Glenfiddich 12. Glenfiddich 15. Glenfiddich 18.

Glenfiddich has a nice sampler pack containing three 200 ml bottles for around $50.  It doesn't quite add up to your standard 750 ml bottle, but the 12 year sells for around $40 on it's own, so it's not a bad deal.

I have been pretty anti-scotch on the blog, but I am finding that as I go back to whisky's that are not heavily peated, it can be quite tasty.  I think that the Islay style of scotch is similar to the big, smokey trend in dark beers these days.  It's an interesting flavor, but I don't want to drink a lot of it.  Actually, I don't want to drink any of it.

Anyway, back to the tiered flight.  I find the 12 year to be honey sweet, with some leather and a hint of mint and oak.  It is aged in new American and Spanish oak.

The 15 year has similar flavors, but they are more subtle.  It is aged in sherry, bourbon and new oak barrels and put together in an Oregon pine Solera vat.  I'm a huge fan of Solera aged spirits and this one does not disappoint.

The 18 is aged in Spanish Oloroso Sherry and American Oak.  It is slightly smokey and has more oak.  It is only 80 proof, but a little bit of water does open it up a bit giving a slight apple flavor.

This was a fun tasting (at least it was for me) in which you get to see the difference that age, and the types of barrels can make in a single malt.  The good and bad news is that I am back into Scotch.  Good for my taste buds, bad for my wallet.  I think that the 15 is my favorite, but the 12 is very drinkable and also highly recommended if you are budget conscious.  The 18 is not bad, but surprisingly less complex than the 15.

Today is National Scotch Day. Hence: Tales from the Top Shelf - The Balvenie 21

“Well, between Scotch and nothin', I suppose I'd take Scotch. It's the nearest thing to good moonshine I can find.” - William Faulkner

Which shows to show you that one of the following are true about William Faulkner

1. He never drank moonshine.
2. He never drank Scotch.
3. He never drank Scotch nor Moonshine.
   

So, it's national Scotch day.  Whose nation?  Ours I guess.  I'm not sure that it's really a true national day. The whole thing may be a trick by Scotch distributors to get some free pub.  Today, it worked.

For those of you who are new to Two Parts Rye, Scotch isn't really my thing.  You see, I used to lead a double life.  Pretending that I like Scotch, yep, I wanted to be sophisticated.  But it was all a lie.  A LIE I TELL YOU.  I am now comfortable enough with myself to admit the truth.  The stuff tastes like someone left an old shoe in a perfectly good Irish Whiskey.  That was liberating.

You can decide for yourself as to whether or not that's a condemnation of Scotch, or my stinky feet.

From the web:  To create The Balvenie PortWood Aged 21 Years, a marriage of rare Balvenie is transferred to port casks, or pipes, which have held fine port wines. Here it is sampled regularly by The Balvenie Malt Master to ensure that just the right amount of character is imparted by the port casks, enhancing and developing the single malt whilst preserving its original characteristics.


Tasting Notes: Mint, leather, menthol, nutmeg, tobacco, and a hint of Doctor Scholl's.
Grade: B+

Theoretically, this will show up on The Balvenie's Facebook page.  If it does, we'll know that they never actually read this post, or they have a sense of humor.

Tales from the top shelf: The Macallan Fine Oak 15 Years Old

I've stated before that I'm not the biggest fan of Scotch.  For me, The Macallan Fine Oak the exception to the rule and I am a little bit sad that I am killing the last ounce from the bottle tonight.

Label Stuff:  Our unfeltering obsession with selecting the finest casks and distilling sublime spirit brings an unsurpassed, timeless quality to The Macallen.  Distilled at The Macallan distillery in Speyside, Scotland, this legendary Singal Malt is carefully matured for a minimum of fifteen years.  The unique combination of Bourbon and Sherry oak casks produces a particularly smooth, delicate and light whisky.

The barrel is one of the interesting components of whisky making.  In the US, a bourbon barrel is only used once.  Scotch and Irish whiskeys often reuse bourbon, sherry, port and other repurposed barrels to add depth.  By the way, when talking about Scotch.  I will switch from "whisky" to whiskey" at random intervals.

How does it taste?  There is a hint of bourbon to be found here.  You can still tell that it is scotch, the peat is there but it's subtle.  It leaves a nice warm sweet flavor on your palate.  There is a hint of vanilla and orange.

I've pulled out an old tasting sheet from a Macallan tasting that I went to a few years ago.  Let's see if I agree with their description.

Color: Rich Straw.  Sure.

Nose: Full aroma with hings of rose and cinnamon.  Full aroma of alcohol.

Palate.  Intense rich chocolate, with hings of orange and raisins.  No chocolate.  It's a light tasting whisky.

Finish: Lingering with chocolate, hints of orange and dried fruit.  Like I said.  No chocolate.

Cost: $88.95 online.  It's gone up since I bought it.

Grade: B+

Cost Adjusted Grade: B-

Tales from the top shelf: Talisker

The only single malt scotch whisky from the Isle of Skye.

Label stuff: From the western shores of the Isle of Skye, in the tall shadows of Cuilin hills, comes a single malt like no other.  Drink in all the rich golden drama of a Skye sunset in thie alluring, sweet full-bodied spirit with a warming afterglow, so easy to enjoy yet, like Skye itself, so hard to leave.  Looks like someone didn't make it as a romance novelist and had to settle for marketing.  Seriously, am I supposed to drink it or make love to it?

How does it taste?  I find that eating spicy food before sampling Scotch helps to negate the "old shoe" flavor.  It is sweet in the beginning, with some oak in the middle, and old shoes in the finish.  If you like peat, it's a whisky for you.

Cost:  Approximately $50
Grade: B+
Cost Adjusted Grade: B

Tales from the top shelf: The Yamazaki Single Malt Whisky 10 Years

I will be heading abroad for vacation in the near future and I am looking forward to making exciting purchases at the duty free shops.  Therefore, I need to clear out all of the bottles on the top shelf that are almost empty.

What the heck is the Yamazaki?

Here's the deal.  It's Scotch.  But, it's not Scotch because it's made in Japan.  It tastes just like The Macallan, which is a complement.  It's the 1980's Honda of booze.  It's got some barley sweetness with just a hint of peat.

You can tell that they want you to think that it is Scotch, because it is "single malt whisky", not whiskey.  Which is the equivalent of it's a kilt, not a skirt.

Cost: £20 at the Stanstead Airport duty free in 2007.
Grade: B
Cost Adjusted Grade: A

What in the world is... Lochan Ora

Some bottles are purchased. Others are found. This is a found bottle.

After her grandparents had passed, my wife helped clean up the house, and found three nice treasures. A flask, an unopened Iron City beer can featuring Chuck Noll and The Chief, and a bottle of Lochan Ora.

What in the world is Lochan Ora?

It's a scotch based liqueur and not the kind of thing you would expect in their house. I was only lucky enough to know her grandfather for a few years. The fridge always had a supply of Busch Lite. He wasn't fancy, but he never went thirsty.

We have a bottle with a mystery, and we probably will never know the whole truth. There are different theories about this bottle. My wife thinks that Evelyn (her grandmother) hid it away from Wilbur (her grandfther). The thing is, someone clearly drank a shot, and only one shot from the bottle.

My theory is that Wilbur took one drink of this honey flavored, super sweet liqueur, made a face, grabbed a beer, and put it on the back of the shelf, where it could be forgotten.

Whether he liked it or not, it makes you think and reminisce a bit. Nothing wrong with that.

What does it taste like? Honey, with a slight Scotchy, almost cola flavor. It's good in small doses.

Grade: B