Whisky distilled 1972

Kay Pfeiffer

72+30&TB=A&PR=-1

I'm not sure if all of these er equally drinkable, but quality sometimes equals price.

Regards Ivar Svensson Oslo, Norway

Op Fri, 23 Jan 2004 11:31:53 +0100 schreef "Kay Pfeiffer" :

Springbank. Just tasted it this week by coincidence. Very dark coloured. But no caramel colouring. Lovely!

Peace,

Jock

On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 17:15:37 +0100, the alleged Boudinman , may have posted the following, to alt.drinks.scotch-whisky:

I'm just wondering:

Have anyone here ever had a Springbank that you disliked enough that you couldn't drink it? (I've been in that position before, see the Laphroaig thread, I'm not talking about pouring it down the toilet and wondering if the plumbing will object, but something you *REALLY* disliked).

Laphroaig is only the single-malt that I've had this problem with, but it was even unpalatable with ice, soda and a twist. Normally this type of vitriol is reserved for the likes of Cutty Sark, Dewar's or Usher's, but I *HATE* Laphroaig, with vengence and passion. Is this a personal problem, or are there some other kindred souls out there?

Regards, Rob "now, let's talk about Bourbon..." Crowe

-- "Or better yet, use the Jack Daniels `shot and a chaser' glass. An honest admission of the true nature of Tennessee whiskey."

-- Bushido in alt.drinks.scotch-whisky

Kay,

I recently purchased a Glenfarclas 30 year old from Loch Fyne Whisky. I am fairly new to single malts(2 years) but I have thrown myself wholeheartedly into trying as many different ones as possible -at least 40 in two years. Before the Glenfarclas 30, The Balvenie 25 year old was the oldest single malt I have tried. I absolutely loved the Balvenie, and I managed to make the bottle last about 10 months. There`s not a chance in Hell of my making the Glenfarclas last half that long! It`s by far the most viscous of the SM`s I`ve sampled; the flavour lingers and lingers with the taste of Christmas fruit cake and sweet caramel with a hint of prune juice. (Hey! My very first published tasting notes!) I can`t last more than 3 days without sneaking a dram. I`m looking forward to trying more 30-year plus single malts.

Regards,

Scott Helesic Kingston, Ontario Canada

"The Internet: A vanity press for the deranged." -Erik-Lars Nelson

you couldn't drink it?

No. The Springbank 10 I have has virtually no flavor whatsoever except a touch of cane sugar. It's not undrinkable by any means, but when I compare it to others on the shelf that DO have flavor, the fancy wanders. (But I just bought a 5-year-old Stillman's Dram Springbank that is really nice).

but it was even unpalatable with ice, soda and a twist.

I'm afraid ice, soda, and twist are only going to severely COMPLICATE matters. You can't HIDE the taste of Laphroaig, you can only grab it full-boar by the tusks, and hang on as long as you care to. I've never had a Laphroaig I didn't like--I've only had versions a few years back that didn't taste ENOUGH like Laphroaig. I think it is indeed a personal taste matter. Maybe as a child you had an abusive nursemaid who spilled iodine on you while prancing around doing her satanic incantations.

The only whiskies I have experienced real disagreement and aversion for are:

- a Glen Deveron 5 that had LESS than no flavor; - the FWP Bowmores that have been chasing me across the moors in the last decade; - my current bottle of Scapa 10 that tastes like squeezings from a washrag used to wipe down old bourbon casks.

That OB Brora looks absolutely great! The web site says "Brora OB 1972 30yo

52%alc. Long awaited singular official bottling. Limited to 3,000 bottles, ... big dynamic Brora with a menacing nose that turns into a phenol-blasting final act of gratuitous peatiness." If that isn't fine and drinkable, what is? Slainte, Ed

Amen, brother. Those who dodged the FWP bullet were truly blessed and I envy them. BTW, that Scapa 10 sounds horrific. Is it the 1984 CC Scapa 10? My impression of that was "why did they bother to bottle this life-less liquid?" Nothing really bad in the taste, but sounds somewhat like your Glen Deveron 5: the single malt null set. IMO, the OB Scapa 12 is no over-achiever, but it's an honest malt, good for what to presumes to be. Not high on my replace soon list, but not near the bottom either. Slainte, Ed

Sounds pretty half-hearted to me -- two weeks ago, we tasted more than

40 cognacs in two nights! (At the Cognac Cafe in Cognac, right next door to our hotel. Nice!) 8;)

Doesn't the Kingston Brewing Company offer over 40 single malts on its own? Seems to me we sampled quite a few interesting drams there last year.

