Scotch or Bourbon?

[Todd]

Got some Rowan's Creek bourbon over the weekend.  Very rich, with just the right amount of sweetness (ie, not too much).  Incredibly smooth for a 100+ proof whiskey - more so than even Knob Creek.  I drank it straight and on the rocks only.  A top notch bourbon, though a bit spendy at $50 for a bottle around these parts.

[Todd]

For the third Christmas in a row, my wife bought me a bottle of Springbank.  This time around it was the cask strength.  I've been slowly working my way through it.  My prior experience with cask strength scotches has been so-so, but not here: it is most delicious.  Very smooth and easy to drink, even given its strength.  It's peppery and sharp, quite peaty (but not Islay malt peaty), and has an oily texture.  Most enjoyable, if a bit pricey.

[Todd]

I kinda want to try some.

[Brahmsian]

I wish there had been a third choice (Canadian Rye Whisky). 

In which case, Crown Royal is a delight.  Although I rarely drink, nowadays.

[kishnevi]

I wish there had been a third choice (Canadian Rye Whisky). 

In which case, Crown Royal is a delight.  Although I rarely drink, nowadays.

I've found Canadian to be much to my taste--more than bourbon, at least.   Especially some small batch/select reserve offerings.   Unfortunately, I don't have any specific names to offer because I don't have any bottles handy and can't remember the precise names.   Whisky, like beer, is considered chametz (leavened grain products)and therefore has to be completely drunk or given away or at least inaccessible and "purchased" by a non-Jew before the start of Passover.

[Sergeant Rock]

Aberlour a'bunadh. Even more exciting than a new gate in Texas.

We'll see about that    I finally acquired a bottle. Arrived in the mail from a dealer who sells through Amazon. What nobody mentioned (in the previous discussions about this whisky) is the alcohol level. Cask strength. 60.2%! Stronger than my Old Grand Dad 114.






Sarge

[The new erato]

What nobody mentioned (in the previous discussions about this whisky) is the alcohol level. Cask strength. 60.2%! Sarge

Cask strength whiskies are the real deal IMO. Not only are they purer (or rather less manipulated) and more aromatic (with a drop of water); they also keep my wife away from the bottle. What's not to like?

[Sergeant Rock]

Cask strength whiskies...they also keep my wife away from the bottle. What's not to like?

I'm not sure that will deter Mrs. Rock...but I can hope.

Sarge

[Elgarian]

We'll see about that    I finally acquired a bottle. Arrived in the mail from a dealer who sells through Amazon. What nobody mentioned (in the previous discussions about this whisky) is the alcohol level. Cask strength. 60.2%! Stronger than my Old Grand Dad 114.




Sarge

Yes, maybe I should have mentioned that, Sarge! But on the other hand ... there's such a sense of rightness about the whole experience of a dram of a'bunadh that somehow, I feel that to single out the strength is kind of misleading. It's not great because it's strong; it's great because it offers a single wonderful integrated experience.

(For example, there's a 60% cask strength version of Edradour which, for me, doesn't work at all well compared with the standard Edradour. The strength seems to fight against the delicate nutty caramel flavour of the whisky, and I end up with the feeling of contest rather than integration.)

[Karl Henning]

Disharmony, rather than concerto

[Karl Henning]

Chap at the office gave us a bot of twelve-year-old Macallan. Will it be all right, do you think?

[The new erato]

Chap at the office gave us a bot of twelve-year-old Macallan. Will it be all right, do you think?

A light, feminine whisky, perfect for moments when an Islay or Speyside won't do. The whisky's alright, you won't be if you drain it.

[Karl Henning]

Well, I'm in no hurry.

Thanks!

[Karl Henning]

Well, I quite like the Macallan 12.

[Sergeant Rock]

Well, I quite like the Macallan 12.

Yes, it is a good single malt, and quite popular in the US, I believe. Trivia fact: it's Jeff's drink (in the sitcom Community).


Sarge

[Karl Henning]

Yes, it is a good single malt, and quite popular in the US, I believe. Trivia fact: it's Jeff's drink (in the sitcom Community).

Didnt know that . . . in fact, I knew nothing of that sitcom until visiting with my broter and sis-in-law two months ago

[kishnevi]

Indeed, Macallan is popular enough or prestigious enough to be almost the only distillery singled out for a warning about not being kosher* on the Orthodox Union sites which discuss the kosher status of whisky.
It's also the whisky which Katherine Kurtz chose to repeatedly single out for favorable mention in the Adept series, and that's where I first heard of it. (Although she may have not been referring to the 12 y.o.)

Kosher or non-kosher,  I found it to be a very agreeable potation.

*Not kosher because all Macallan whiskies are aged in vats that previously held non-kosher wine.  In Orthodox eyes, this results in a blanket disqualification of any whisky aged in wine barrels; Conservative rabbis argue that time between holding wine and holding whisky, and the manner in which distilleries treat the barrels before putting the whisky in, render the previous contents irrelevant and the whisky presumptively kosher.

[Todd]

Got a bottle of Glenfarclas 17 year old for Christmas, and am giving it a second go.  Very much a Speyside malt, and it has a rich sherry flavor.  Could use a bit more oomph, I think.  Easy to drink.  Not the very best I've had, but it is very nice, and I do think I shall savor it.

[bwv 1080]

a couple of great, reasonably priced blends

this is a Speyside blend


and this is an Islay

[Karl Henning]

Yes, maybe I should have mentioned that, Sarge! But on the other hand ... there's such a sense of rightness about the whole experience of a dram of a'bunadh that somehow, I feel that to single out the strength is kind of misleading. It's not great because it's strong; it's great because it offers a single wonderful integrated experience.

(For example, there's a 60% cask strength version of Edradour which, for me, doesn't work at all well compared with the standard Edradour. The strength seems to fight against the delicate nutty caramel flavour of the whisky, and I end up with the feeling of contest rather than integration.)

I have tried this, and I am a convert. (The a'bunadh, I mean.)