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I recently opened my 25yo Highland Park. Incredible dram. It has loads of vanilla-y custardy sort of creme brulee kind of flavours. The notes it provides say that it was matured in Sherry Oak so it's kind of surprising it isn't more fruitcakey. Still amazingly soft and sweet, a big change from some of the younger varieties. For New Thread Info, Highland Park falls into one of several Scottish Whisky geographical categories. It is an "Island" whisky (specifically Orkney Isles). Other common Island whiskys are Talisker (Isle of Skye), Arran (Isle of Arran) and Jura (Isle of Jura). They tend to carry more seaside flavours, a bit of salt and peat and iodine. The Arrans I have tried I think were more sherry influenced relative to some of the other Island whiskies.
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Oct 5, 2011 13:09
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indoflaven posted:Scotch is always made in oak barrels that have previously been used to make bourbon. Nice misinformation  As stated in my post, my Highland Park 25yo was aged in ex Sherry casks. Port and Rum casks are also common and newer Scotches are coming out in Moscatel and other weird and wonderful finishing casks. Something like 98% of Scotch is aged in ex bourbon barrels, if for no other reason than it's cheap. Since a new barrel is legally required for all bourbon production there are millions of cheap, only used once barrels coming from the bourbon market.
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Oct 5, 2011 20:25
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On my Christmas front a lot less whisky than my birthday (not surprising or anything). Jim Beam Rye (for mixing, just something a bit different to normal Jim Beam) Highland Park 18yo Clynelish 14yo Also a few weeks ago got myself a Talisker DE because it has gotten so drat cheap here. A few months ago I also tried a $700 bottle, Ye Whisky of Ye Monks. Only expensive because it is so drat old! Tasted like a 15yo sherried blend of some sort I think but there's not too much info around. Also opened my Edradour Ibisco and my SMWS "Spicy Chocolate Raisins". Both amazing! Almost finished my Balvenie Doublewood, Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix, Highland Park/Bowmore Double Barrel and Highland Park 16yo. I also gave away my Uigaedial and 10yo Arbdeg because I just never drank them. So now I have room for a couple of more bottles to go into rotation and hopefully soon finish those other 4 or so and get even more new bottles open and drinking. Been a while since I posted so that's my whisky update
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Dec 25, 2011 08:39
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iwentdoodie posted:Anybody had johnnie walker premier? It's on sale at the grocery store here for 80 a bottle. I've had it a while ago now. I remember it being more interesting than Blue Label (not hard), I think it was a bit more sherried perhaps? Worth a go moreso than Blue to me at least.
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Dec 29, 2011 22:38
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spankmeister posted:Had some Yamazaki Sherry Cask and after that some Ardbeg Uigeadail. What were your new years drams Goons? I figured start the year with (one of?) my best, Highland Park 25yo. 
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Jan 1, 2012 12:52
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i r bat posted:Originally bought it to share with a friend when he got back from Afghanistan (big scotch drinker), still have a 1/4 of a bottle left, having a glass right now Well you tried two blends (which can be like 70% grain whisky), try look out for a single malt like the Balvenie Doublewood or Highland Park 12yo. Both are excellent introductions to scotch which aren't your usual Glenlivet/Glenfiddich. I think the secondary aged Glenmorangie are also good value for seeing a Port (Quinta Ruban) or Sherry (Lasanta) aged whisky. They spend more time in bourbon barrels than port or sherry barrels but the Lasanta I had seemed to have spent enough time in a Sherry barrel to be a nice dram. The Glenmorangie Original I find a bit weak and uninteresting though so I would say skip it if you find the others.
