We will be sampling several nice Scotches. For the record, I did look up the plural pronunciation of “Scotch” and it is indeed “Scotches” – I had my doubts. I have debated whether we should indicate price points in our descriptions. Price isn’t necessarily an indicator of quality or flavor, but it’s good to have an idea if a particular bottle of spirits is of the “every day”, “special occasion only”, or “hell-no-not-in-my-lifetime” variety. Please review the descriptions and tasting notes below as you will be enjoying these Thursday!
Old Pulteney 12-years-old
Matured wholly in air-dried, hand-selected ex-bourbon casks, the ‘unashamedly excellent’ Old Pulteney 12-years-old is the definitive expression in the Old Pulteney family. Traditionally crafted using techniques that other distillers have long abandoned, this winner of numerous gold medals at the most prestigious international competitions is a high water-mark of quality spirits.
Tasting Notes:
Alc/Vol. : 40%
Colour: Deep amber with a slight pink hue.
Nose: Medium to high intensity, dry with a hint of sea air.
Palate: Dry, medium bodied and smooth with a clean finish: faintly salty with a slight sherry note.
Laphroaig 10 Year Old
Laphroaig 10 Year Old is an all-malt Scotch Whisky from the remote island of Islay in the Western Isles of Scotland. Laphroaig, pronounced “La-froyg”, is a Gaelic word meaning “the beautiful hollow by the broad bay”.
In making Laphroaig, malted barley is dried over a peat fire. The smoke from this peat, found only on Islay, gives Laphroaig its particularly rich flavour.
Laphroaig is best savoured neat, or with a little cool water. Roll it around on your tongue. Release the pungent, earthy aroma of blue peat smoke, the sweet nuttiness of the barley, the delicate heathery perfume of Islay’s streams. It is as unique as the island itself.
Tasting Notes:
COLOUR: Full sparkling gold
NOSE: Huge smoke, seaweedy, “medicinal”, with a hint of sweetness
BODY: Full bodied
PALATE: Suprising sweetness with hints of salt and layers of peatiness
FINISH: Lingering
Glenkinchie 12 Year old
(note: the following describes the 10 Year – we will see how the replacement 12 Year compares!)
Food suggestion: Glenkinchie is often enjoyed as an accompaniment to sardines and works beautifully with parmesan cheese.
Taste style: Medium. A clean and fresh flavour on the palate with distinctive floral and grassy aspects. Some find notes of ginger in the finish.
Tasting Notes:
Strength: 43% ABV
Appearance: Pale gold.
Nose: A light sweet nose with barley-malt, green grass and wisps of autumn smoke.
Body: Firm, light.
Palate: Slightly sweet yet fresh, late summer fruits and harvest fields, young wood and malted barley.
Finish: A surprising dry finish with a smoky spiciness.
The Balvenie Single Barrel 15 Year Old
Nose ~ Fragrant aroma of vanilla honeyed sweetness, hints of heather and dry oaky notes.
Taste ~ Rich and complex, suggestive of years of careful ageing, it has a honeyed maltiness with vanilla oak flavours, and hints of spicy peat notes. It has a long and complex finish with a touch of liquorice.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A malty, intense and slightly hard nose. Water tones it down showing sweet fruit, malt and bracken.
Palate: Totally different to the nose. Luscious and mellow with honey, chestnut, honeysuckle and cream. Builds beautifully still, with firm wood.
Finish: Sugared almond.
The Glenrothes “Triple Double”
“For quite some time, the whisky makers at The Glenrothes didn’t want you to have a bottle of their famous Vintage Single Speyside Malt. In fact, a recent magazine advertisement proclaimed, “The Glenrothes isn’t shared around liberally. In fact, for the majority, this ad is the closest they’ll ever get to a bottle.” Whisky writers who listed the Vintage Glenrothes as a must-buy product would often end their reviews with a teasing ” … if you can find it.”
“But that all changes with The Glenrothes’ latest release, the Select Reserve. Instead of following the tradition of bottling only exceptional vintage years (there have only been sixteen Vintages released, and fourteen have sold out), the Malt Master blended the Scotch from various batches of different, unspecified years. The result is a hybrid of exotic fruity and floral aromas, with just a hint of orange zest. A light spice lingers in the finish, rounding out the exceptionally sweet taste. Best of all, it’s much easier to find than the Vintage selections, and it certainly tastes much better than a magazine ad.”
We have the Triple Double to sample from which includes the Select Reserve, 1985 and 1991.
Bring on the Scotch!!!
