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Whisky

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Euan said:
Never liked the Jura whiskies. Way too much caramel. I'm sure I read a review recently that stated something along the lines of, "...a caramel has eaten way too much caramel and then vomited it all up into a bottle of Jura..." I had to agree.
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I haven't had one for a couple of years. I never noticed the caramel level, maybe it was offset by the island sea and phenol notes. We all have different sensitivities, the thing I can't stand is overoaking. Bowmore do this in No 1, I know it's an inexpensive whisky but it just reeks of cheap spirit run over a few oak chips to disguise its basic cheapness and banged out cheap on the Bowmore brand. Shame on you Bowmore, but it's ensured that I avoid all your whiskies like the plague.
 
stevec67 said:
I haven't had one for a couple of years. I never noticed the caramel level, maybe it was offset by the island sea and phenol notes. We all have different sensitivities, the thing I can't stand is overoaking. Bowmore do this in No 1, I know it's an inexpensive whisky but it just reeks of cheap spirit run over a few oak chips to disguise its basic cheapness and banged out cheap on the Bowmore brand. Shame on you Bowmore, but it's ensured that I avoid all your whiskies like the plague.
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Jura isn't a whisky I have yet, but I'm hoping to visit the distillery later this year and will pick one up then. We were planning to go as a day trip when we were on Islay last year but some of the Covid related changes made logistics difficult and I don't think the distillery was open for tours at the time anyway.

I've not tried the Bowmore No.1 but I have done the distillery tour and tried a load of their whiskies and would definitely recommend giving the 15 year old a try. It's not expensive for a 15 and it's very decent - better than their 18 IMHO.
 
Mixed bag of whiskey tasting over xmas for me.

Hudson Baby Bourbon - one of only three whiskies I can think of that I have actively disliked. 100% corn, which apparently isn't a good thing for my palette!
Basil Hayden's Bourbon - I've avoided this for years because of the over-the-top packaging and low strength (40%). Way overpriced for what is a fairly basic whiskey. High rye content so will get chucked into the Old Fashioned glass.
Wild Turkey Rare Breed - barrel proof (58%). Proper stuff. If you like 101 you'll love it.
Plenty of small tasters (bourbon, rye, wheat) - Michter's Rye a standout. Would like to try their American whiskey.

I must expand my Scotch tasting this year. Only have an Arran 10yo and Deanston 12yo on the go, both lovely but suspect there's a leak...
 
I'm really enjoying Sonoma Bourbon at the moment. At 46% its got a bit more poke about it than normal.

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I've been desperately trying to source myself some George Dickel recently. It seems fairly unobtainable around here.
 
The Glenfarclas 25 arrived today and I can confirm it is very nice indeed. I can see why it gets such good reviews. Definitely one to savour.

I'm going to try and restrict myself to one decent whisky purchase a month in 2021, so I need to have a think about what the February choice will be. Front runner at the moment is probably the Lagavulin Distillers Edition as I tried that when I did the tasting session at the distillery a few months back and it was noticeably better than the Lagavulin 16 (which is itself excellent).
 
gintonic said:
interesting auction

https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiski...header&utm_medium=email&utm_source=mom_retail
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I'd love a taste but probably don't have the palate to appreciate something like that - and I definitely don't have the wallet for it. While £50K+ sounds bad enough for the bottle it's almost worse when you think if it on a per-dram basis as that's getting on for £2K a pop! I think the most expensive whisky I currently have is only about £4 per dram.

I'm currently putting together a shortlist for my planned once a month buy of an interesting whisky, however I don't that'll be on the list....
 
I'd like to think I've got a good enough palette to appreciate that Macallan; but for that money I know I'd rather have a much nicer car... Just couldn't justify spending that on whisky, no matter how much £££ I had personally
 
I've spent a bit more time with a couple of the whiskies I purchased at the start of the month now:
- Ledaig Sinclair Series Rioja Cask Finish (£36) 46.3%. Finished for 2 years in Rioja casks
- Arran Amarone Cask Finish (£44.63) 50%. I think I read it was 9 months in the Amarone casks but not 100% sure if that's correct.

They're both a similar colour - definitely a lot redder than normal for whisky (more so for the Arran) and I think both are there natural colours and in both you can definitely smell the influence of the casks they've been finished in. They're both quite sweet, although the Arran I'd have said a little more so, and the Ledaig has a hint of smoke to it. Both drinkable but I'd definitely recommend the Arran of the two. The Ledaig I'll no doubt finish the bottle then might not replace it, but the Arran I will replace when its finished. It's also got me looking at more of the Arran range - the 21 looks like good value so could make it onto my 2021 purchase list.

I visited the Arran distillery about 25 years ago, not long after it started and before they had any whisky to sell - so might well do another visit once lockdowns finished as Arran can be done either as a day or weekend trip from home. I was in Tobermory a couple of years back but didn't get around to doing the distillery tour but will add definitely visit next time we're on Mull (my dog loves quiet island beaches so we visit the islands frequently!).
 
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