Whisky (or whiskey) drinkers: what are you drinking right now?

ChrisBlair · 12-02-2016, 06:29 PM

I prefer scotch and my 'house brand' I suppose you'd say, would be Glenmorangie, a distillery in the Highlands near the town of Tain, poetically said to be a scotch made by the "Sixteen men of Tain".

Lately I have been away from Glenmorangie, enjoying Aberlour 12, and I have a soft spot for Highland Park 12 , Dalwhinnie 15, and one of the best all-rounders in my opinion, Balvenie's Doublewood, at 12 years. I have also been lucky enough to find scotch made in the region from which I get my name, but Blair Athol is rather rarely found in stores around here. Excellent though.

But I just found a bottle of one of my all time favorites, Glenmorangie's Nectar D'or. Aged in Bourbon casks and then Sauternes casks (an interesting, sweet French wine from Bordeaux), it bears a 12 year statement.

For my palate, a teaspoon of water does nicely with two fingers in a rocks glass. I dislike a snifter type glass for my scotch, as I have a pretty keen sense of smell and I find that type overloads my nose when I taste. I also feel like an ass when I have to jam half my face into a glass to taste what's in it. I cannot imagine my Highlander ancestors doing that, but I can imagine my Italian ancestors laughing about it. This scotch is non-chill filtered, which means it may get cloudy after sitting in the bottle, and some sediment may appear as well. But don't let that worry you. This is normal and chill filtering in many opinions (including mine) is best avoided if at all possible as it 'dulls' the overall experience in regards to scent taste and how the scotch behaves. Just turn the bottle over every couple of weeks.

Anyway. Golden in color. It smells of vanilla, honey, maybe almonds? Just a touch of citrus too, maybe a whiff of lemon.

Lightly sweet at first, coolly sweet when swallowed and then a small burst of a pleasant burn, with oaky warmth. Slight spicy undertones and taking a deep breath through my mouth after swallowing a taste is like another sip. The finish makes me take another taste. The burn is just enough to remind you its a scotch and the aftertaste is dry to my palate. Excellent after dinner scotch, or just for a relaxing glass after a long day's work like I'm doing now. I could drink half a bottle with a book, it's close to water as far as being hard to drink! It is a fairly complex scotch, but not complex in the manner of 'hard to appreciate'. More in the manner of 'let's have another sniff and another taste, and try to identify the flavors and scents'.

Nectar D'or means 'golden nectar' and it's my opinion that it lives up to that well. Recommended. I would not have it with a meal, I'd instead choose something like an Oban 14 or the Doublewood 12, especially if the meal was beef.

On the expensive side compared to some but I have paid more for less capable scotches; 63 bucks plus tax.

SS/RS2010 · 12-03-2016, 03:16 AM

Glen Livet for me.

Bluecyclone · 12-03-2016, 04:49 AM

I enjoyed a blended Teacher's or a single until I found out the recipes had been changed, it put me off so I quit scotch for a while. Is profit margin so important to these spirit companies that they abandon recipes now? Pure Greed!

ChrisBlair · 12-03-2016, 06:07 AM

Bluecyclone, if you compared a scotch from the year 1920 as they made it in 1920 with a modern example, it would be a different recipe than the same scotch made by the same company in say 2000.

But which single malt scotch are you referring to, and what changed, and how was the change a greedy bad thing? For example, chill filtering is a thing that has changed for the better at many distilleries.

mikel441 · 12-05-2016, 02:47 PM

Sam Houston. Smoothest, easiest, drinking whiskey I've have ever had.

sherob · 12-05-2016, 03:30 PM

I have a bottle of The Macallan Cask Strength that I'm still nursing, slowly.

My love is their 25 y/o... just can't drop that kind of money anymore. I remember when it was $200 a bottle.

Your suggestions, especially Balvenie's Doublewood are great! I do like Highland Park very much.

I have a soft spot for Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon too...

ChrisBlair · 12-05-2016, 03:40 PM

Ah. The Macallan. A very good bottle.

If you like The Macallan, try Glenfarclas. Ten years or so ago I was speaking with a gentleman that runs a liquor store in Boston, and he has dozens of bottles open for tasting, if you're serious about it. I ended up dropping...oh about 200 bucks on a bottle of cask strength Blair Athol!

But he told me, and I agree, that Glenfarclas is very much in the house style of The Macallan but is much less expensive (I stopped buying The Macallan as well). He also mentioned that the people at The Macallan were saying Glenfarclas might be the best scotch in Scotland- at least at that time.

