Whisky Party

A bottle of George Smith's Finest The Glenlivet 15 French Oak Reserve

The Glenlivet.  Or The Real Glenlivet.  There’s not much I can say about the distillery that hasn’t already been written somewhere.  The distillery was established in 1824 and has generally been killing it since.  So much so that until The Glenlivet fought for it, many whisky brands appended “Glenlivet” to their name just to try and get some positive glow from the brand name affiliation.  Even Macallan did it.   But that was then and this is now.  Does the legend hold?

The Glenlivet 15 Year French Oak Reserve

The Glenlivet 15 French Oak Reserve

Color: a pale, pale gold

Other Opinions:

• Whiskyboys also like the dram, though find more wood than I did.  They all found it sweet, though.
• The venerable Dr. Whisky finds loads in the nose from hippie oils to salty black licorice and contends that everyone will find something different.  Well put.  He also gets the dry finish but finds more in the palate than I do and equated Glenlivet cork popping sounds with flatulence.  Methinks the good Dr. enjoyed the whisky a bit much that night (though truth be told, there is NOT a satisfying pop on my bottle).
• The average on For Peat Sake is a low 78 with descriptors like “Not Offensive” and “too much alcohol”, which frankly confuses me but so be it.
• Peat and Smoke finds oak and spice as well, but agrees on some of the sweeter notes.  He thinks its too sophisticated and complex for a daily drinker.  Take that, stereotypes.

- StrongLikeCask

The Macallan is a brand that is no stranger to either the whisky novice or the whisky expert.  And with good reason; Macallan has a long history of making some delicious liquids.  We’ve done a tasting of Macallan here before, and WhiskyParty found that The Macallan 18 accomplished a perfect marriage of smokiness and creaminess.  That perfect marriage costs over $150.  The ability to include a Macallan whisky in a 40 under $40 post feels like an accomplishment in itself; The Macallan name is almost synonymous with luxury and quality.

You don’t have to look far for examples of that association -  The Macallan is the whisky that went into the World’s Most Expensive Cocktail in Dubai’s Burj Al Arab.   It is a whisky that comes in Lalique crystal.  It is even a whisky which can randomly advertise/partner with Panerai watches on The Macallan Website and almost succeed in not looking too ridiculous (almost).

The Macallan Fine Oak series was created in 2004 and comes in 10, 15, 17, 21, and 30 year expressions.  Very distinct from the more widely known sherried Macallans, the Macallan Fine Oak is triple cask matured in a combination of European sherry oak casks, American sherry oak casks, and American bourbon oak casks.

The Macallan 10 Fine Oak

ABV: 40%
Legs: Medium, very slow and clingy.
Color: Crystallized light gold.
Nose: Vanilla, oak, banana. Not necessarily the best nose, but a good light whisky nose.
Taste: Lots of wood and malt. The vanilla from the nose stays away at first though the bananas are still there, sweeter. There are also some berries present.
Finish: Short, puckering and at first drying. Spices become evident and then the vanilla creeps in with more of that hint of berries that then get the juices flowing.  It’s sweet and tasty yet over too soon.
Overall: Macallan 10 Fine Oak is just that – a fine, oaky whisky. It’s not great by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s a good and decent whisky that though enjoyable to drink, just doesn’t overwhelm you with its charms.  It’s pretty interesting that you can taste the influence of both wood types (bourbon with the vanilla and sherry with the bananas and the berries).  When it comes down to it, perhaps the whisky is just still a bit young and needs more time to get some better flavors out of the wood – I remember really liking the Macallan 15 Fine Oak when I tried it, and everyone seems to love the Fine Oak 17.

So, this is a perfectly good whisky, and something nice to have on your shelf if you want to have a Macallan but don’t want to drop more money for the Fine Oak 15 or even twenty more dollars for the Macallan 12 (which is absolutely delicious). It’s just not the most standout whisky you can buy for under $40.

Other Opinions

• John Hansell also finds the short finish with spice.  He gives it an 83 and wishes it were bottled at a higher ABV like its older brethren.
• Review on the Rocks thinks it’s a “must buy” but doesn’t dive too deep into his notes other than saying that the nose is complex.  Proceed with caution on that review.
• Some of the Finer Things got the sweetness but picked up some smokiness I didn’t find.  There was a claim made of Macallan bias, and that bias got the whisky a 9/10.
• Connosr user ratings range from 7 to 8 with general agreements on the fruit, oakiness and vanilla.
• The Whisky Exchange user comments are a little bit all over the place, but they carry the official tasting notes which mention the heather and fruits that others found.
• The Boys of Bourbon (great name!) approve of the whisky with its subtly sweet taste.

