whisky lovers

[GiGi]

So I'm just about recovered from Auchentoshan yesterday and oh boy I have not been as fucking rubbered for years. But it technically my local distillery so I had to do it at some point. 

Me and my dad did the 'ultimate' tour which was a good decision. Starts at the mash tun just up the stairs from the visitors centre, tour guide gives you a bit of whisky history and a wee half of American Oak. Goes like that throughout. Move to the next room, try the next whisky up. One of the bonuses of what is their top tier tour is trying one straight from the cask in one of the warehouses, guy poured us an absolute bucket of ~60% abv, oloroso goodness. Another couple on the tour actually bottled their own at that point. 

Tour finished in a wee bar at the back of the warehouse, where the guy ran us through the rest of the core lineup. The 24 year old and Blood Oak are very nice. They also give you a wee whisky and ale cocktail in a wee branded tin coffee mug looking thing which you get to keep. 

It's easily the best tour I've done. Well paced, not boring considering the process is almost the same everywhere, best range (and volume) of whisky. 

[Peedzy]

Did the Glen Moray Distillery tour in Elgin today. Opted for the £5 tour with £20 exclusive tasting option. Fantastic.

Standard tour of the distillery. Got a sample of the 12, 15 and 18. Got another 18 while waiting on the 'exclusive'  samples, these turned out to be:

1998 PX Finish 45.5% @ £155 per bottle

120th Anniversary bottling 52.4% @£120 bottle

'Bottle your own Cask' sample

2010 Peated PX Finish 55.8% @£85 bottle

Wasn't sure about the peated finish on a Speyside, but thoroughly recommended as a visit!

 

[D.A.F.C]

Got a bottle of arran Sauternes finish and balvenie double wood.

Really like both, arran is pretty strong at 50%. Balvenie is so easy to drink. 

[Peedzy]

Got a bottle of Glen Moray 12 for £22.45 on amazon prime.  Was £40 in the distillery shop (didn't buy) but not sure what it usually goes for elsewhere.

 

 

[Bairnardo]

Anyone bought the Glenrothes 10 year Anniversary single cask?

Available on Abbey Whisky for 70 quid.

[GiGi]

29 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

Anyone bought the Glenrothes 10 year Anniversary single cask?

Available on Abbey Whisky for 70 quid.

It's an Abbey Whisky exclusive for their anniversary only so just a nice punchy effort by the sounds of it. Sold out anyway so can't really say how much value it would have been.

The Whisky Exchange and The Whisky Barrel both get Glenlivet single casks in semi regularly, approaching the 70% abv mark if you're set on a fiery sherry monster like that.

[GiGi]

https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/p/46235/glenlivet-2007-11-year-old-sherry-cask-twe-exclusive

They look like that and generally sell out quickly. Signatory really do find gems, I've been meaning to get one myself for ages.

[Bairnardo]

It's an Abbey Whisky exclusive for their anniversary only so just a nice punchy effort by the sounds of it. Sold out anyway so can't really say how much value it would have been.
The Whisky Exchange and The Whisky Barrel both get Glenlivet single casks in semi regularly, approaching the 70% abv mark if you're set on a fiery sherry monster like that.

I bought one, but because its 67% and the taste notes seem to be right up my alley I am intent on drinking it

[GiGi]

1 minute ago, Bairnardo said:

I bought one, but because its 67% and the taste notes seem to be right up my alley I am intent on drinking it

Try it neat. Swirl it around the gums and your whole mouth and tongue will feel numb and on fire at the same time. It's fucking magic.

Also confirm if it's good. It sounds v.dece.

[The Nightfly]

Noticed a Dalwhinnie I hadn't seen before, in Morrison's today. Has anyone tried Winter's Gold?

[Bairnardo]

Noticed a Dalwhinnie I hadn't seen before, in Morrison's today. Has anyone tried Winter's Gold?

Me and GiGi combined to slaughter this one without ever having tried it recently!

Part of the campaign against cheap, yet still overpriced NAS pisswater

[Melanius Mullarkey]

Thirded on the pish stakes for Dalwhinnie.

[GiGi]

1 hour ago, Bairnardo said:

Me and GiGi combined to slaughter this one without ever having tried it recently!

Part of the campaign against cheap, yet still overpriced NAS pisswater

[Peedzy]

On the topic of watery pish, how about some more advice for relative beginners?

I've been building up my collection bit by bit, trying it by taste along the way. 

Initially I was drawn in by the supermarket headline discount on NAS expressions like Cardhu Gold etc. but quickly sacked this. I am still trying to pick up well known examples of age statement whisky though, mostly using supermarkets or Amazon Prime.

Anyway, do the more experienced whisky lovers among you think that all standard offerings around the 40% mark are watery pish, and at what point in your development did you come to that conclusion? I got a Benromach cask strength recently from Amazon, but not cracked it open yet.

[Bairnardo]

On the topic of watery pish, how about some more advice for relative beginners?
I've been building up my collection bit by bit, trying it by taste along the way. 
Initially I was drawn in by the supermarket headline discount on NAS expressions like Cardhu Gold etc. but quickly sacked this. I am still trying to pick up well known examples of age statement whisky though, mostly using supermarkets or Amazon Prime.
Anyway, do the more experienced whisky lovers among you think that all standard offerings around the 40% mark are watery pish, and at what point in your development did you come to that conclusion? I got a Benromach cask strength recently from Amazon, but not cracked it open yet.

