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For the scotch drinkers...

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Glenn Mackles

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For the scotch drinkers...

by Glenn Mackles » Wed Aug 06, 2014 10:51 am

I must admit to enjoying a glass of scotch in the evenings, usually after dinner. This is especially true lately since I have been laid up at home with a broken leg. (It was a stress fracture that I was unaware of and continued my exercise routine until it broke). Exercise can be hazardous for us older folks. Anyway, my usual tipples were Macallan 12, Dalwhinnie, Bunnahabain 12, and sometimes Highland Park 12 or Lagavulin. Honestly, much as I'd like to, I can't afford the really classy stuff. I like to drink it neat, sometimes with a touch of water, sometimes without... almost never with ice. Recently, I have been drinking some Macallan 15 Fine Oak. i have been impressed. It has the classic Macallan taste but it is smoother than the proverbial babies' butt. I think it is my new best scotch under $100 a bottle (just barely under, that is). It has displaced Lagavulin in the under $100 level. Now if I could only afford to move up to under $200 a bottle scotch, it's a whole different league.

Best wishes,
Glenn
"If you can find something everyone agrees on, it's wrong." Mo Udall
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Tom NJ

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Re: For the scotch drinkers...

by Tom NJ » Wed Aug 06, 2014 12:20 pm

How is it that "Macallan 12, Dalwhinnie, Bunnahabain 12, and sometimes Highland Park 12 or Lagavulin" aren't classy? They're just not as expensive as the more rarefied (and rare) examples. I actually have a nifty media package distributed by the Scotch trade association, and in the video portion they interview a number of distillers. All of them express a preference for 10 and 12 year olds, saying the mellowing of longer aging actually reduces the fire that gives Scotch its personality. (They all, btw, add a spoonful of water to their own pours. No ice, and not neat.) So fear not! If you're pouring one of those "lesser" Scotches, only a whisky poser would think it lesser.

Sláinte!
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Glenn Mackles

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Re: For the scotch drinkers...

by Glenn Mackles » Wed Aug 06, 2014 12:31 pm

Everyone is entitled to their own taste. To me. adding water does open up the aromas a bit, but does little else other than dialing down the roughness a tad by dilution. My taste does like the scotch a bit more mellow. To each his own. And please don't attempt to classify me and I will gladly return the favor.

Glenn
"If you can find something everyone agrees on, it's wrong." Mo Udall
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Hoke

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Re: For the scotch drinkers...

by Hoke » Wed Aug 06, 2014 2:02 pm

Those scotches---actually, single malts---that you're drinking are already pretty classy, Glenn.

And I'm with Tom NJ: that 10-12 range is pretty darn reliable for good quality malt. Truth told, for me, it's fairly rare that you get over 15 that single malts remain all that interesting. Won't turn them down, mind you, but where Macallan (the Sherry, not the Fine Oak) is great at 12 and sublime at 18...I don't care at all about the 25.

My one standout with age...and it's a lovely experience when you can taste them side-by-side---is the Highland Park range, the 12, 15 and 18. The HP 18 is my idea of the best possible single malt. It's one of the rare special scotches I'll actually deign to spend my money on. (On the other hand, the fact that the west coast Highland Park ambassador is a buddy of mine comes in pretty damned handy for my spirit larder. :D )
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Sam Platt

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Re: For the scotch drinkers...

by Sam Platt » Wed Aug 06, 2014 5:02 pm

Somehow I developed a taste for the Laphroaig 10 year. It has made the smooth scotch that I use to drink taste downright bland.
Sam

"The biggest problem most people have is that they think they shouldn't have any." - Tony Robbins
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Tom NJ

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Re: For the scotch drinkers...

by Tom NJ » Wed Aug 06, 2014 5:09 pm

Glenn Mackles wrote:Everyone is entitled to their own taste. To me. adding water does open up the aromas a bit, but does little else other than dialing down the roughness a tad by dilution. My taste does like the scotch a bit more mellow. To each his own. And please don't attempt to classify me and I will gladly return the favor.

Glenn


LOL. Ok, you can dial back the Indignometer. I wasn't trying to "classify" you. I guess the last sentence in my previous reply should have read more along the lines of, "... only a whisky poser who saw you doing so would think it lesser", since that's how I meant it in my head. I think I need to get my keyboard's inflection function recalibrated - it's obviously not working (again).

Pax :D
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