-StrongLikeCask

We’ve tasted and reviewed both the unpeated BenRiach 12 year old and the heavily peated and awesome BenRiach Curiositas 10 year old expressions, and you can read more about the distillery in either of those posts or in a great tour write-up by Whisky for Everyone.  BenRiach releases only 4,800 bottles per year of this peated 21 year old Speyside, which is also available in the “Classic & Peated” $28 four-pack of 50ml miniatures.  It is non-chillfiltered and retains its natural color.

One of four in the "Classic & Peated" pack: a great value.

BenRiach Authenticus 21 year old peated malt

Abv: 46%

Color: A gorgeous deep golden.

Legs: Kind of big; slow and viscous, but more like cankles.

A glass of the peated 21 yead old Authenticus

Nose: It’s a fruity peat smoke that hits you right away, gently though, and with it comes a truly remarkable fresh scent of rosewater, cucumbers (much like the Curiositas), fresh lemons, and a touch of peach.

Palate: Warm, soft, and estery at first, the burning-ember peat smoke (with some alcoholic punch) jumps right out at you within moments, with some earthiness, but transitions smoothly into cinnamon-baked apples with some oranges.

Body: Full and textured, a bit firm.

Finish: Medium-to-long, with a grass-fire fade.

Overall: One of the best damn drams I’ve tasted in a while, and that’s saying a lot.  From the moment I cracked the bottle, the aromas captivated me.  I couldn’t imagine how good the taste could be after that amazing mixture of peat and fruit and smoke, but the palate delivered a truly unique, textured, and delicious flavour.  It seems, for me, to continue along the lines of the Curiositas, though having undergone an excellent development of those flavours over the course of 11 extra years in the cask.  Winner!

Cost (750ml/US): between $100 and $150 ($125 at Binny’s).  Definitely worth it.

Other Opinions: Other than a general respect for the excellence and balance of this dram, and the peaty smoke of course, tasting notes are all over the place.  I believe the release has varied from year to year, so that is expected.

• MN and DB at Whisky Mag get different notes but give a similarly high score (8.75 and 9) to a 56% abv bottling; an Editor’s Choice.
• Whisky Fun gives the dry, herbal, smoky, and sweet 2007 release an 86/100, and considers the Ardbeg-ness of it.
• Whisky Distilleries gets the “freshness” that I’ve seen in both the Curiositas and this 21 year old, as well as my lemons on the nose, and gives it a well-deserved 19/20.
• Matt at Whisky For Everyone also proclaims this dram, full of “peat smoke and rich sweet fruitiness,” a winner.

An all-natural dram, heavily peated, and aged for 21 years: perfect.

- DodgyDrammer

After several years of success with the 16 year old Nàdurra (Gaelic for “natural”), Glenlivet has recently released to the US a 1991 vintage (18 year old) variant malted exclusively from the Triumph two-row barley varietal.  Apparently, Glenlivet no longer sources the Triumph barley for its whiskies, so this limited edition release is all the more exclusive.  Still, it retails for between $75 and $85, so it is relatively affordable as well.  Cheers to that.

Glenlivet Nàdurra Triumph 1991

Abv: 48%

Color:

[WhiskyParty]: A light chardonnay.

[StrongLikeCask]: Light yellow gold.

[DodgyDrammer]: Golden blonde.

Legs:

[StrongLikeCask]: Not very well defined.  But, small-ish and medium speed.

[DodgyDrammer]: Super slow, long, and tight, but kind of all over the place.

Nose:

[WhiskyParty]: Harsh out of the bottle, but it opens up quickly revealing fruits, a little spice, and maybe a touch of peppermint in the background?

[StrongLikeCask]: Dark maraschino cherries is huge on here, slight citrus.  Candy and lots of juicy fruit (I think of dripping things like apples and plums, not the bubble gum).  I know that fresh fruit isn’t candied, but there’s lots of candied sweetness here.  Slight vanillin that comes in late and behind.  There’s something slightly harsh up front – maybe a little bit of nail polish remover?

[DodgyDrammer]: Honey, wax candies, vanilla bean, cooked pears, rich and sweet honeydew, and a whiff of brown sugar and toasted oak; big, strong, and full of complexity.