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Feb 25, 2012 01:12
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Mr.Unique-Name posted:I'm curious, why do people here have such a negative opinion of Glenfiddich, or am I misreading something? Maybe it's because I'm a newbie to Scotch, but I like Glenfiddich 12 year (although I like 15 a lot more). Do people dislike it because it doesn't have an overpowering taste, or is it just lovely compared to other Scotch whiskys? Not so much hating on Glen-fidlivichet just think that if you're going to try something new try something different. Everyone in the world has probably had the common Glens at least once but generally if you want to get into Scotch you would move beyond those two big houses fairly quickly. For you to like Glenlivet but not Cutty Sark could again be blend v single malt. While Vatted are now called Blends I would have thought considering how thin Blue Label tastes it would be a normal blend too. Consistent maybe, but weak and boring :P
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Feb 26, 2012 07:03
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asaf posted:Has anyone tried the Highland Park 1998 (12-year-old 2010 release, duty-free only)? Does it differ notably from the ordinary 12yo? It seems to be around the same price as Talisker, Quinta Ruban and so on; is it worth it at that price point esp. if I haven't yet tried HP? I haven't tried the duty free 1998 but I have had the 12. If you can, skip it and head to the 1994 (blue label) which is the old 16yo. I got one of the last actual 16yo batches from Christchurch airport on my way out of NZ and it was great. Preferred it to the 15yo and the 12yo (both the non duty free offerings). Last trip I ended up with the 1990 (paler yellow) and the Steig Larssonsonson. I have such a backlog of whisky I haven't yet gotten to either. Still, can wholeheartedly recommend the 1994.
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Mar 6, 2012 07:26
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SnoPuppy posted:Has anyone tried Bruichladdich Octomore? I agree with the other two but for a different reason: Don't save anything, there is always more whisky to find and enjoy Drink!Sounds like you're not struggling to find and purchase nice bottles (Octomore then the oogie) so just drink everything
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Mar 22, 2012 21:50
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biglads posted:Was good, I'm a bit pished but came home with a Glengoyne 21 & a Longrow 14. Happy days. Is that Glengoyne the OB? I have that, picked it up in Melbourne last year. Yet to open though. Also, Whorebags, I will be at Whisky Live Syd too Nice write up Deleuzionist
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Mar 25, 2012 03:15
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AWWNAW posted:I just bought a bottle of this yesterday too, because I love Laphroaig and thought this may be even better. Well, it's pretty goddamned intense. I'm not such an Islay fan but I saw the Laphroaig Triple Wood in the shops and did a quick lookup to see if it's still decent, it's on 86 from the Malt Maniacs. My question is though, is it less intense or more? I thought using multiple casks (like Auchentoshan Triple Wood) diluted the flavours but does it just depend on your source material? Anyone tried it themselves?
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Mar 25, 2012 21:44
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fireman2a posted:Tell me more about this Whisky Live Sydney. Google search didn't really turn up that much detail, and $85 is a bit steep for me to just punt and hope for the best. Is it a decent turnout, with a good selection of tastings? Well I went to Whisky Live 2010 (there was no 2011). I think that may have been the first or second time they ran it? I'm pretty sure its still very early in its running. Anyway, there were lots of OBs, originally it was going to be a ticket/token system but they dropped that and just let people RSA themselves or whatever. Not enough food served to keep you drinking but it was like an afternoon session I went to and not the dinner/night time format this time around. Haven't looked into those details much for this year but if it says "light supper" I will likely eat beforehand. Best in show for me was the Talisker 57" North and they also had the DE available. There was a lot of variety and you could pick up some bottles for cheaper than usual but there was nothing too amazing. I had a free ticket thanks to a Perth goon so for me it was great value, my girlfriend was designated driver (it was at Randwick last time not in the City) so only one of us was really drinking anyway. There were also other spirits on show like Ron Zacapa 23yo and some sort of vodka I think (the Vodka company was a major sponsor so they had a big stand anyway). Overall I probably wouldn't have gone in 2011 had it been on but after a couple of years it could be very different, but i still wouldn't expect any like G&M Mortlach 30yo or whatever other old IB. It was mostly a good chance to try a very wide range of OBs and see what I might have liked. Let me know if you have any more specific questions and I'll be sure to answer. The other thing I guess to consider would be that without more people coming they won't get bigger/better displays and products... you could consider it an investment in the Whisky Live concept by coming along?
