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Single Malt Scotch!

#521
fitbass3p said:
+1...any recommendations based on your stash up there (<$100/bottle would be better, too)
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I'd thoroughly recommend either a Springbank or a Longrow.

You'll get a 10 yr old Springbank for $60-70 or so. The 15 yr old is around the $90-100 mark. Longrow 10 yr old comes in around the $100 mark.

I once read a whisky book that said of Longrow: "if you see it buy it!"

These days they are also doing a Longrow CV, which is a mix of some younger malt with some older stuff. I don't think they have a declared age on that one partly due to my explanation in an earlier post about mixing malts. It comes in around the $60 mark. I haven't tried that one - yet!
 
#522
Thunderitter said:
I'd thoroughly recommend either a Springbank or a Longrow.

You'll get a 10 yr old Springbank for $60-70 or so. The 15 yr old is around the $90-100 mark. Longrow 10 yr old comes in around the $100 mark.

I once read a whisky book that said of Longrow: "if you see it buy it!"

These days they are also doing a Longrow CV, which is a mix of some younger malt with some older stuff. I don't think they have a declared age on that one partly due to my explanation in an earlier post about mixing malts. It comes in around the $60 mark. I haven't tried that one - yet!
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Thanks for the recommendation! (even if I saw it coming) Now comes the hard part of actually finding those bottles where I live.
 
#523
fitbass3p said:
Thanks for the recommendation! (even if I saw it coming) Now comes the hard part of actually finding those bottles where I live.
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Get hold of some Isle of Arran too!:D

Unless you've got a really good shop close by, mail order is the way to go - state law permitting.

(IMHO it sucks that you can get whisky from some states and not others!)
 
#524
Thunderitter said:
I'd really recommend getting hold of some Longrow, especially the 14 if you like an occasional 'peat'. As I said it is quite unique and not anywhere as 'heavy' as a Lagavulin or Laphroig. It's hard to get in the US. My brother-in-law saw a bottle once in his local bottle shop in MN, but I haven't seen any locally to me (I mean ME or DE) forget about anything other than the staples here in State controlled VA!
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I found these below. Which one would you recommend?
  • Longrow Cv Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky $59.99 - Shoppers Vineyard
  • Longrow 18Yr Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky $239.99 - Shoppers Vineyard
  • Longrow 1996 10 Year Old Campbeltown Single Malt $99.99 - ForScotchLovers.com
 
#527
I haven't tried either the CV or the 18yr old.

The 10 yr old is going to be good, the CV is one I want to try and without a doubt the 18 yr old will be outstanding (and a rare one). So if you're feeling flush go 18, else I'd go with the 10 for starters!
 
#529
Thunderitter,
Also, on the Springbank, would you recommend something like the rum finish, or should I start with the 15 to get the most typically representative taste from them?

Springbank '15 Years' Single Malt Scotch
Stock Status: In Stock
Our Price: $94.99

Springbank 16 Years 'Rum Finish' Single Malt Scotch
Stock Status: In Stock
Our Price: $145.00
 
#530
fitbass3p said:
Decided to spring for a bottle of 15...can't wait to try it out. Stupid internet making impulse shopping easy even for scotch!
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I hope you enjoy - I'm pretty confident you will!

You may be able to read behind the lines (:D) and see my passion (probably the best thing to call it!) for Campbeltown whisky!

It probably helps that my folks live there and being a small town the folks at the distillery know my father, which has advantages such as out of season tours, etc.! I've introduced a lot of folks to Springbank, et al and I haven't found anyone who has been disappointed - yet! Most are complete converts!

I think what really gets me is how intimate and original the distillery is (they make in a year what the larger more commercial distilleries make in a week!) and the passion they clearly have there for the distillery and their product. They are still using original techniques (i.e. no chill filtering, no coloring, self malting, etc) and some of the machinery they use (the malt mill for example) was made back at the start of the 20th century!