Palate:

[WhiskyParty]: Still a touch hot.  Mango, pineapple, and tropical fruits fight their way out of the heat.

[StrongLikeCask]: Immediately sweet, though lighter than the nose would suggest.  Coming from beneath is a wallop of wood that teases you with that same hint of vanillin.  Almost immediately after that comes the spice.

[DodgyDrammer]: Wild honey, and then a delicate oakiness winds its way through the malt and fruits (tangerines), turning eventually to cinnamon and sugar before the finish.

Body:

[DodgyDrammer]: Substantial; a bit creamy while being full of potency and texture; the 48% abv and non-chillfiltering really seem to make this whisky happen.

Finish:

[WhiskyParty]: Vanilla on the end.

[StrongLikeCask]: Long.  Really long; maybe the longest I’ve tasted for something not with peat smoke.  It changes pretty immediately from slight sweetness to a chewy wood.  The texture it evokes is pulpy.  This flavor then evolves into some sweet spice.  It’s this spice that lingers.  Cloves and cinnamon.  And then almost a peppery buzzing on the tongue.  Once the pepper resides, it’s a non-cloying, non sticky sweetness that is left.

[DodgyDrammer]: Just as the marvelous palate starts to give way, the toasted oak and vanilla finish comes through like gangbusters; long and strong, and very satisfying.

Overall:

[WhiskyParty]: Less floral than the regular Glenlivet 12, and the fruits of more tropical than in its sister-expression.  The vanilla also has a higher profile.  I wonder if a tiny splash of water might have really opened up the fruits. Overall, it’s a good solid dram.  I’ve had better whisky at the $85/bottle price tag, and my flavor profile leans more towards the Islands, but this is a dram that will disappoint few Scotch drinkers.

[StrongLikeCask]: I really enjoyed this.  The scent of maraschino cherries on the nose is uncanny and deliciously strong.  So, maybe I’m biased because I have a soft spot for both Old Fashioneds and Shirley Temples, but I could really nose this all day.  The taste is also very delicious, but perhaps on its own, unlike the nose, nothing too special.  I’d say what stands out for me is how immediately the taste profiles change from sweet, to textured and woody, to spice.  You can taste it happening, but you don’t expect them to get so well defined.  The pepper and length on the finish really surprised me (in a good way), too.  This is a solid and well crafted whisky.  I may need to find a way to fit a bottle into my budget (if I can still find one).

[DodgyDrammer]: The big flavours come through strong; the wood is very well integrated, however.  Really a nice body on it, and very tasty, with a great nose and tremendous finish.  It compares well, in my opinion, with similarly priced 18 year olds, but has a unique texture and flavour that separate it from the pack.  And at $75-85, what’s not to like?  In Chicagoland it’s available for $85 at Binny’s.

Other Opinions: Generally well-received, the excellent texture, citric a/o tropical fruits, pleasantly mingling wood, and honey seem to find their way into most reviews of this newly released Speyside.

• John Hansell likes the bigger texture and richer flavours of this 18 year old better than the 16 year old Nàdurra.
• Our friend Matt at A Jigger of Blog really enjoys this drop as a smooth and friendly dram.
• Drink Hacker gives it an A-, noting that it compares well with Glenlivet’s older bottles but at a much lower price.
• Alcademics finds it a touch too woody, with duller fruits than the almost-too-sweet 16 year old.
• Serge Valentin likes the creaminess, sweet fruits, and vanilla, gives it an 87, but warns against adding water.
• For Drink of the Week, it’s like “velvet on the tongue.”

We’d like to thank Sara Bigelow and The Glenlivet for providing all samples tasted for this review.

A product of the Solera vatting system

The 15 year old expression from this classic Speyside distillery outside of Dufftown comes from whisky aged in one of three barrel types: new oak, sherry, and bourbon.  All three are then married in the Solera vat, followed by further time in Solera tuns.  Since the Solera vat is always half-full, your 15 year old has been extracted from a very convoluted mixture of differently-aged Glenfiddich.  But although this process seems extensive, the bottle costs just about $37– sounds like a steal for a quality 15 year old Speyside single malt coming from three types of wood, but does it deliver?

Glenfiddich 15 year old

Abv: 40%

Color: autumnal bronze.

Legs: on the larger side, and medium-paced.