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Mar 28, 2012 13:19
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Found a very interesting bottle at Newtown Vintage Cellars, Montgomerie's Single Cask Clynelish 32yo 1974/2006 (http://www.whisky-monitor.com/bottle.jsp?bid=3599&bottling=Clynelish+32yo+1974/2006). Interestingly the one rating it has from Whisky-Monitor is Craig Daniels who is also an Australian. Seems very obscure on the internet and a very odd find... I got it for only AU$70!!! Seems a bit hard to find much on it compared to some bottles but I did find these tasting notes too: http://www.whiskymag.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=14028&start=70 I bought it straight away after the whisky-monitor rating, it may not be 90+ and blow the world away but it should now be the oldest whisky I own and snapped up for a mere AU$70. Quite curious!
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Apr 15, 2012 14:00
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Dibrok posted:Has anyone had the pleasure of trying the MacKinlay's Shackleton Whiskey? A local store just acquired 200 or so bottles and at $220 a bottle I was hoping to get some feedback before investing. No personal experience but Malt Monitor is favourable: http://www.whisky-monitor.com/bottle.jsp?bid=14668&bottling=Mackinlay+%27Shackleton+Replica%27 Serge also reviewed it: http://www.whiskyfun.com/archiveapril11-1.html#110411 Some people's views on both of these kinds of sources are dim but it does give you some idea of if something is terrible or not
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Apr 21, 2012 02:42
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Paramemetic posted:I very much enjoy the standard Lagavulin 16 as well, probably my favorite dram for peat right now. Highland Park does have a nice peat to it though and you're right in suggesting it I think. Have you had the 25 year from Highland Park, by the way? I was three weeks in Scotland and didn't find it in a pub. Is it considerably better than the 18 (IMO a superb pour)? I find that after 15 years or so generally I don't see much improvement except in double barrels and such, as I think the wood has taught it all it can, do to speak, but there are of course exceptions. I've been slowly working my way through most of the Highland Parks that are readily available. My thoughts on the ones I've gotten to try so far: 12 - good intro dram, I found after going to the older whiskies I didn't really miss it too much. 15 - a bit smoother but without any noticeable change in flavour profile. 16 (old Travel only) - beautiful! found much more sherry influence which just rounds it out to be a much deeper more interesting dram. 1990 (new Travel bottling) - very typical Highland Park notes, backing off on the sherry I found in the 16. More like my SigV bottle... 25 - VANILLA! Amazing change in direction, very smooth and delicious but also heavily dominated by the Vanilla notes rather than Sherry. I love it though, in Australia I can also get it for only AU$200 which is ridiculous for a 25yo scotch of this calibre. I've also got an 18yo and the Leif Eriksson waiting to try. From even further afield I have a SMWS bottling to open on Sunday too! 4.160 http://www.smws.co.uk/CaskEndsSale/4.160_In_a_gentlemansclub.html I also have a 200mL sample of some 8yo Douglas Laing or something or other I picked up while in NZ a couple of years back. I really should just drink it some time And I tried the Douglas Laing Double Barrel HP/Bowmore, much better than the Macallan/Laphroig which I tried while in Hong Kong at the Angel's Share Whisky Bar.
