3 reasons for me to give Thanks this year!

Ok so the big turkey blowout fiesta was held at my casa this year and let me just say woohoo! The birds, yes 2 of them there were that many people, were prepped by a genuine gourmet chef who Ing was nice enough to hook up with in time for a tasty treat. (Thanks Ing) I provided the venue and a nice bottle of Glenlivet 12 (yes another bottle..more on that later), a guest brought Cragganmore a 13 year and my scotch buddy brought Tamdhu 10 year. Unfortunately for everyone they left their goodies behind but someones misfortune is anothers good luck, namely mine!

Tamdhu is a very light drink. Light in color, light in flavor and if I recall correctly light on the wallet. I am now convinced that distilleries in Speyside make a concerted effort to avoid all things smokey or distinct. Don't get me wrong I really enjoy the mellow smoothness that seems to dominate all of the scotches from this region but every time I drink one I think, honey who shrunk the flavor. Tamdhu is no different however I think the thing I like most about this scotch is the total lack of after taste, I mean there is really zero after taste. It reminds of when Kramer spiffs on Hennigans, the no tell no smell scotch. That is what Tamdhu is the no tell, no smell scotch. It's a good safe bet for the uninitiated but after battling the smokey monsters of Islay I feel it is a little uninspired.

The Glenlivet 12 year

I should be shot! I can't believe I forgot to catalog this beauty for you. Please forgive me I started the bottle before I had my wisdom teeth yanked and finished it after the painkillers wore off so that week was a little fuzzy. Anyhow, to any noob scotch drinker out there my advice is to start your career with this one. A finely crafted scotch that is so mellow it's almost like drinking water. Smooth and subtle though it still retains a good bit of briney flavor which lends to the lovely smokey aftertaste. I really wish I had chosen Glenlivet to pop my cherry with rather than The Macallan but hey what the hell I circled round and I'm damn glad I did. Well worth the investment and a totally solid scotch in anyone's book. Check it out, you'll be glad you did.

Cost: $$$

Balvenie Double Wood

He said double wood.....he he. Once you get over the initial urge to giggle like a friggin 12 year old and pour yourself a glass you will probably never make that joke again. This little bottle of Speyside liquid gold is nothing to joke about. This is really the first non-Islay that knocked my freaking socks off, I was so impressed by this scotch I'm really at a loss for words to describe how special it is. Mellow, smooth with just a hint of hooah! When paired with a big helping of salty popcorn this really good scotch becomes great. Maybe it's the briney flavor or maybe it's the extra 2 years Balvenie put in to this bottle but this stunner is nearly as good as my true love Laphroaig. Yeah I just can't get enough smoke to satisify but I will definitely pour the Double Wood again...notice no laugh.

Cost: $$$$

McClelland Lowland

In these hard economic times I find that a constant state of sedation is the perfect coping mechanism. Okay call me a radical, call me a rebel but I really.....I mean really enjoy a good buzz. I don't know what it is about alcohol that really seems to take the edge off but damn! Yeah some may call me an alcoholic but I prefer student, I am very studious. It just so happens that my major is scotch and I cherish every last lesson. This latest lesson comes from a rarely visited part of Scotland, the Lowlands. Weird right? Well I got a wild hair and for $20 eh..who gives a shit? Okay test time: What's got a fruity start and a butterscotchy finish? That's right McClelland's Lowland, a fine summer scotch if I do say so. Definitely bereft of peat, oh how I miss the peat, but tasty never the less. I don't know what kind of witches they have brewing up scotch at McClelland's but I love every single one of those crooked nosed, warty green faced biatches. I will still chose an Islay over this any day but it's a nice treat in the hot afternoon sun.

Cost: $$

Lagavulin love #2

Back from the dead. Yeah had to go underground for a bit the pokey was chasing me and bid daddy google yanked my license to click. But you just can't keep me down and I'm back with a smoky vengeance for your reading pleasure. Yep I had a great birthday, got a bottle of Drumguish from a friend, a bottle of Laphroaig from the boss and a bottle of Lagavulin 16 year from the sista pants sorority. And really all I have to say is super yum. This scotch lives up to the hype in fact it kicks the hypes ass all over the place. Is it worth the $60 you'd shell out for it? Hell yeah! Smoky, peaty and refined. It's very reminiscent of my love Laphroaig but those extra years really smooth this one out and make it a world class drink. I guess that's why there's a whole Ford vs. Chevy rivalry going on between the two kings of Islay. You are either in camp Phroaig or you're in camp Lagavulin I don't think you can even allow your daughter to date someone whose dad is in the other camp, can't be sure about it but I think I read it in the handbook somewhere. Either way I loved this scotch and will come back for more some day....probably when someone else is buying. Just for the record I'm am most definitely a card carrying member of the Laphroaig club, but what the hell I like a little danger and mystery now and then.