I've taken clients there (I'm not a lobbyist by the way!) who have said it was there favorite part of a visit to Scotland and certainly the best distillery they have visited because it was so personal. Go there at the right time and you can turn the barley on the malting room floor with a shovel!

I've found that whisky, like wine, is even better when you have a feel for how it is made and can see the process first hand. At Springbank you can meet the folks that make your whisky. They have 10 or so full time employees and most have worked there for a long time! The distillery does not quite have the ordered layout of other distilleries - it is how it has evolved and it works so they haven't changed it for fear of changing the process!

I think also that it appeals to the same thing part of the brain/pshyche that a nice bass guitar does, which I suppose is why were discussing it here! Wine, whisky, women and song - doesn't get much better than that - for any ladies here Malbec, malt, men and music! Interestingly enough the 'average' women has a better pallette for whisky than the average man!
 
#531
Vic said:
Thunderitter,
Also, on the Springbank, would you recommend something like the rum finish, or should I start with the 15 to get the most typically representative taste from them?

Springbank '15 Years' Single Malt Scotch
Stock Status: In Stock
Our Price: $94.99

Springbank 16 Years 'Rum Finish' Single Malt Scotch
Stock Status: In Stock
Our Price: $145.00
Click to expand...

For starters go with a 10 yr old Longrow or a 15 yr old Springbank (or both!) and once you've got the base (or should that be bass) try the other finishes! Longrow has only been around since the early 90s, but with Springbank the roots of what you're drinking go back to 1828!
 
#533
Thunderitter said:
For starters go with a 10 yr old Longrow or a 15 yr old Springbank (or both!) and once you've got the base (or should that be bass) try the other finishes! Longrow has only been around since the early 90s, but with Springbank the roots of what you're drinking go back to 1828!
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Cool. I think I'll "spring" for both. :)
 
#535
Thunderitter said:
Get hold of some Isle of Arran too!:D

Unless you've got a really good shop close by, mail order is the way to go - state law permitting.

(IMHO it sucks that you can get whisky from some states and not others!)
Click to expand...

Went to the liquor store last night to pick up some beer for the host of the BCS party, and saw a bottle of Arran there for $39.99. Impulsively bought it. It's not bad, if a little lighter than most of the whiskys I've tasted so far. Almost...sweet? Vague hints of fruit, I think.
 
#536
fitbass3p said:
Went to the liquor store last night to pick up some beer for the host of the BCS party, and saw a bottle of Arran there for $39.99. Impulsively bought it. It's not bad, if a little lighter than most of the whiskys I've tasted so far. Almost...sweet? Vague hints of fruit, I think.
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Was it a 10 yr old or the unmarked one, which is mostly 8yr old?
 
#538
Thought I'd ping the thread.

Still lookin' for the Longrow, but got the Springbank 15. It was waiting for me when I got back from NAMM. It's a wonderful scotch. You can definitely taste the peat in it, but not like a Lagavulin or Laphroaig, and it's about as smooth as a Lagavulin. I'm not good at picking out exotic scents and flavors to compare it with like the experts, but it's darn good and worth every penny.

Now to find that dang Longrow! :)
 
#539
Vic said:
Thought I'd ping the thread.

Still lookin' for the Longrow, but got the Springbank 15. It was waiting for me when I got back from NAMM. It's a wonderful scotch. You can definitely taste the peat in it, but not like a Lagavulin or Laphroaig, and it's about as smooth as a Lagavulin. I'm not good at picking out exotic scents and flavors to compare it with like the experts, but it's darn good and worth every penny.

Now to find that dang Longrow! :)
Click to expand...

I have a bottle of Springbank 15 sitting in my cabinet at home, unopened. I'm enjoying the Arran I previously mentioned so much that I'm working my way through that bottle (probably faster than is healthy for my wallet, in the long run) before I start anything else. Once I decided to try it neat instead of with water, I fell in. It's good.
 
#540
Good to hear that you enjoyed the Springbank and good luck in finding the Longrow!

I've been enjoying getting to the end of both my 10 and 14 Longrows! Of course I'm not going to enjoy the actual end!
 

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