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Whisky II

Back to the cheaper bottles I went to Tesco with my wife, who is mainly a bourbon drinker, and the choice of offers was almost non-existent. So we got the Glenmorangie 10yrs. My wife likes it since it's bourbon casked. I have mixed feelings - a bit too sweet and rounded, and doesn't have the whisky edge and "whisky-ness" I prefer.

So for me this re-opens the old bourbon versus sherry cask debate. I think I'm a sherry cask guy. Or white wine maybe if that comes up. Or maybe just plain oak cask. Just not bourbon.

Opinions gratefully received here. Please educate me on casks!
 
les24preludes said:
Back to the cheaper bottles I went to Tesco with my wife, who is mainly a bourbon drinker, and the choice of offers was almost non-existent. So we got the Glenmorangie 10yrs. My wife likes it since it's bourbon casked. I have mixed feelings - a bit too sweet and rounded, and doesn't have the whisky edge and "whisky-ness" I prefer.

So for me this re-opens the old bourbon versus sherry cask debate. I think I'm a sherry cask guy. Or white wine maybe if that comes up. Or maybe just plain oak cask. Just not bourbon.

Opinions gratefully received here. Please educate me on casks!
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Why do you have to be one or the other? Sherry and bourbon matured whisky is very different, each with their own character to suit different moods and occasions. Heavily sherried whisky (Macallan, Glendronach, Glenallachie) is more a winter, Christmas type whisky for me. Bourbon casked tends to be lighter, with more vanilla type flavours.

I sometimes prefer a bourbon, non-peated cask to really get a true picture of a distillery, where the flavour is determined from the distillate and the oak alone. I do love sherried and/ or peated whisky, but sometimes too much sherry can be overpowering, and peat can be used to mask youth. Not there’s necessarily anything objectionable about young whisky. I prefer younger to aged Ardbegs. Younger and fruitier Glenfiddich & Glenlivet. And my palate tends towards the fresher green apple flavour of Bushmills 10 than the more sherried (but still delicious) 16.
 
les24preludes said:
Back to the cheaper bottles I went to Tesco with my wife, who is mainly a bourbon drinker, and the choice of offers was almost non-existent. So we got the Glenmorangie 10yrs. My wife likes it since it's bourbon casked. I have mixed feelings - a bit too sweet and rounded, and doesn't have the whisky edge and "whisky-ness" I prefer.
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Are you averse to buying online? There have already been some great suggestions upthread (<£35), which, regardless of cask-maturation, I suspect will deliver more of the flavour you're after. They'll also probably offer the best value for money.
 
jimbob75 said:
Are you averse to buying online? There have already been some great suggestions upthread (<£35), which, regardless of cask-maturation, I suspect will deliver more of the flavour you're after. They'll also probably offer the best value for money.
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I should consider that, indeed. The problem I have is that I haven't drunk whisky to any extent for around 20 years, and I've completely forgotten what I liked when I did drink whisky, though I do remember drinking Islay mostly and also quite liking Scapa once in a while which was quite lemony. I may be making a mistake with sherry casks since I found Aberlour too sweet and rich. In general I don't eat or drink sweet things at all - I have much more of a dry, spicy, savoury palate. What would be useful for me would be a tasting session, though I have no idea how to set that up in W.London. I'll have to drop into my local pub and see if they have any interesting whiskies. The posh tasting sessions are £100 or more so not going there.
 
les24preludes said:
I should consider that, indeed. The problem I have is that I haven't drunk whisky to any extent for around 20 years, and I've completely forgotten what I liked when I did drink whisky, though I do remember drinking Islay mostly and also quite liking Scapa once in a while which was quite lemony. I may be making a mistake with sherry casks since I found Aberlour too sweet and rich. In general I don't eat or drink sweet things at all - I have much more of a dry, spicy, savoury palate. What would be useful for me would be a tasting session, though I have no idea how to set that up in W.London. I'll have to drop into my local pub and see if they have any interesting whiskies. The posh tasting sessions are £100 or more so not going there.
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I'd be happy to post you some sample sizes of stuff that occasionally goes for £30 or under a bottle on Amazon. I've some; Talisker 10, Glen Keith. Naked Malt, Bunnahabhain 12, Then there is a Distillery sample of Springbank that you would probably be wise to turn down.

Also have a Whiskybroker Blended malt that spent too long in a Sherry cask. Barely drinkable alone but added to Glen Keith at around 1 to 5 it is lovely.
 
If you pop into central London, I would recommend popping into either Cadenheads or Berry Brothers, I have gotten half cut on the samples dished out at Berry Brothers, they are pretty generous if you talk the talk with them. Cadenheads normally have an open bottle or two and would be happy to offer some of their advice on their wares (which are usually very good). And looks like a very generous set of samples from Ray, I reckon the Bunna would a good match.
 