Cost: $$$$$$

McClellend Islay

I apologize for the long delay between posts, I've been fighting an upper respiratory infection that has slowed my consumption somewhat. I was, however, able to sample a bottle of McClellend Islay before I was consumed with phlegm. Oddly enough the wife and I were going to another function with some friends and I opted to bring this inexpensive bottle along for a tasting, as it turned out a friend brought the same bottle to the party. Yippee! Let me start by stating that McClellend is not in fact a distillery but rather a reseller of other companies products..which leaves them a little bit suspect in my mind but whatever lately the wallet has been dictating my drinking choices and this fit the bill nicely. McClellend offers selections from the Highlands, Lowlands, Speyside and luckily Islay. Their Islay offering comes directly from Bowmore and I want to say it is in the 5-8 year range although the bottle never states how long the contents were aged. Never the less for $20 this is a tasty Islay scotch, heavily medicined, light on the smoke but heavy on the dank peat and very reminiscent of Bowmore Legend. Legend has a little more smoke to it and if offered a selection of the 2 I'd choose the Bowmore every time, not that McClellend is a bad drink I just love the smoke that Legend has to offer. All in all McClelland is a really good inexpensive choice for an everyday Islay scotch.

Cost - $$

Speyside 12 year

Just popped the cork on this one and 1st impression is a good one. Smooth and mild if not unremarkable. This is a wonderful scotch and really suited for people without much ability to discern the different flavors in scotch. If someone had directed me to this bottle to start with I definitely would not have had reservations about my scotch conquest going forward like I did with The Mcallan. This malt is worthy of a good, long look and possibly a permanent spot on the shelf right next to the Laphroaig and Bowmore. A very solid scotch even if it is lacking character.

Cost - $$$

Half Bottle Down

Update on the Drumguish for you.

1/2 down and 1/2 to go and I'll hold firm to my original statement that this is a decent everyday scotch. Great by no means and it certainly doesn't leave me pining for it the next day but it is drinkable. I wish I could say more about it but it's just so nondescript that I can't seem to generate any creative emotion about it. I am looking forward to the bottle of Speyside 12 year that's sitting at home, I can only hope it has more character than Drum.

Drumguish

Finally moved off the island of Islay and moved in to the Highlands, although I liked the island so much that I will be going back often. After polishing off my second glass of Drumguish I realized that this inexpensive scotch is beautifully paired with cheese nips..that's right cheese nips. Salty, cheesy and crunchy are the perfect combination to set off this mostly drinkable single malt. Granted this is just a first pass and my perception of Drumguish may change once I get closer to the bottom of the bottle but right now it is palatable. Is it great? By no means, but it is passable and it certainly wont kill your wallet at 16 bucks a bottle. I guess the German chick at Specs knew what she was talking about when she recommend it along with The Speyside 12 year, yes The Speyside is cued up for the next review. Drumguish does not list how many years they age their scotch, a fact I found a little off putting. Still at 16 bucks it is very affordable but if you're like me and you long for the peat and smoke you'll pony up a few more sawbacks and spring for Bowmore Legend.

Cost - $

I haven't forgotten you

I know you are still there...I can hear your glasses clinking every time you put them back on the table. No I haven't been neglecting my scotch drinking duties, as a matter of fact I have been working on my second bottle of Bowmore Legend the past week. I liked the 1st so much that I thought I'd give it a second, third and forty-fifth look right away. I did receive a 21 year old Glenlivet in the mail the other day....ah ahh nahh I won't be popping the cork on that one any time soon. Given the cost of the bottle I'm going to wait until I win the lottery or retire or have another kid (yeah right) or maybe just run out of liquor and get desperate before I open that one. I'm still here and still drinking and plotting my next choice for review carefully.

As a side note I've been very busy with my new websites and if you are so inclined please visit the links to the right.

Dalmore should be Dalless

This will be an abbreviated and inebriated review of Dalmore Cigar Malt. I don't get this one, some days it's good and tastes like liquid chocolate and other days it tastes like leftover drops of kitchen cleaner. I've said it before and I'll say it again.. I don't like sherry! This isn't an overpowering sherry like The Macallan but it's still there. I need smoke and lots of it but for your sake and to satisfy my overwhelming curiosity I'll keep straying off the island frequently, although I will always keep going back. Give me something with some peat next time.