We've got a bar in Baltimore with well over 100 single malts -- seems as though it's not very hard to find a place like that in any major city these days.

-- Larry

I feel so sheepish for saying this, but I loathed the Lagavulin 16. I was aghast when I heard of people scrambling to buy this when it ran out last year. I like Laphoraig in opposition to Lagavulin because at least you know what you're getting into when you smell the Laphoraig. Lagavulin, to me, smelled like a pleasant drinking experience. To me, it tasted like cigarette ash. I debated between using it to make a Scotch ice cream (still want to make that, BTW - just gotta experiement using some cheap whisky), but ended up giving it to a coworker.

Part of me hopes you're not kidding by this. I'd _love_ to talk about Bourbon. And gin. And vodka. And Tequila. I appreciate almost all kinds of hard liquor and would enjoy talking about them (maybe in alt.drinks?) but it seems like Scotch is the only spirit that leads to spirited conversation. Not that I don't understand... I think that I love Scotch above all other spirits. I just that there was demand for people to chat about its neighbors in my liquor cabinet.

From a few years of lurking and occasionally posting here, I'd say it's a matter of personal taste. But you're far from alone. Most of the island malts are seen as acquired taste, and Laphroaig, because of its phenolic assault, seems to be the hardest to acquire. Some are gradually converted, others are not. No harm.

That said, some of us take to the in-your-face island malts instantly. I've never met one I didn't like, with the exception of a Bowmore 12 in the big bad perfume days. I'm rarely without an open bottle of Laphroaig

10; it's one of my top four mass-market OBs, along with the Ardbeg 10, Talisker 10 and of course the Lagavulin 16.

Selection is limited here in British Columbia. I avoid the mass-market Jim Beam and the Jack Daniels (I know, it's technically not a bourbon or something to that effect) for being respectively boring and swampy, but I've had a good time with Maker's Mark, Woodford's Reserve and a few others, and I'm currently friendly with an Elijah Craig 12-year-old that followed me home from Calgary.

cheers.

bill

Heh. What I should have said was _bought_ as opposed to _tried_! As of yet, I have never ordered a SM from a pub. Why?- I dunno. I do like to give a malt a fair shake and buy a bottle so I can sample it with different foods, before/after meals, and any other variables which may affect my palate.

They do, and I now make a solemn promise that I will go to the Brewpub and taste a never-before-tried SM.

Lucky. Kingston doesn`t have a large enough or sophisticated enough of a population to support establishments with that scope of choice.

Cheers,

Scott Helesic Kingston, Ontario Canada

"The Internet: A vanity press for the deranged." -Erik-Lars Nelson

Not so lucky -- that Baltimore bar is about 55 miles away. 8;(

I consider you the lucky one -- we thought Kingston Brewing was one of the very best brewpubs we've ever been in, and we've done everything in Colorado and California, plus bunches of places in Europe. I'd give a lot to have a place just like Kingston Brewing here in Washington DC.

-- Larry

You are amazingly lucky! For serious (and not so serious) straight bourbon talk, go to

Straight rye and Tennessee whiskeys are discussed there as well, but straight bourbon is king. Very little on gin, tequila and (especially) single malt scotch, but the folks at SB.com are very spirited indeed, friendly, helpful and include industry insiders. The moderators run a tight ship, but that's fine: there are many postings each day. I strongly recommend it, just avoid talking about scotch! Cheers, Ed

I think I was misunderstood. My yearning was for a group on Usenet that discussed the enjoyment of liquor. Nothing personal, but part of the reason I like Usenet is that it's not exclusionary in its approach. You narrow a topic down to a specific topic and people that are interested join it. Web boards are nice, but really don't fit people with multi-faceted interests.

Ah, sorry, I guess I misunderstood. No harm done. Slainte, Ed

WHOOPS (Johanna caught me on this). Did I say Stillman's Dram? I meant Stills of Scotland (from Signatory).

Hi Kay,

You want something really special, try to put your hand on a bottle of Brorageddon 1972 30 yar old bottled by Douglas Laing, Old Malt Cask, for PLOWED Society.

Look for some tasting note on Serge web site :

Good luck !

Marty