There’s always the possibility of forgiveness and redemption, but i fear you’ve a hard journey ahead of you
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Ardbeg is crazy peaty is it not? I’ve a bottle of Ardbeg 10 here in the house but I’m afraid to open it as heard it’s very strong on peat. I wouldn’t think it’s one for an introduction to scotch whiskey.
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No, not crazy peaty. Ardbeg has a lovely citrus undertow with the peat – and Ardbeg 10yo is probably the best value whisky in the world. I once described the nose – admittedly after a couple of glasses of said Ardbeg – as ‘chocolate lime sweets thrown into new wellington boots’. I stand by that description.
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Octomore is crazy peaty.
And Lagavulin is serious on the antiseptic side.
I bought a shot for a pal recently. He almost threw up…still finished it mind.
I absolutely love it…ive a bottle of their wee brastie on the go also. It’s like two whiskies in one…a really sweet smooth simple scotch and then a mental blast of peat, tcp and eurythymol toothpaste. The 10 is streets ahead though
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Where does Laphroaig rate on the tcp/antiseptic scale?
If ardbeg was 9/10 id say its about a 7, with highland park coming in at 5.
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Port Charlotte surely worth a mention?
I was in a bit of a car accident earlier. I used it as an excuse to buy a bottle of powers rye. It’s lovely so it is
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Only Scotch I’ve ever had was a bottle of Balvenie 14 Year Old someone got for me as a present and I thought it was lovely.
Maybe @Malarkey could explain the scotch/irish/pot/column still tension. My understanding is that the Irish loyalty is to an inefficient simple pot stills requiring multiple distillations, but which retain flavour, impurities and complexity. The Scots prefer a highly efficient column still that strips out clean ethanol at a faster rate, but without flavour etc.
Yet somehow the Scottish lads seem to have a broader range of flavours and a fair bit more complexity…do they rely on terroir and aging?
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Here is a post from five years ago – by god… – mapping the area you broach:
The national difference in flavour, most generally put, is due to Irish whiskey’s use of unmalted (‘green’) barley. A pot still, because of its superior distillate, is used in both Ireland and Scotland. But of course there are many variables as regards flavour. The biggest one would be rhe casking process.
The great pity is that there is no Irish single pot still whiskey now on the market that showcases the wonderful acacia honey/linseed oil/menthol flavour spectrum associated with use of unmalted barley. My strong impression? That these flavours are fostered far more by bourbon casks than by sherry casks. The older bottling of Green Spot, before this whiskey got rebranded (and reconfigured, flavour wise) in the early 2010s, led on minty notes. Jameson 1780 12yo led on linseed notes. But both whiskies are now gone off the market, alas.
The practice of finishing Green Spot in red wine barrels, while interesting, very much veers away from the unmalted barley spectrum. None of the other Spot bottlings lean on such notes.
I have tasted Ballykeefe sps and Dingle sps. Neither offering seemed slanted towards the possibilities of unmalted barley notes. I have not tasted Teeling sps.
You can still buy older Green Spot and Jameson 1780 12yo on the secondary market. But you are talking €100-300.
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Powers Rye, even if not complex, is really enjoyable, I thought.
Definitely. A pleasant drop.
Seems to sit in that more lightly peated, slightly sweeter area. Probably one for the luddite like myself, but I think it’s very nice (not a whiskey drinker though)
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I think most people, including me, reckon Lagavulin 16yo is top of the pops on the antiseptic side of things in Islay. But Laphroaig has it going on as well, of course, as does Caol Ila. I just think Laphroaig’s higher use of sherry casks for its standard 10yo dilutes the TCP element a bit by comparison with Lagavulin.
Am too young to have encountered Lagavulin 12yo during the 1980s, when that age statement was the distillery’s standard offering. I have read about a hoohah among aficionados when the 16yo replaced the 12yo around 1990. The feeling was that Lagavulin 12yo was peatier (which makes sense, because peatiness decreases as a whisky ages). I did subsequently get to drink that 12yo a couple of times. Seemed a richer and less austere drop. But I love Lagavulin 16yo.
Laphroaig 10yo cask strength is excellent and intense and good value price wise. Not sure if you have ever tried it but worth a go.
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I happened to be in sainsbury’s earlier. They have this for 28 quid a bottle. Unrale, like finding money on the street
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The glencairn glass is an easy way to improve your overall quality of life. Even better is two glencairn glasses- im currently sipping, comparing and contrasting a couple of rye whiskies. Game changer