Cost - $$$

Happy 13th honey

My wife and I celebrated our 13th anniversary by going out to eat (a rare kid free treat) at Perry's Steakhouse and Grill and I must say it was divine. Service was impeccable and the food was terrific and the bill was...well wallet crushing but it was worth it. The walls are literally lined with hundreds of bottles of wine, not my bag but damn impressive none the less! The waiter stated they had upwards of 2500 bottles in stock worth in excess of a million bucks, can you imagine liking wine that much? A million on scotch, no problema. Speaking of scotch I had the opportunity to sample Lagavulin 16 year while we were dining and I liked it. I liken it to Laphroaig's little, weaker cousin. It had the same smokey, briney flavor it just didn't overpower me like Laphroaig did. It was solidly drinkable but for a 1/3 less dollars a bottle I'm chosing Laphroaig 9 times out of 10.

Ok so I'm trying to convince a friend who drinks blends to come over the the single malt dark side with me. I made the mistake of buying him a bottle of Woodford Reserve for his birthday, we both polished that 5th off that night and he continued on in to a bottle of Johnny Walker Black. Side note he stated that the Black tasted like sewage compared the to Woodford, a point I would definitely agree with. So now that I've clearly established my alpha male Scotch status with him I decided to bring a yet untasted bottle of Bowmore Legend to a party I knew he would be at. Knowing that it is from Islay I expected it to be smokey and a bit harsh but hopefully not as overwhelming as my beloved Laphroaig. Let me just say that this little gem did not disappoint, it was smokey and smooth and not nearly the jackhammer to the palate that Laph is. I enjoyed it thoroughly, much to my wife's shagrin, and my friend enjoyed it too...muuuaahhhaaa haaaaa! My evil plan is working exactly how I laid it out. As for the Scotch I will definitely add this Bowmore to my everyday collection as it is eminently drinkable and half the cost of my love Laphroaig.

Cost $$

I think I'm in love

After listening to everyone prattle on about how a newb should stick with Glenlivet or Macallan for a 1st dip in the scotch pool I decided to dive in head first with Laphroaig 10 year. The same prattlers who praised the aforementioned scotches also stated that Laphroaig wouldn't appeal to a beginners palate because it was far to smoky, peaty and harsh for a delicate scotch virgin to understand. Well this is my big up yours to those people. Laphroaig is a wonderful drink...it is smoky as hell and peaty and dank but that's exactly what I like about it. I like to think I'm sipping on a campfire while enjoying a glassful with a small splash of water. I opened this bottle a week ago and I've thoroughly enjoyed a glass every night since then, it almost makes me sad to think that my bottle is almost empty. This is not your momma's scotch and probably should not be considered by anyone who wears panties but it is delightful and my favorite scotch so far. It is fairly expensive at $40 a bottle but worth every last penny if you ask this newb.

Cost $$$$

Sherry baby isn't just the name of a song

After hours of researching where a noob scotch drinker should start I settled on the often recommended Macallan 10 year. I thoroughly enjoyed the 1st few glasses until my palate became accustomed to drinking a spirit neat. More background here...when you are an indiscriminate drinker like I am you tend to throw mixed drinks down your gullet as fast as you can to reach the proper level of inebriation without delay. So needless to say the first few glasses barely touched my tongue on the way to a buzz, I now understand that this is the right way to drink Little Kings not single malts. So I slowed down, sipping and swirling and savoring the "scotch experience" and I found out that sherry really isn't my bag and this scotch is all about sherry. Overwhelming, biting sherry. I have a love/hate relationship with sherry only because my mothers name is Sherry(sp) otherwise I'd hate it outright and probably loathe it. I have to say that The Macallan 10 year nearly put me off scotch altogether but being the dogged alcoholic that I am, I persevered and stayed committed to the cause of bringing you scotch reviews written by a real person using real words.

Cost $$$

Intro

Hi. Ok so I'm not a seasoned scotch drinker, in fact I started drinking scotch in earnest about a week and a half ago so I guess you could call me a noob! Now for some boring ass background...I've been a moderate alcoholic ever since I was old enough to con minimum wage workers at the local liquor store. I used to drink to excess like all YMA's (yma you ask? Young male asshole as my mother used to call them) I drank beer, Everclear, Vodka, Wine, Tequila, Sake, Rum, Bourbon and well you name it. I was a very indiscriminate drinker, I always said favorite drink was the next one. I'd mix and mix and mix...major faux pas right? Well I'm living proof you can start with vodka and end with congac if you like. So here it is my 2nd blog, this space on the interweb will serve sort of a as guide for other scotch newbs and sort of as a reminder for me to try certain varieties of scotch.