Any One for a Scotch?

[JubeiSpiegel]

Tried my first Laphroaig 10 yr, it was an experience! I had not tried an Islay peated whiskey before, and it is unmistakable. Look forward to the next dram.

Looking to pick up my first Highland Park now, I understand it is a scotch with a great reputation.

Finally, I revisited half bottle of MaCallan 12 yr, and I enjoyed the sherry sweetness more this time. Will have to look into other sherried whiskeys...

 

[NeedStyleHelp]

The LCBO on Cornwall (just south of the QEW at the Trafalgar Rd exit) has a tasting bar... not a massive selection- but you should find luck being able to try most of the "regular" bottles of Scotch. By the sounds of the Summerhill LCBO, the Cornwall one might not have as much variety.

well some local bars with good selection. You may pay quite a bit for a glass but it's still cheaper than blind buying the bottle..


http://viaallegroristorante.com/spirits
http://www.scotchblog.ca/scotch_blog/2012/07/college-street-whisky-strip.html#more

+1. I don't think you can taste everything they have in-stock, but you can taste quite a few. I'm only there occasionally, but if I recall correctly, they actually have little cards on the shelves that indicate which bottles you can sample (both wines and spirits). I think they charge something like $2 per sample. In addition, sometimes they have representatives from Diaego (or the other distributors) on-site giving free samples. I think I tried a couple of the new "no-age" Macallan malts the last time I was there.

The biggest problem for me is that the selection at the Summerhill LCBO puts pretty much every other LCBO to shame, so on the few occasions that I go there, I end up spending way too much.

The Summerhill LCBO has the tasting tower, which often has a number of Scotches available to taste at cost.

 

[Master-Classter]

finally cracked open my Mac 12, first time tasting it and compared to the heavy smokey ones I'm used to, this was like caramel. Sweet, fruity, fairly smooth, and very pleasant to drink. Quite enjoyable and easy drinker. I think I'm going to enjoy this.


How different is that special bottling of the Cask Strength (red box)? Worth getting it to compare?

 

[JubeiSpiegel]



finally cracked open my Mac 12, first time tasting it and compared to the heavy smokey ones I'm used to, this was like caramel. Sweet, fruity, fairly smooth, and very pleasant to drink. Quite enjoyable and easy drinker. I think I'm going to enjoy this.

I felt the same way, after all the salty, smokey, and peaty whiskeys i have been tasting, it was a nice change of pace for me.

Cheers...

 

[Longmorn]

How different is that special bottling of the Cask Strength (red box)? Worth getting it to compare?

Absolutely - the Macallan CS is the best value in the range, and one of the best values in Scotch. If you liked the 12 yr old, the CS is all the same flavors with a lot more depth and intensity. Very good stuff, and increasingly hard to find: Macallan have stopped making it.

 

[NewYorkIslander]



Absolutely - the Macallan CS is the best value in the range, and one of the best values in Scotch. If you liked the 12 yr old, the CS is all the same flavors with a lot more depth and intensity. Very good stuff, and increasingly hard to find: Macallan have stopped making it.

I just get seem to get myself to have liked the Mac12...too light, too soft for me.

 

[brp2]

Days two through seven of Advent:

 

[Longmorn]

Days two through seven of Advent:

Hope you will post your impressions. I've had the Bunnahabhain Octave and liked it quite a bit.

 

[jfoonly]

thx Longmorn for the PC10 comment, it was a gaelic, but turns out the sale expired weeks before, so I will wait for the next sale as things don't seem to move very fast. I did get a chance to talk to the whisky buyer, who bemoaned that he couldn't buy the good stuff and that the selection was down from 250 bottles a few years ago to 100 (which I've noticed as well). In the meantime I used that allotment to pick up two Ardgegs from my other local shop -- Corryvreckan and Ardbog; the former of which I very much like -- well balanced malt, peat, alcohol. The Ardbog seems not nearly peaty/smoky as advertised.

As to the advent calendars-- last year I gifted myself with one from Master of Malt. It was great fun and a great chance to try quite a few new brands, even if the most exclusive samples didn't live up to the hype.

Edit: yikes, that glass looks quite dirty in the picture despite seeming clear IRL. Sorry, I will be sure to clean well tomorrow. (And yes that's this thread in the background.)

 

[Cleav]

My collection lives here

Currently really enjoying Glenlivet French Oak reserve

 

[fredmull]



My wife just got me a bottle of Glenmorangie 18YO. I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, lucky me. On the other, it isn't what I would have chosen for myself at that price.


As an aside, I am pretty confident that most special bottlings of scotch are wasted on me. Most producers tend to hit their sweet spot pretty well with their standard offerings and the upside for the special bottlings isn't really that great/ Some are better, some not so much and none seem worth the 100%+ up charge.

My wife got me this bottling for my 40th. A very good bottle. Enjoy it.

 

[fredmull]

Any scotch fans been to Dundee Dell in Omaha, Nebraska? They claim to have the largest menu anywhere. My buddy and I planned a roadtrip andspent about 6 hours there.

http://www.dundeedell.com/scotch.html

On a different topic, what's everyone's choice for a peated malt. I just finished a Bruichladdich and need to restock. I have a laphroig quarter cask, ardbeg 10, and old Ballantruan peated.

Was thinking of a springbank 10 or bunnahabhain.......$50-70 range.

 

[NewYorkIslander]

May be able to acquire one of these:

But don't want to over pay...I'd like the Rosebank 21 over the rest. I'm offering this:

and an Ardbeg Day. Am I giving up too much? Would I be able to get the RB21 and a Longmorn? Any help putting a value on all of these would be fantastic! I have the Bowmore at ~$250 and the Day ~$150

 

[Longmorn]

NYR - The Rosebank 21 is available in a number of US shops for $250. Up to you if you want to trade your Bowmore, or just buy it outright. Given that the distillery is closed, I agree that it's the most interesting of the lot.

That said, the Longmorns seem to be very rare - can't find any trace of them in the US, or even internationally. It won't come as a shock that I like Longmorn quite a bit, and between the two I might lean towards the Murray McDavid. That said, I'd only pay $150 if it was more than 18 yr old.

 

[NewYorkIslander]

Very helpful, thank you.