ChrisBlair · 12-05-2016, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikel441

Sam Houston. Smoothest, easiest, drinking whiskey I've have ever had.

I may chase that down just to have on my shelf.

AG1LE · 12-05-2016, 03:43 PM

The Balvenie

sherob · 12-05-2016, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisBlair

Ah. The Macallan. A very good bottle.

If you like The Macallan, try Glenfarclas. Ten years or so ago I was speaking with a gentleman that runs a liquor store in Boston, and he has dozens of bottles open for tasting, if you're serious about it. I ended up dropping...oh about 200 bucks on a bottle of cask strength Blair Athol!

But he told me, and I agree, that Glenfarclas is very much in the house style of The Macallan but is much less expensive (I stopped buying The Macallan as well). He also mentioned that the people at The Macallan were saying Glenfarclas might be the best scotch in Scotland- at least at that time.

Thanks for the tip... $200 is in my wheel house for something special. I dropped $75 on the Cask Strength, which is a pretty amazing scotch for that price. I think you can get their 12 y/o for ~$200 now, IIRC.

ChrisBlair · 12-05-2016, 05:32 PM

I knew that the Water of Life folks were hereabouts

billscamaros · 12-05-2016, 05:53 PM

I currently have Woodford Reserve bourbon and Jameson Irish whiskey in my cabinet. Finished the Markers Mark off this past weekend. There's also a bottle of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum.

arod55 · 12-05-2016, 06:02 PM

I got a bottle of 7 year old Tennessee Bourbon with the Costco Kirkland brand and it very good with a little bit. 103 proof.

3 SS's · 12-05-2016, 07:12 PM

I'm a Kentucky Bourbon man myself, this isn't right now, but it was Friday nights sampling.
22 yr old Orphan Barrel Rhetoric....some fine bourbon

12-02-2016, 06:29 PM	#1
ChrisBlair Buick 455 Fan Drives: 1970 Buick, 2012 1SS LS3 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Boston MA Posts: 5,957	Whisky (or whiskey) drinkers: what are you drinking right now? I prefer scotch and my 'house brand' I suppose you'd say, would be Glenmorangie, a distillery in the Highlands near the town of Tain, poetically said to be a scotch made by the "Sixteen men of Tain". Lately I have been away from Glenmorangie, enjoying Aberlour 12, and I have a soft spot for Highland Park 12 , Dalwhinnie 15, and one of the best all-rounders in my opinion, Balvenie's Doublewood, at 12 years. I have also been lucky enough to find scotch made in the region from which I get my name, but Blair Athol is rather rarely found in stores around here. Excellent though. But I just found a bottle of one of my all time favorites, Glenmorangie's Nectar D'or. Aged in Bourbon casks and then Sauternes casks (an interesting, sweet French wine from Bordeaux), it bears a 12 year statement. For my palate, a teaspoon of water does nicely with two fingers in a rocks glass. I dislike a snifter type glass for my scotch, as I have a pretty keen sense of smell and I find that type overloads my nose when I taste. I also feel like an ass when I have to jam half my face into a glass to taste what's in it. I cannot imagine my Highlander ancestors doing that, but I can imagine my Italian ancestors laughing about it. This scotch is non-chill filtered, which means it may get cloudy after sitting in the bottle, and some sediment may appear as well. But don't let that worry you. This is normal and chill filtering in many opinions (including mine) is best avoided if at all possible as it 'dulls' the overall experience in regards to scent taste and how the scotch behaves. Just turn the bottle over every couple of weeks. Anyway. Golden in color. It smells of vanilla, honey, maybe almonds? Just a touch of citrus too, maybe a whiff of lemon. Lightly sweet at first, coolly sweet when swallowed and then a small burst of a pleasant burn, with oaky warmth. Slight spicy undertones and taking a deep breath through my mouth after swallowing a taste is like another sip. The finish makes me take another taste. The burn is just enough to remind you its a scotch and the aftertaste is dry to my palate. Excellent after dinner scotch, or just for a relaxing glass after a long day's work like I'm doing now. I could drink half a bottle with a book, it's close to water as far as being hard to drink! It is a fairly complex scotch, but not complex in the manner of 'hard to appreciate'. More in the manner of 'let's have another sniff and another taste, and try to identify the flavors and scents'. Nectar D'or means 'golden nectar' and it's my opinion that it lives up to that well. Recommended. I would not have it with a meal, I'd instead choose something like an Oban 14 or the Doublewood 12, especially if the meal was beef. On the expensive side compared to some but I have paid more for less capable scotches; 63 bucks plus tax. __________________ Last edited by ChrisBlair; 12-02-2016 at 06:43 PM.

