A great time was had by our biggest group yet. And all the Scotch. Gone. Geez.
Monthly Archives: July 2009
July 2009 Spirit Club Lineup
Our July tasting is just around the corner! Wednesday, July 8, 2009. though the weather has cooled down considerably and floating the river from the house has been shelved (until the heat comes back!), we’ll have a great time tasting some great SCOTCH at my house.
That’s right – it’s SCOTCH. I was considering a completely different direction anticipating a hot day, but when it came right down to it I was more than happy to jump back into my favorite Spirit family.
With help from Mark at East Bend Liquor, we have these five selections to taste. Each one met a criteria I wanted to satisfy:
- The ‘Everyday’ Scotch
- The ‘Random’ Pick
- The ‘Curious’ Spirit
- The Personal Favorite
- The ‘Big Gun’ Selection
The ‘Everyday’ Scotch:
DEANSTON 12 YEAR OLD
Nose: Dry. Light peat. Grass. Linseed, leather.
Palate: Lightly oily. Sweet. Lemon-zest. Lemon-grass. Lightly malty.
Finish: Sherbet. Lemon-zest again. Grass. Appetising nutty dryness.
Comment: More of a Lowland style. If Deanston were regarded as a Lowland distillery, it would score higher.
Price Point: $20
The ‘Random’ Pick:
Speyburn 10 Years Old
Nose: Fresh, clean and aromatic with a rich lemony fruitiness.
Palate: Medium-bodied with a delicate, fruity character and a dry, warm, peaty finish.
Finish: A bit too soft but later enhanced by a spicy note, releasing a slight bitterness. Chewed stalk.
Comment: Quite a pleasant pre-dinner dram, with light nibbles perhaps. A little shy though. Would yield more at a higher alcoholic strength or in a few years.
Price Point: $25-$40
The ‘Curious’ Spirit:
Yamazaki 12 Years Old
Nose: Flowery. Fresh herbs. Biscuity.
Palate: Lightly clean and sweet. Honeyed. Intense.
Finish: Burst of concentrated perfumy sweetness, balanced by cereal-grain notes and Japanese oak.
Comment: A pioneering malt in Japan, for which Suntory deserve great credit. In its early days, it was rounded and delicate, as though wary of offending anyone. Now it is more intense, confident and elegant.
Price Point: $46
The Personal Favorite:
Macallan 12 year old
Nose: Vanilla with hints of ginger, dried fruits, sherry sweetness and wood smoke
Palate: Deliciously smooth, with rich dried fruits and sherry, balanced with wood smoke and spice
Finish: Sweet toffee, dried fruits, lingering wood smoke and spice
Comment: From Lance: One of the strongest Scotch pairings with a good cigar
Price Point: $53
The ‘Big Gun’ Selection:
LAGAVULIN 16 Year Old
Nose: Intense peat smoke with iodine and seaweed and a rich, deep sweetness.
Palate: palate develops, oily, grassy, and, in particular, salty notes emerge in a long, sustained, aggressive, attack.
Finish: A huge, powerful, bear-hug of peat.
Comment: The driest of Islay malts, and an established classic.
Price Point: $88
Much thanks to the many sites and Scotch afficionados who give us a spring board for our own comparison and review.