I am no expert, but generally dont buy below 46% because I think they taste weak

[gannonball]

Im starting to edge towards cask strength now. Amazons your man if your wanting to try cheaper NAS or non cask strength stuff which was fine for me for yonks but I eventually I felt was buying stuff that was pretty bland, you would try and add a drop or two of water to ‘open it up’ but I find that rarely the case now given how much it has already been watered, that theory only really applies to cask strength. 

If your wanting decent value cask strength old signatory stuff is quite well priced. SMWS is a wee bit more but also good but you have to have a membership.

[GiGi]

I'll give my wanky monologue about how chill filtration is the real issue here.

If you ever get the chance to try two whiskies from the same distillery, one chill filtered and one not, you will taste the difference and you will feel the difference on your palate. This is because they filter out oils in the whisky that would otherwise make it go cloudy when chilled and some people think this somehow means the whisky is 'off'. 

Some of it can leave a residue but usually whisky, even at cask strength, is filtered just enough to remove bits of dissolved wood and what have you anyway, unless it's been bottled straight from a barrel. But chill filtering just removes a great deal of character from often good whiskies and makes them samey, supermarket fodder for people who don't really know or like it that much (imo). Distillers argue against this but as I said, if you can, try the above and tell me it doesn't leave thinner, inferior drink.

A few distilleries now release only non chill filtered whisky and they're easy to spot because they will proudly put it on the label. Single cask stuff is usually the same.

My own example is from overpriced watery whisky merchants Macallan. Their 12 year old sherry wood is bottled at 40% and chill filtered. It is decent, largely average and very drinkable for most people. I more recently bought the Macallan Edition 4, which holds sherry cask whisky generally aged 11-14 years from what I've read.  Un-chill filtered and bottled at 48.4%. This one is amazing and I can see from this where they got their reputation before demand outstripped supply causing most of the guff they offer up now.

So in conclusion it's not like cask strength is the be all and end all, although many of them are very, very good. It's chill filtered rubbish bottled at the very bare-minimum abv that you can still call it whisky at which is to be avoided if you want to get to know your malts better.

[Peedzy]

1 hour ago, GiGi said:

I'll give my wanky monologue about how chill filtration is the real issue here.

If you ever get the chance to try two whiskies from the same distillery, one chill filtered and one not, you will taste the difference and you will feel the difference on your palate. This is because they filter out oils in the whisky that would otherwise make it go cloudy when chilled and some people think this somehow means the whisky is 'off'. 

Some of it can leave a residue but usually whisky, even at cask strength, is filtered just enough to remove bits of dissolved wood and what have you anyway, unless it's been bottled straight from a barrel. But chill filtering just removes a great deal of character from often good whiskies and makes them samey, supermarket fodder for people who don't really know or like it that much (imo). Distillers argue against this but as I said, if you can, try the above and tell me it doesn't leave thinner, inferior drink.

A few distilleries now release only non chill filtered whisky and they're easy to spot because they will proudly put it on the label. Single cask stuff is usually the same.

My own example is from overpriced watery whisky merchants Macallan. Their 12 year old sherry wood is bottled at 40% and chill filtered. It is decent, largely average and very drinkable for most people. I more recently bought the Macallan Edition 4, which holds sherry cask whisky generally aged 11-14 years from what I've read.  Un-chill filtered and bottled at 48.4%. This one is amazing and I can see from this where they got their reputation before demand outstripped supply causing most of the guff they offer up now.

So in conclusion it's not like cask strength is the be all and end all, although many of them are very, very good. It's chill filtered rubbish bottled at the very bare-minimum abv that you can still call it whisky at which is to be avoided if you want to get to know your malts better.

Cheers to all for the replies/opinions.

Had a quick peek through my bottles. My cask strength Benromach is first fill bourbon single cask, but no mention of non-chill filtered.

The only non-chill filtered ones I have are Arran Sherry Cask 46%, Ardbeg 10 yr 46%, Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 12yr 46% and a small bottle of Nectar D'or 12yr 46%.

I'll have a go at a taste comparison on Glenmorangie vs their chill-filtered Original and Lasanta at the weekend (hopefully). I'm booked in for a distillery tour there in a couple of weeks so best to get some homework done.

[nelsjfc]

Cheers to all for the replies/opinions.
Had a quick peek through my bottles. My cask strength Benromach is first fill bourbon single cask, but no mention of non-chill filtered.
The only non-chill filtered ones I have are Arran Sherry Cask 46%, Ardbeg 10 yr 46%, Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 12yr 46% and a small bottle of Nectar D'or 12yr 46%.
I'll have a go at a taste comparison on Glenmorangie vs their chill-filtered Original and Lasanta at the weekend (hopefully). I'm booked in for a distillery tour there in a couple of weeks so best to get some homework done.

If you can afford it, I'd recommend this.

https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/p/9732/glendronach-18-year-old-allardice-sherry-cask

[Peedzy]

1 hour ago, nelsjfc said:

If you can afford it, I'd recommend this.

https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/p/9732/glendronach-18-year-old-allardice-sherry-cask

I'll be drawing up my Christmas wish list shortly, this could be a contender. What would its main competitors be at around this price range, in your opinion?