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May 31, 2012 13:47
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NightConqueror posted:Boy Gregorio, that's a hell of a lot of interesting stuff. Didn't realize Highland Park put out so many different bottles. I saw a bottle of their new "Thor" at the local store behind a glass case for the low, low price of $200. To me, it seems like its really pandering to collectors who either want to sit on it for twenty years or ebay it for a profit. Haven't seen Thor yet... and I'm no collector (even with the Leif Eriksson ). I just take a while to try them I think the basic range is 12, 15, 18, 21, 25, 30, 40 (it's like $10k or something stupid). But then the travel has changed from having the 16yo as an additional "Travel only" option to going by year, so the 12 is now like 1998, then 1995, 1994, 1990... and I haven't seen any older I think. But then they also have more interesting Original Bottlings (OBs from the distiller) like the Thor or Leif or Earl Magnus. The 8yo is an Independant Bottling (IB) from Douglas Laing I think and the Signatory Vintage is another IB (distilled in 1986, my birth year). I just really like HP, even their basic flavour profile... but I love the 16yo, add a bit of sherry cask and it is gold. Also, I think it was decided amongst the goons with even bigger collections than I have that collecting Whisky for Profit is not really viable. Buy it to drink it
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May 31, 2012 22:35
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why oh WHY posted:For Christmas I got a bottle of Auchentoshan three wood. I really like it but I was curious what the general consensus was on it. I was skeptical of the Auchentoshan range but I tried the Three Wood at Sydney Whisky Live 2012 and quite enjoyed it. For my Christmas haul I got a new bottle of Aberlour Abu-nadh (Batch 40) since I had just finished my other bottle (can't remember the batch). I also got a Scotch Malt Whisky Society Japanese malt 116.18 which I couldn't wait to open... just stunning, amazing sherried whisky. And finally a bottle of Kraken Rum just for something different... not sure how much I will sip it but certainly going to be mixed Other recent openings have been a Bookers which is like getting your head knocked of... and a Glenfarclas 21 and Glengoyne 21, both lovely sherried drams but slightly different in style too. I think overall I enjoy the Glengoyne more but Glenfarclas is certainly up there too, easier to find here as well
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Dec 25, 2012 23:58
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Just got back from a trip to Europe with a 10 day tour of Scotland as well. Didn't get to visit every distillery but I hit up my faves and got to try so much whisky (probably about 55... I recorded 43 but tried about 11 more in Dufftown at a couple of events there associated with The Whisky Shop Dufftown) and a couple more at Albannach in London. 10 in Dufftown were blind tasted and the other I just can't remember. My haul includes: 14yo Springbank 1st Fill Sherry Cask from their "cage". No distinct branding or anything, just a full bottle sample really. Aberlour 200 year (town) anniversary, 12yo cask strength. Dailuane Flora and Fauna 16yo... should have got the Mortlach, regretting it now. But I didn't get to try the Mortlach so I went with what I got to taste  They also had a Mortlach for 100gbp which was just for the Spirit of Speyside festival but I baulked at the price... don't regret that so much.Glenfarclas 12yo cask strength, limited edition Distillery only bottling. "Last of the Millennium" Barrel filled 31/12/99 and bottled 10/08/12. Bought it untasted because they were releasing 20 a day and the visitor centre was only open until 4pm and we turned up at 4:30 and they still had one there... amazing luck and a bargain at 62gbp. After I bought it the kind lady at the visitor centre offered me a taste and god drat it was a good decision to buy the whole Litre!!! Awesome! Highland Park Drakkar 1L for 40gbp... while good it is more in line with a sherried HP like the 1994 travel exclusive... even though it was a cheaper bottle with a more standard taste the Earl Magnus was not interesting enough for the price and Loki and Thor were too expensive for me to justify... only mild regrets at not buying the Loki. KhyrosFinalCut posted:On the subject of Highland Park, has anyone here had Thor or Loki? duckstab posted:In that case you've got heaps of options, but if you fancy something interesting, check out the 1986 G&M Secret Stills bottling they've got (it's a Talisker). spankmeister posted:In other news: got myself a Tomatin 15, I'm very underwhelmed by it tbh. There's subtle and there is simple lack of flavour. This falls into the latter category. They could do with some better casks or maybe start finishing their whisky. Also since there have been a few collections posted and I took a photo before I left of my own:  And these are my new bottles: 
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May 12, 2013 01:17
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Tony Inchpractice posted:OK quick question for any Aussies who frequent here, has anyone tried Starward yet? Not yet but I heard good things (propaganda perhaps?) They were going to be at Whisky Live but there weren't enough other whiskies on the Whisky Live list to entice me so I gave it a miss this year. Brisbane is the last show so if you live there you could still get tickets maybe?