Can't argue with the above offer (I hear Springbank is passable)...the Bunna 12 is a bit of a benchmark. Ex-bourbon and ex-sherry cask maturation. Islay without the peat.

Heading towards £40 rather than £30, but for a good example of an all-bourbon matured whisky, my go-to is the fruity Glencadam 10. I think you'd also enjoy the smoky ex-bourbon Ledaig Sinclair Series, which is finished in lovely jammy, spicy ex-Rioja casks. I'm happy to share both / either of those, if the thought of accepting amber coloured liquid in small sample bottles from strangers on the internet appeals......... :)

No idea of London outlets, but Cadenhead's Edinburgh is whisky mecca. Their selection can be intimidating but their staff have always struck me as knowledgeable and eager to answer daft questions. They also have their own evolving blended malts available in demijohns(?) to sample or take away in various sized bottles:

 
Finnegan said:
This has landed at TWE, bagged me a bottle so I did. Universally raved about, and seems to be sold out pretty much everywhere else. So don’t dither.

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Absolute bargain for the price and I have a spare.
Their other blend also excellent:
Both just over the £30 mark and, apropos of the recent "budget" recommendations, I do think there's a lot more fun to be had in the £30 to £40 bracket.
 
Weekender said:
I do think there's a lot more fun to be had in the £30 to £40 bracket.
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Esp. blends. You speak highly of Maclean’s Nose. I had a Cadenheads 12 YO sherry cask blend a couple of years back and it was amongst the best whisky I’ve ever tasted. And, as I’ve banged on about many times, when you’re in the mood, you can’t beat a Famous Grouse or a Bells for a decent, solid, uncomplicated dram.
 
Bushmills 10 YO £26 with Clubcard at Tesco. Jimmy McNulty avoided it as its Protestant whiskey, but for 26 quid why come over all sectarian?

 
Weekender said:
Well it's a new charging month on the credit card and I immediately broke down...
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Ha, good man. What did you plump for? Staoisha, Caol Ila and Tulli for me.
Cracking the seal on The Wine Society's 1991 Speyside this weekend as a Birthday dram, should be interesting..
 
jimbob75 said:
Ha, good man. What did you plump for? Staoisha, Caol Ila and Tulli for me.
Cracking the seal on The Wine Society's 1991 Speyside this weekend as a Birthday dram, should be interesting..
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Staoisha, Caol Ila, Glentauchers, Ben Nevis, Ardmore and Glenrothes.
Oh good Lord. Like you said - they're good value!
Report back on the WS 1991 - have one uncracked. Oh and Happy Birthday for the weekend. It's youngest's 22nd today - where did the time go.
 
Weekender said:
Report back on the WS 1991 - have one uncracked.
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A wee bit disappointing! After an hour in the glass…muted. Thin. Short finish. Is subtle kinder? Perhaps the nuances of aged whisky are beyond my ken. Or perhaps it’s just the nature of this Speysider. Neck pour of course, so…
 
jimbob75 said:
A wee bit disappointing! After an hour in the glass…muted. Thin. Short finish. Is subtle kinder? Perhaps the nuances of aged whisky are beyond my ken. Or perhaps it’s just the nature of this Speysider.
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Gotcha. That doesn't bode well for my unsubtle palate. I thought much the same about the Whiskybroker Arran 25. Still, neither of them broke the bank...
 
I must register my huge thanks to Julian (raysablade) for sending me a selection of mini bottles of malts to taste. It's really educated me. Plus realising that I was diluting the malts far too much. I'm now sampling the malts mostly neat or with just a drop of water, and the landscape has changed entirely. I can now taste the different malts properly. Thanks once again. You guys are great!
 
jimbob75 said:
A wee bit disappointing! After an hour in the glass…muted. Thin. Short finish. Is subtle kinder? Perhaps the nuances of aged whisky are beyond my ken. Or perhaps it’s just the nature of this Speysider. Neck pour of course, so…
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It might get better with some air in the bottle, fingers crossed.

I tried some excellent drams in Dornoch when we were away for a couple of nights recently. Some mid 20yo's were what I was lucky enough to get into, a glenteuchars 20 yo by SMSW was excellent, fruity and active. A 27 yo, non peated Ledaig was also very good and what was probably my first Allt A Bhainne (24 yo) was also excellent. It is well worth a trip for the whisky bar alone, I also picked up a ballot bottle and a couple of 20cl from their distillery shop. We also stopped into Clynlish distillery, which was dead empty and felt obligated to buy a 20cl bottle there which will go to a mate for his upcoming birthday. Also went into Glenmorangie which had a lot of 12 to 16 yo whiskies with different finishes and a younger person behind the counter who had no chat at all.
 
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