Nose: warm honey, green fruits (grannysmith apples, almost-ripe pears, maybe a few green grapes), and a healthy heaping of cinnamon-raisin porridge; very nice.

Palate: intense but very leathery, oaky, and earthy was my first impression; but then from a second pour a bit of that honey returned to coat the spices (cinnamon, cacao), what I imagine nubuck might taste like, and some fruit (mellow bananas).

Body: medium, with a round, honeyed jacket in the front but a very drying mouthfeel (with some heat) by the end.

Finish: kind of long; a spicy bitterness continues; a touch of heat develops.

Overall: Great nose, rich palate.  Strong finish, if you liked the flavours.  Compared to the 18 year, this drop is similarly profiled but with, expectedly, less complexity and also less balance (I felt that the spiciness really takes over the dram by the middle).  Still, an interesting drop, and it feels like a 15 year Speyside single malt should feel (it’s not watery at 40%), and so in that sense it is easily worth the money if it fits within your range of taste.

Price (750 ml, US): $35-39

Other opinions: There’s general agreement as to the spiciness, although some see peat, smoke, and even salt, and some don’t.  I don’t.

• MJ and JM once again differ in their assessment: one likes the chocolate, peat, and smoothness; the other loves the spice, oak, and honey.
• Spirits Review recommends the “peat, oak, sherry, and vanilla” of this drop.
• Review on the Rocks isn’t overly impressed with the large body and “cinnamon, ginger, and dark fruits.”
• The Rum/Whisky Howler Blog enjoys the “light touch of alpine meadow forest” rising from the nose, and the balanced spiciness.
• Whisky Distilleries gives it a 17/20 and gets peat, but also chocolate and spices at the end.
• And the good doctor Whisky has a not-completely-different appraisal than my own, but is another one to find that hint of peat.

Glenfiddich 15 year old

- DodgyDrammer

Beloved by collectors, and found on the shelf of every bar – from local dives to high-end restaurants – there are few names in single malt whisky bigger than The Macallan.

Legally distilling since 1824, The Macallan is a Speyside malt known for it’s big, creamy, and sherried whisky.  The creaminess and rich flavors come from the unusually small stills in which the whisky is distilled, and a direct gas heating method (rather than indirect steam heating employed by many distilleries) that caramelizes the malt.  The sherry, of course, comes from the oloroso sherry casks in which much Macallan is aged.

A recently launched range of “Fine Oak” Macallan – aged in Spanish and American oak casks – is becoming more common. On the more expensive side, Macallan also has an extensive “fine and rare” vintage range, and a newly launched “1824″ range is available exclusively in travel retail.  On the cheaper side, The Macallan is also one of the primary single malts in the very popular Famous Grouse Blend.

This Macallan is an 18 year old aged in oloroso sherry casks from Jerez, Spain.  It is made from whiskies distilled in 1990 or earlier.

The Macallan 18

The Macallan 18 Year (Sherry Cask)

ABV: 43%

Color: Deep caramel brown.

Nose: Sherry sweetness and spice, creme brulee.

Taste: The sherried sweetness and some spice carry over from the nose.  The whisky is big and creamy.  A delicate, charred smokiness permeates the dram.  More like a wood smoke than the coal smoke of Islay whiskies.

Overall: The big, creamy taste that The Macallan is famous for, with an added layer of complexity from the delicate charred smokiness.  I love smoky whiskies, and I love the big creaminess of the Macallan.  This is a perfect marriage of the two.  If it wasn’t $150 a bottle, this would be my go-to whisky.  For now, it will have to be a Christmas treat.

Other Opinions:

• The Accidental Hedonist rated it highly, and found cinnamon – an official tasting note I couldn’t find.
• The guys at Edinburgh whisky liked it so much their notes are almost NSFW.
• Whisky Fun doesn’t have notes on the 1990 distillation, but he graded a Macallan 18 from 1989 at a 91.

–Whisky Party

We here at the Whisky Party wish you all a happy and whisky-filled 2010.  And with that, we’re back to work on our usual news, tastings, and musings about all sorts of whisk(e)y.

Next from our series of BenRiach tastings is the standard 12 year old expression.  This, too, is available as a 5 cl miniature bottle in one of the BenRiach four-packs retailing for between $25-30.  If you spent way more than you can afford on bottles for others this holiday season but still want to get back to trying new Scotches, one of these sets should be just the thing.

5 cl minis in a four-pack

BenRiach aged 12  years

Abv: 43%

Color: Straw gold.