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Aug 13, 2013 09:19
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spankmeister posted:Not trying to be a dick, but those are both very lacking in the flavour department. So I'd suggest branching out a little, starting with something like Balvenie Doublewood or Highland Park 12. Those are both still pretty approachable but pack a bit more punch. Someone also mentioned the Glenmorangie Nectar D'or, I found my Lasanta (Sherry cask finish) a good intro to that style too. Obviously no sherry bomb but has a fair bit more flavour than Jameson and Crown Royal as well. For affordable intros and a way to see the differences a finish can make that Glenmorangie range is pretty decent.
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Sep 24, 2013 09:58
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Astarath posted:This is the current collection, I started with the Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban a couple of years ago and only recently got back into single malts. Picked up the Laphroaig QC and then the Ardbeg, then stumbled upon this thread and went with the Highland Park 12yo from what people said about it in here. Hey Aussie Whisky Goon Hit me up if you need any shopping suggestions in Sydney. Also found a good whisky group in Sydney south if you're near this way. For myself, I haven't bought any new whisky since getting back from Scotland earlier in the year... but for Christmas I got myself 4.184 and 1.174 from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Would like to say I can't wait to open it but I am waiting already so that's a lie... certainly looking forward to it though Talisker 57 North should be about AU$140 or maybe a bit less now as Talisker has been coming down in price in Aus surprisingly. You used to get Talisker 1993 DE for AU$125 at Duty Free shopping and now that's the price at Dan Murphy... wait just looked on Dans and the 57 North is down to AU$116! Bargain for that price, especially considering how much most whisky costs here. The 1999 DE is down to $100 as well. I've gone through most of my bottle of 57 North and should probably look at finishing it before it oxidises too much, i got it at Whisky Live Sydney 20...10? maybe 11 if I'm lucky.
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Nov 23, 2013 12:35
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biglads posted:F&F Mortlach is a classic for me. I've got 1 bottle open, but I'm up in Scotland for New Year and I'll try to get a few more. The F&F Benrinnes and Dailuane are also lovely sherried Speysiders that you should try if you get the opportunity. Yeah I grabbed the F&F Dailuane, best of the few I got to try. I regretted not getting the limited Spirit of Speyside festival Mortlach but I'd already bought a ~100 pound bottle earlier in the day.. Still the Dailuane was cheap so it was very good value.
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Dec 5, 2013 20:13
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Squishy posted:Just opened a botteling Aberlour did for the city. Every citizen of Aberlour got a bottle for free. It is basically an even smoother version of the Aberlour a'Bunadh. I just can't seem to find information about it online. Hey Aberlour Village 200th Anniversary Bottle Buddy, I got 1408/1812, how about you? I haven't opened mine yet because I have so much that's already open and it's so nice in the box
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Dec 13, 2013 11:13
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Hi all, Just got back from holiday and visited a couple of good whisky bars I can recommend as well as showing off some bottles I picked up in my travels. Auld Alliance in Singapore was amazing with every sort of Japanese whisky you could imagine as well as a load of Scottish stuff. It was quite an incredible place and I spent 4 nights out of 5 there trying out different odd bottles including a French single malt . Other than the French malt I think I had a random Glencadam, a tasting flight of 4 very dark Sherried Yamazakis (incredible), a Springbank Madeira Cask (a Springbank representative actually turned up that night just as I was leaving and I didn't want to bother him too much because I think he was on holiday too) and probably a couple of other whiskies which I have photos of on my fiance's camera.I also went to the Highlander bar but that wasn't nearly as exciting and I ended up back at Auld Alliance afterwards anyway haha. The brewery next to the Highlander though was pretty good and had a massive tasting paddle to sample everything. In Kuala Lumpur I went to The Whisky Bar and it was great but not nearly as huge a selection as Auld Alliance but still pretty good. Things are cheaper in KL though so I still enjoyed the visit. I got to try Kavalan Solist Bourbon and Sherry cask and Amrut