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Discussion
After two years of buying and drinking single malts, I finally bought a bottle of Ardbeg at Stansted last week. Got a bottle of Uigeadail.
Wasn't sure at first, added a little bit more water than the normal dash, and my word, it came alive with so many flavours. What a lovely dram.
Every glass was a joy to taste and smell on my week in the sun.
Will have to try some more Ardbeg products.
Bit deflated to say the Corfu airport duty free was pretty limited, so only picked up a litre of Bowmore Enigma. Which is nice.
Wasn't sure at first, added a little bit more water than the normal dash, and my word, it came alive with so many flavours. What a lovely dram.
Every glass was a joy to taste and smell on my week in the sun. Will have to try some more Ardbeg products.
Bit deflated to say the Corfu airport duty free was pretty limited, so only picked up a litre of Bowmore Enigma. Which is nice.
I had my first Ardbeg today too. Generally up to now I haven't been a fan of the smokey/ peaty whiskies. However recently I have got into the Lagavulin 16 year old, so much so that it's one of my favourites. So decided to try some other Islay tipples too.
First, the Ardbeg. Got the 10 year old (no others available in the alcohol monopoly we have here unless you order). More sharp than the Lagavulin 16. A bit of a kick at the start in particular. A lot of the time I'm not expert enough to recognise all the different tasting notes, but the salt is certaintly there when comparing the two.
The other I got is is the Laphroaig Quater Cask. However it will have to wait as I have too many open already, so need to start finishing off a few. Will be interesting to see how it compares to the other two.
Seems as if I'm now leaving the Speysides and heading west towards the land of the ashtrays,
First, the Ardbeg. Got the 10 year old (no others available in the alcohol monopoly we have here unless you order). More sharp than the Lagavulin 16. A bit of a kick at the start in particular. A lot of the time I'm not expert enough to recognise all the different tasting notes, but the salt is certaintly there when comparing the two.
The other I got is is the Laphroaig Quater Cask. However it will have to wait as I have too many open already, so need to start finishing off a few. Will be interesting to see how it compares to the other two.
Seems as if I'm now leaving the Speysides and heading west towards the land of the ashtrays,
vixen1700 said:
NRS said:
Seems as if I'm now leaving the Speysides and heading west towards the land of the ashtrays,
Yep, know exactly what you mean there, my next bottle will be Ardbeg Corryvreckan. I went to Taste of London on Wednesday evening, got to sit in on a Highland park tasting firstly.
12, 17 & 21 year olds to try from highland park, with the spirits guy from something for the weekend telly giving the spiel. Very nice and had to say the 17 was lovely, smooth and full of flavour, cherry cask barrel flavours. Was a little shocked at the prices when I checked online.
Next I paid £10 for the Balvenie tasting class. Welcomed with a choice of their 12 year old doublewood on ice or with soda. Chose the soda as it was a hot evening, and wow I will be making some whisky sodas in future.
Then to the class, hosted by a very knowledgeable Canadian girl who knew her stuff and was pretty to boot! We got to try the 12 year double barrel, the 21 year and the 14 year Carribean cask, where they make their own brandy just for the cask and then sell that back to the industry as a bi product to get the barrels for the whisky. Lovely history and information, and I really liked the 21 year.
A good evening of food and drink I have to say, and if you are at a loose end this weekend, go along.
12, 17 & 21 year olds to try from highland park, with the spirits guy from something for the weekend telly giving the spiel. Very nice and had to say the 17 was lovely, smooth and full of flavour, cherry cask barrel flavours. Was a little shocked at the prices when I checked online.
Next I paid £10 for the Balvenie tasting class. Welcomed with a choice of their 12 year old doublewood on ice or with soda. Chose the soda as it was a hot evening, and wow I will be making some whisky sodas in future.
Then to the class, hosted by a very knowledgeable Canadian girl who knew her stuff and was pretty to boot! We got to try the 12 year double barrel, the 21 year and the 14 year Carribean cask, where they make their own brandy just for the cask and then sell that back to the industry as a bi product to get the barrels for the whisky. Lovely history and information, and I really liked the 21 year.
A good evening of food and drink I have to say, and if you are at a loose end this weekend, go along.
NRS said:
The other I got is is the Laphroaig Quater Cask. However it will have to wait as I have too many open already, so need to start finishing off a few. Will be interesting to see how it compares to the other two.
Seems as if I'm now leaving the Speysides and heading west towards the land of the ashtrays,
Good man Seems as if I'm now leaving the Speysides and heading west towards the land of the ashtrays,
If you find the Laphroaig QC interesting try to get your hands on a bottle of Laphroaig 10 cask strength. Its a real big beast, not overly complex, but a real assault on the senses. Going off on another tack , Caol Ila 12 is always worth a try. Handily, it can be gained in a 20cl bottle, so easier on the pocket in aiming for another whisky to "try".
I filled my Ardbeg hole in my Islays too. Picked up a bottle in Dublin and annoyed the bloke pushing jamesons. 
Also included another controversial choice. The Pedro Ximimez that the English Whisky co get in their barrels. A cracking little sherry, but I realise it is a bit contraversial to include in the whisky thread.
Also included another controversial choice. The Pedro Ximimez that the English Whisky co get in their barrels. A cracking little sherry, but I realise it is a bit contraversial to include in the whisky thread.
Cheese Mechanic said:
NRS said:
The other I got is is the Laphroaig Quater Cask. However it will have to wait as I have too many open already, so need to start finishing off a few. Will be interesting to see how it compares to the other two.
Seems as if I'm now leaving the Speysides and heading west towards the land of the ashtrays,
Good man Seems as if I'm now leaving the Speysides and heading west towards the land of the ashtrays,
If you find the Laphroaig QC interesting try to get your hands on a bottle of Laphroaig 10 cask strength. Its a real big beast, not overly complex, but a real assault on the senses. Going off on another tack , Caol Ila 12 is always worth a try. Handily, it can be gained in a 20cl bottle, so easier on the pocket in aiming for another whisky to "try".
Nat_H said:
Seeing as JW Green is not longer sold, have the values gone silly ?
I'm still seeing it for sale in supermarkets, though I gather it's the dregs of stock and nothing new is being produced...Was rather hoping to hoover up a case if it goes into clearance pricing, but no such luck.
Shame. Got a couple of bottles tucked away, including the JW set with it in.
majordad said:
I'm flying Cork-Heathrow-NYC in two weeks time and intend to buy a bottle or two. Anyone able to offer info re which has the better prices, Heathrow or JFK and what's availability like? Is it true downtown NYC is as cheap or cheaper than JFK duty free?
The liquor stores I saw in Manhattan weren't especially cheap, and JFK duty free - on the lines they had - was pretty decent. Got a litre of Ardbeg 10 for £30 I think. Heathrow I always find disappointing. It's either big name, low price spirits at not unreasonable prices (though rarely a bargain!) for people to grab as they're in the duty free frame of mind, or it's something in the World of Whiskies shop which has some travel retail exclusives, and some re-labelled standard bottlings to make comparisons difficult. I remember seeing some different Highland Park labels, and trying to work out what they were, until I realised instead of 12 years old, it was the 2001 bottling, the 15 was the 1998 bottling, etc... Don't know if the contents were especially different.
One thing to keep in mind though, the pound has been getting stronger against the dollar, and I don't know if that's made it through to the liquor stores yet. You may get a good price that way! I'm not sure who is *the* whisky store there, but maybe have a look at 5th Ave Liquors price list for a starting point.
It's also a good chance to get some of the smaller American whiskies you don't usually get over here!
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