Legs: Decent; average beads, medium pace.Nose: Big; immediately malty and floral, with strong citric notes (orange rind), a truly great buttery layer, and perhaps some nuts (almonds?) and faint spices.

Palate: Oily at first with a light honey flavour, but then a very quick cinnamon and sugar bridge that leads to oaks and pines with marzipan.

Body: Medium; the rounded entry becomes sharper fast.

Finish: Medium-to-long sensation, with a subtle nutty/malty quality.

Overall: Pretty nice.  Not quite as good for me as the Curiositas 10 year, but you can clearly see the cleaner base malt of that heavily peated expression.  The buttery overtone of the nose was truly remarkable, and the intense movement toward woods and nuts on the palate gave it real character.

Other opinions:

I seem to be missing the vanilla; I believe it’s in there, I just don’t have it pegged exactly.

• Whisky For Everyone has a much different take, but likes the bottle, especially for new drinkers
• Some nice notes from a Connosr led to a poor scoring
• Serge likes the simplicity but would compare it with blends, or something

- DodgyDrammer

The BenRiach Distillery, which one can find in Speyside south of Elgin and right near the Longmorn Distillery, is “independently owned” by a small three-man team (who have recently acquired Glendronach as well).  BenRiach, with its “onion-shaped stills,” won Malt Advocate’s Distillery of the Year in 2007, and continues to produce high-quality, interesting, and, sometimes, peated expressions.  The bottlings, while certainly fairly-priced, are also not under-priced.  However, the distillery makes many of its expressions available in 4-pack sets of 50ml miniatures that go for $25-30 in the US.

BenRiach Peated Four-Pack

The BenRiach Curiositas 10 year old

Abv: 46%

The BenRiach Curiositas 10

Color: Pale straw gold.

Legs: A little tight, kind of slow.  Very nice.

Nose: Oh, there’s peat.  But there’s also something fresh (cucumbers, coriander), and then a nice sweetness with peanut brittle and maybe some prunes.

Palate: Soft but intense peat smoke; drying and slightly medicinal.  The peat is the dominant flavour, but there’s a gentle sweetness as well, before the earthier finish.

Body: Full.  A coating mouthfeel, but the strength almost catches up with the soft entry.

Finish: Lasting with a peaty earthiness and pleasant, oaky tingle on the tongue.

Overall: I really enjoyed this peated Speyside: a good, layered nose, plenty of peat on the palate (55 ppm phenol), a very nice mouthfeel, and a respectable finish.  You can feel the strength of the alcohol, but in a good way.  Smoke dominates, but it still feels like a balanced and enjoyable dram.  And it’s not the sea-salty smoke of the Island/Islay whiskies, either– there’s a soft and earthy Speyside character to it, making it an interesting peat alternative.

Cost (750ml in the US): $50-60.

Other opinions:

A variety of ratings, and there’s not too much agreement on the subtleties of the drop, either.

• Pretty good scores from Whisky Magazine
• Only agreement at For Peat’s Sake is on the quality of the dram
• This “connosr” thinks it’s medicinal but just okay
• DrinkHacker can appreciate the (peaty) effort
• WhiskyDistilleries struggled to find some hidden complexity
• Jason at WHISKYhost recently found walnuts, spices, etc. in the 40% bottling and whished it was stronger

The Balvenie is a distillery I seem to always hear quite a bit about, but tend to pass by to continue to purchase some of my other standards, or save up for some big purchase.  I decided the other day to give it a chance and purchase The Balvenie Double Wood, aged 12 years.

Balvenie Doublewood

The Balvenie distillery has been owned and managed by the same independent family company for 5 generations.  Which, in this day and age of consolidation and mass production, is pretty impressive.  Furthermore, this distillery is the only one that still grows its own barley, that it then malts in traditional floor maltings, and still has coopers to tend all the casks and a coppersmith for the stills.  Those last two points, whether or not they’re added just to give the distillery the “only” tag, are still pretty cool.  The act of coopering, and the skill that involves, is still pretty amazing.  Even if it is a standard amongst distilleries, I appreciate the fact that the distillery calls it out on their bottle.

The coopering is especially important for this release – the DoubleWood is matured in ex American Whisky-oak casks for the majority of its life, and then switched to a second aging in European Sherry Oak casks for  a “few” months.

Cost: $33

ABV: 43%

Age:12 years

Color: Reddish gold.  Very bright.