Fusion. The Kavalan's were available in a local bottle shop but I decided to hold off buying anything since we were heading to Langkawi afterwards which is a Duty Free zone in Malaysia. There I picked up a 33 year old Glen Grant from Murray McDavid Mission and an Old Pulteney Issabella Fortuna (2nd edition, only 46% not 52% unfortunately but still have never bought an Old Pulteney and didn't want to take a punt on the brand new Sherry/Bourbon aged travel bottles). The 17 and 21yo were also available but I can get them any time so I went for the more unusual bottle. Then at KL airport I grabbed the Isle of Jura 16yo Diurach's Own (haven't had a Jura since my old Superstition bottle was finished) and just for fun I grabbed a 23yo Ron Zacapa rum. I tried the rum a few years back at Whisky Live Sydney at the racecourse and quite enjoyed it so thought I may as well get something completely different since I didn't really feel like any of the other whiskies at the Airport duty free. Arriving back in Sydney I could have still bought one more bottle (which would have been the 16yo Triplewood Balvenie) but decided to save my money since it too was relatively new and unknown. Now I'm home and it's getting colder I can get back into finishing off some of the bottles which have been hanging around the last couple of years, free up some cabinet space 
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Apr 20, 2014 00:18
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spiderbot posted:Has anyone tried any of the Edradour offerings? I'm looking to branch out a bit from the scotches I've been drinking previously (Highland Park, Talisker, Lagavulin), and based on the massive chart that was posted earlier (http://i.imgur.com/1fh6eyc.png) it looks like it should be almost the polar opposite of Lagavulin? I enjoyed the Edradour Ibisco I got a few years ago. Massive sherry flavours, cask strength, 13yo. It had a harsher alcohol burn I think than the Aberlour which is a higher %% but I still enjoyed it. I think it mellowed with time or I got more used to the big hit up front. edit: When I was at Edradour there was an old bloke doing information and store assistance, his favourite was the Ibisco too so it was a good suggestion when I originally bought it Similarly I think my Signatory Vintage Highland Park has gone to open up some new flavours, I tried some the other night and it was completely different to what I remember... much more honey sweetness, like some sort of lolly. Either I'm remembering it wrong or it has oxidised a bit and opened up the bourbon barrel influence a lot more than originally.
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May 2, 2014 22:26
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biglads posted:It seems that now Big Jim has anointed it from on high, those few places that still have stock are selling at a premium. I've still got my unopened bottle from the 2010/11 era. I need to drink more of my whisky instead of just collecting :S
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Dec 1, 2014 03:27
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Ordered a 12yo Lagavulin CS and Amrut Fusion off of DanMurphys stocktake sale. Otherwise I sort of told people I already had enough Whisky and couldn't justify any more Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottlings so it is a lean Christmas for me in terms of whisky. Hope you all have fared better
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Dec 27, 2014 13:01
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I turned 30 recently and arranged my party for May 21st (World Whisky Day). Planning to open all my old whiskies (excuse bad photos):   So the whiskies are in age order: Glenfiddich 21yo Gran Reserva Highland Park 25yo Cadenheads 29yo Benriach-Glenlivet (1986) Conn. Choice 29yo Banff (1976) SMWS 30yo 41.61 (Dailuaine) (1984) Montgomeries Single Cask 32yo Clynelish (1974) Murray McDavid Mission 33yo Glen Grant (1969) A few were quite recent but some of them as you can tell from the ages that I've sat on them for a few years. Looking forward to getting some of them open but to do them full justice I will likely need to let them breathe a bit first. The first dram I find is a bit misleading. Slainte!
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May 20, 2016 01:45
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Distorted Kiwi posted:Cross-posting from the PYF cat pics thread. The Jacob's Creek aged in whisky barrels is also good. I got the Coonawarra cab sauv from them together with one that wasn't whisky aged and the barrel aging made it smoother. Had some cider in Tasmania that was aged in ex-Lark whisky barrels and it was awesome, you could still really taste the whisky in it
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Jul 1, 2016 07:29
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