12-03-2016, 04:49 AM	#3
Bluecyclone Drives: 2014 Cyclone mustang Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Port Lavaca,Tx. Posts: 355 View My Garage	I enjoyed a blended Teacher's or a single until I found out the recipes had been changed, it put me off so I quit scotch for a while. Is profit margin so important to these spirit companies that they abandon recipes now? Pure Greed! __________________ 2014 Cyclone/Select Shift/"/Sold 2016 ruby red GT w/3.55:1/resonator delete X- pipe/UPR catch can/Airaid "tube"W/AEM/J&M/BigWorm/BMR /SVE /ZL1addons/Redline/Steeda/BG fluids/

12-03-2016, 06:07 AM	#4
ChrisBlair Buick 455 Fan Drives: 1970 Buick, 2012 1SS LS3 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Boston MA Posts: 5,957	Bluecyclone, if you compared a scotch from the year 1920 as they made it in 1920 with a modern example, it would be a different recipe than the same scotch made by the same company in say 2000. But which single malt scotch are you referring to, and what changed, and how was the change a greedy bad thing? For example, chill filtering is a thing that has changed for the better at many distilleries. __________________

12-05-2016, 02:47 PM	#5
mikel441 Drives: 2014 Sonic, 2010 Camaro SS Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Gig Harbor, WA Posts: 2,453 View My Garage	Sam Houston. Smoothest, easiest, drinking whiskey I've have ever had. Attached Images __________________

12-05-2016, 03:30 PM	#6
sherob Drives: 2015 SW 1SS/RS 1LE Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Brighton, CO Posts: 2,736	I have a bottle of The Macallan Cask Strength that I'm still nursing, slowly. My love is their 25 y/o... just can't drop that kind of money anymore. I remember when it was $200 a bottle. Your suggestions, especially Balvenie's Doublewood are great! I do like Highland Park very much. I have a soft spot for Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon too... __________________ “The Eagles and the Captain and Tennille ruled the airwaves, and we were the answer to it.” - Joey Ramone

12-03-2016, 03:16 AM	#2
SS/RS2010 Drives: 2010 2SS/RS Join Date: May 2016 Location: San Antonio Posts: 288 View My Garage	Glen Livet for me.

12-05-2016, 03:40 PM	#7
ChrisBlair Buick 455 Fan Drives: 1970 Buick, 2012 1SS LS3 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Boston MA Posts: 5,957	Ah. The Macallan. A very good bottle. If you like The Macallan, try Glenfarclas. Ten years or so ago I was speaking with a gentleman that runs a liquor store in Boston, and he has dozens of bottles open for tasting, if you're serious about it. I ended up dropping...oh about 200 bucks on a bottle of cask strength Blair Athol! But he told me, and I agree, that Glenfarclas is very much in the house style of The Macallan but is much less expensive (I stopped buying The Macallan as well). He also mentioned that the people at The Macallan were saying Glenfarclas might be the best scotch in Scotland- at least at that time. __________________

12-05-2016, 03:43 PM	#9
AG1LE Drives: '14 1LE Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: NJ Posts: 2,435	The Balvenie

12-05-2016, 05:32 PM	#11
ChrisBlair Buick 455 Fan Drives: 1970 Buick, 2012 1SS LS3 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Boston MA Posts: 5,957	I knew that the Water of Life folks were hereabouts __________________

12-05-2016, 05:53 PM	#12
billscamaros Drives: 1999 Camaro Z28, 1969 Camaro RS Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Charles Town, WV Posts: 77	I currently have Woodford Reserve bourbon and Jameson Irish whiskey in my cabinet. Finished the Markers Mark off this past weekend. There's also a bottle of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum.

12-05-2016, 06:02 PM	#13
arod55 AROD55 Drives: 1955 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Bonita, Ca. 91902 Posts: 1,863 View My Garage	I got a bottle of 7 year old Tennessee Bourbon with the Costco Kirkland brand and it very good with a little bit. 103 proof.

12-05-2016, 07:12 PM	#14
3 SS's Drives: Chevelle SS's Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: outta my mind Posts: 3,034 View My Garage	I'm a Kentucky Bourbon man myself, this isn't right now, but it was Friday nights sampling. 22 yr old Orphan Barrel Rhetoric....some fine bourbon Last edited by 3 SS's; 12-05-2016 at 07:30 PM.