Legs: Medium large, medium slow.

Nose: Strong caramel.  A little vanilla, backed by apples, or maybe a little cinnamon cider.  Raisins.

Taste: The sherry is pretty powerful, but not in a bad way.  The caramel and the apples have fused and take a back seat to the sherry taste.  The caramel stays throughout, with the finish creating a really nice dried fruit taste. Maybe fig-like, maybe prune-like, but a sweetened fruit that puckers your tongue to give the impression of texture.

Overall: This is a really enjoyable whisky.  I purchased it thinking it might sit on the shelf while my islay whiskies were drained, and now there’s only about a quarter of a bottle left.  Frankly, it’s one of those whiskies that I feel some blenders try and create – something smooth to drink, with good notes of sweetness, but nothing too overpowering.  The fact that it’s an aged single malt makes that even more impressive.  The fruit is definitely strong, but it’s not cloying.  For $33 a bottle at 43%, I feel like I’m getting a really good deal.  Add in the fact that it’s aged in two different styles of barrels, where they explain how the barrels add various flavors to the dram on the bottle sleeve (and include a sweet pamphlet on the distillery’s history), thereby increasing the general knowledge of whisky to the public is icing on the cake.  I give this whisky, nothing amazing but a really tasty, strong showing of a daily drinker,  an 86.

Other Opinions: (please note that some of these are for the 40%abv version of DoubleWood)

• Oak and Smoke likeys, concluding that “The traditional whisky cask makes sure the DoubleWood grows up to be a fine, upstanding Scotch, while the sherry cask acts as a finishing school designed to add depth and character.”
• ForPeatSake is a little bit all over the place.  I’d say the average review here is in the mid-80s.
• Chatterwocky, though thinking the scotch stands up pretty well claims “The Balvenie Doublewood couldn’t compete with his 15- and 21-year Balvenies, or the Islay syrup that knocked my dick in the dirt.”  Alright then.
• TastingNotesPeriodical in what I hope is a continuing trend writes a haiku
  “Seduced by honey,
  The whisky I was promised
  Toasts the end of stress.”
• TheAspiringGentleman finds more alcohol burn at 40% than I did at 43%.  He did get some of the same mouthful feel and delicous caramel (he doesn’t even wash the glasses so he can nose the next day).

50 ml of Glenfiddich 18 year old

Founded in 1886 and still held by the Grant family, this Dufftown distillery in the Valley of the Deer pioneered the sale of single malt against the common wisdom of the blend-dominated post-war Scotch industry.  Traditionally, Glenfiddich ages 90% of its whisky in new oak and refill bourbon barrels and then marries that with the 10%  aged in Oloroso sherry casks; the marriage takes place in 2000-litre wooden tuns.

All of its whisky is distilled, matured, and bottled right onsite at Glenfiddich, which is a rarity in Scotland.  The 18 year old is available in the US for between $60 and $80, but you might be able to find this sample-size 50 ml bottle for $6.

Glenfiddich 18 year old

legs of the deer

Abv.: 43%

Color: crimson gold.

Legs: kind of fast, medium beads.

Nose: rich and syrupy at first, but then moving quickly toward baked apples, dried fruits, oak twigs, and saw dust with a background of pungent flowers and bright candy flavours.

Palate: the wood shop saw dust returns in a very mellow and inviting mélange of forest flavours: dried, almost bitter fruits, oak, tannins, perhaps the slightest touch of smoke, and spices such as nutmeg.

Body: light-medium, drinkable, and tingly at the end.

Finish: soft but long, with hints of dried cherries, nuts, and the old oak tree remaining for some time.

Overall: Well, not amazing like some of the more heralded, expensive, and slower-selling 18 year olds, but this is still the kind of dram that you can pour late in the evening and really take in.  I thought it would be more rasiny, but it is quite dry and oaky with just a touch of sherry appeal.  At $65-70 a bottle (depending where you go), it really might be worth having around for after a dinner party or threesome.

Other opinions:

There’s really no shortage, but here’s a few:

• Dr. Whisky likes the 40% Ancient Reserve variant, with similar nosing notes
• Serge, also tasting the Ancient Reserve 40%, finds similar notes as myself (everyone seems to get apples somewhere in there), but isn’t quite as thrilled
• Peatluvr got his bottle in the mail for $40
• Or, see these reviews at For Peat’s Sake

- DodgyDrammer