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Single Malt Scotch!

#3,121
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Opened this one tonight. This is a fascinating scotch that changed markedly from my first taste to my second. The first taste was more smoke/peat and some sherry, vanilla, and paper. I had to leave for 15 minutes (kid drama) and when I came back, I smelled a lot more fruit (citrus of some sort and maybe fig) and marzipan/almond, and tasted some of that plus a lot of ginger, which carries on through the finish.

It has a lot going on, which makes me think about the experience I had with Springbank 15 (given to me by a friend who hated it to the degree that she wanted to pour it down the sink!). This is much more subtle and I’d think less polarizing. Triple distilled is clearly the cause of that. I expect to detect other things on other evenings, and due to the ridiculously low price on this, I ran back to the store and bought a second bottle.
 
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#3,122
smperry said:
View attachment 3998189

Opened this one tonight. This is a fascinating scotch that changed markedly from my first taste to my second. The first taste was more smoke/peat and some sherry, vanilla, and paper. I had to leave for 15 minutes (kid drama) and when I came back, I smelled a lot more fruit (citrus of some sort and maybe fig) and marzipan/almond, and tasted some of that plus a lot of ginger, which carries on through the finish.

It has a lot going on, which makes me think about the experience I had with Springbank 15 (given to me by a friend who hated it to the degree that she wanted to pour it down the sink!). This is much more subtle and I’d think less polarizing. Triple distilled is clearly the cause of that. I expect to detect other things on other evenings, and due to the ridiculously low price on this, I ran back to the store and bought a second bottle.
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That sounds delicious! How much did a bottle run you?
 
#3,125
Bumping to share a deal that I just came across, even though I'm skipping. If anyone happens to be close to a K&L, here's a nice sampler of some mainstream scotches. I haven't had Cragganmore 12...but Lagavulin 16 and Talisker 10? [Insert chef's kiss here]

Three 200ml bottles for $40:
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#3,126
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Decided to get this at K&L. Lagavulin 9Y Game of Thrones for $26.

Brief unsolicited notes: smells of cooking smoke and band-aid (which I actually don’t mind). Tastes sweeter than I would expect (slight apricot or mango to me), with the smoke coming in later. Tastes balanced and not at all harsh. Solid sipper but right now, it’s not the most interesting. No regrets at this price though, and probably a decent value at twice what I paid. I’ve certainly spent more for worse. I wish it didn’t have this ridiculous coloring added. Edit: at least I assume it's added; it's noticeably darker than Lag 16.

For any GOT fans, it’s more Cersei/Tyrion/Tommen than Tywin/Jaime/Joffrey.
 
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#3,127
smperry said:
View attachment 4064479 Decided to get this at K&L. Lagavulin 9Y Game of Thrones for $26.

Brief unsolicited notes: smells of cooking smoke and band-aid (which I actually don’t mind). Tastes sweeter than I would expect (slight apricot or mango to me), with the smoke coming in later. Tastes balanced and not at all harsh. Solid sipper but right now, it’s not the most interesting. No regrets at this price though, and probably a decent value at twice what I paid. I’ve certainly spent more for worse. I wish it didn’t have this ridiculous coloring added. Edit: at least I assume it's added; it's noticeably darker than Lag 16.

For any GOT fans, it’s more Cersei/Tyrion/Tommen than Tywin/Jaime/Joffrey.
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When I was in Italy a couple years I go I had I had the Lag 16. I remember it being very good.
 
#3,131
I’ve never had the eight. I always wanted to, and thought I might prefer it to the 16. I checked out a few reviews this morning and it seems that the 8 and 9 are very different; I’m not sure if they used different casks or what.
 
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#3,132
smperry said:
View attachment 4064479 Decided to get this at K&L. Lagavulin 9Y Game of Thrones for $26.

Brief unsolicited notes: smells of cooking smoke and band-aid (which I actually don’t mind). Tastes sweeter than I would expect (slight apricot or mango to me), with the smoke coming in later. Tastes balanced and not at all harsh. Solid sipper but right now, it’s not the most interesting. No regrets at this price though, and probably a decent value at twice what I paid. I’ve certainly spent more for worse. I wish it didn’t have this ridiculous coloring added. Edit: at least I assume it's added; it's noticeably darker than Lag 16.

For any GOT fans, it’s more Cersei/Tyrion/Tommen than Tywin/Jaime/Joffrey.
Click to expand...
I find the K&L "Old Particular" Single casks the best Scotch I've ever found. The Glendronach 12 is my current favorite Scotch - also available at K&L (perhaps the best wine and spirits retailer, only rivaled by Sherry Lehmann in NYC and HiTimes in Costa Mesa, CA).
 
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#3,133
walking Bass said:
I find the K&L "Old Particular" Single casks the best Scotch I've ever found. The Glendronach 12 is my current favorite Scotch - also available at K&L (perhaps the best wine and spirits retailer, only rivaled by Sherry Lehmann in NYC and HiTimes in Costa Mesa, CA).
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This came to my inbox today. Too rich for my blood, but I immediately thought of your post.

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#3,135
TomB said:
I’ve heard about an 8 yo Lag that seems to get a lot of kudos - but I’ve never seen it. How does it compare with 9 & 16 yo?
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I find the 8 and 16 to be more refined. 8 is a bit more smoke prominent, 16 seems to blend and mold itself into a sweet smokey goodness. The 9 is all around more harsh than the 8, ,11, 12, or 16. I'm guessing they off loaded some less desirable casks on the GoT bottlings. All that said, it's still really good, and an absolute bargain at <$30. Lagavulin doesn't put out anything bad, ime.

Addendum... The 11 year Nick Offerman definition is great. Very happy with that one.
 
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#3,136
scuzzy said:
I find the 8 and 16 to be more refined. 8 is a bit more smoke prominent, 16 seems to blend and mold itself into a sweet smokey goodness. The 9 is all around more harsh than the 8, ,11, 12, or 16. I'm guessing they off loaded some less desirable casks on the GoT bottlings. All that said, it's still really good, and an absolute bargain at <$30. Lagavulin doesn't put out anything bad, ime.

Addendum... The 11 year Nick Offerman definition is great. Very happy with that one.
Click to expand...

I've just been enjoying some Lagavulin DE, Lagavulin 16, and Lagavulin 8 on back to back to back evenings, and there is really a lot to love about all 3. The 8 is obviously full of flavor, but somehow a bit more "clean" - to my taste buds - than the 16, which as you would expect seems to have more cask flavoring, and then the Distiller's Edition, which is both a bit more mellow and a bit more complex than the 16 or 8.
 
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#3,137
I'm only so so on Lagavulin between the 16 and the 9 so I'm looking out for some other bottles. I've got a couple bottles of the 9 for daily sippers though.

Still dig Ardbeg, but want to try different stuff, now that I've had 4 or 5 different ones from that label.

Purchased the Benromach 10 today based on my enjoyment of the Triple Distilled and some reviews I've read. Won't open it until I finish something because I don't like to have too many bottles open at once.

Just missed a good deal on a Longrow. I'm on the hunt for a good price on the Springbank 10 or Longrow Peated based on how much I like Hazelburn 12 and liked Springbank 15.
 
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#3,139
I typically drink Glenlivet Founder's Reserve, but bought a 750 of Glenlivet 15 year Single yesterday. It's a lot better, but as many years i've had Scotch (very off and on) - I don't really know what a great Scotch is at the different price points.

All I know is due to convenience, I over paid for yesterdays bottle. By a lot. :/
 

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