least two sips.

Speaking of Scotch, if I play my cards right, I should be passing through Heathrow around this time next week.



Aerostat said:

Everyone has different taste but Cragganmore is the only scotch I hated so much that I gave it away after one drink.

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I'm ordinarily a Islay man but I did enjoy the Craggenmore. It wasn't Lagavulin but I knew that going in.



I<3Bacon said:

It did say a lot about Aerostat. Everything deserves at least two sips.
Speaking of Scotch, if I play my cards right, I should be passing through Heathrow around this time next week.

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Haha. Touche.

You'll need at least two hours in Heathrow to shop properly. I'd be really interested in Aberlour 100 if it was still kicking around. I really doubt it though.



ama said:

You'll need at least two hours in Heathrow to shop properly. I'd be really interested in Aberlour 100 if it was still kicking around. I really doubt it though.

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I'll keep my eyes open for it. Last time I was there, I made the mistake of having a 1hr layover... almost missed my connecting flight. Looking like 5hrs this time around.



I<3Bacon said:

I'll keep my eyes open for it. Last time I was there, I made the mistake of having a 1hr layover... almost missed my connecting flight. Looking like 5hrs this time around.

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You can do some real damage in 5 hours.



ama said:

You can do some real damage in 5 hours.

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Nevermind. I've never been so unhappy getting a direct flight.

I<3Bacon said:

ama said:

You can do some real damage in 5 hours.

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Nevermind. I've never been so unhappy getting a direct flight.

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I r disappoint.

Working through Balvenie Tun 1401 batch 3. It started off a little too sweet. Now after 75% of the bottle, it is a little spicy. Is it related to oxidation once you open the bottle?

Possibly depending on the seal, but it is very unlikely especially over a short period of time. Whether whisky will change its taste characteristics in the bottle is probably one of the most debated questions in the whisky world, a lot of people will strongly argue one side or the other.

Personally I think that it might, but the food/ drink you had each time before the whisky will probably affect the flavour more.



ama said:

I r disappoint.

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Didn't see any Aberlour 100 but I did come home with an Old Bothwell PE

To celebrate reading a couple of C. Hitchens' books, I picked up a bottle of his favorite whisky: Johnnie Walker Black.

Not really my favorite. To date, I'd only tried Red Label and found it wanting.

I like scotch a lot, but am not really a fan of Red Label either -- too mild, too much grain, I think. I am a big fan of Black, though, and I am sorry that you do not like it, especially as many of the malts in Black are pretty iconic malts. What do you not like about it? The little bit of peat? Are there other Scots' whiskies that you like?

I hate to go as far as saying that if you don't like Black, you probably don't really like Scotch, but I find this is often true.

~H



Huntsman said:

I like scotch a lot, but am not really a fan of Red Label either -- too mild, too much grain, I think. I am a big fan of Black, though, and I am sorry that you do not like it, especially as many of the malts in Black are pretty iconic malts. What do you not like about it? The little bit of peat? Are there other Scots' whiskies that you like?

I hate to go as far as saying that if you don't like Black, you probably don't really like Scotch, but I find this is often true.

~H

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I'm not a fan of Black...or any blended whisky...although to be fair I haven't done much more than dabble with them.

But I think it's belabouring the obvious that Craggenmore tastes entirely different than Glenmorangie. And Glenmorangie tastes different than Talisker. Talisker tastes different than Laphroig. And Laphroig tastes very different than Lagavulin. Which, in turn, is quite distinct from Ardbeg. No matter the bottling.

Yet each of these has it's own complexities and depth. As with wine. And when has blended wine ever risen above the mundane?

The idea that blending unique and distinct whiskies will produce something better is almost irrational. How can those unique flavours...which each of the above mentioned is known for...survive to register on the palate when they are subsumed, even overwhelmed, by other unique flavours? At best the result is acceptable, maybe rarely, even notable...but at worst it's just confusion.

And to say that people who "don't like Black, probably don't really like Scotch" is, in my opinion, almost nonsensical (no disrespect intended). In fact, the reverse is probably more true--people who like blended whiskies "probably don't really like Scotch"--that unique and singular taste that each region produces.

With whisky...as in life (the water of life)...more is almost always less.

Just my 2bits...

How else do you want to maintain a consistent taste? Imo, for 20€, it's quite good.

And, fwiw, there are great cuvées.



b1os said:

How else do you want to maintain a consistent taste? Imo, for 20€, it's quite good.
And, fwiw, there are great cuvées.

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I am not convinced that's an objective worth pursuing.

FWIW, "consistancy" is the underlying rationale for substituting plastic for wood (or glass, ceramics, leather and even metal) and all manner of other expediencies that cheapen our daily lives.