Go Back   Cigar Weekly Community Forums and Discussion Groups > Community Centers > I'll Drink to That!

I'll Drink to That! What is your favorite beverage to have with a cigar? Juice? Cola? Beer? Port? Single Malt Scotch? This room is for the discussion of beverages, especially alcoholic beverages that go well with cigars!

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 09-25-2008, 09:36 AM   #1
jazznut
Managing Editor Emeritus
Herf God
 
jazznut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Montreal, Canada
Posts: 26,082
Recent Scotch highlights...

I thought this would be a good time to highlight just a few of the single malt Scotch whiskies that have mightily impressed me over the last month or so. Two of these are old favourites, while the third represents a recent discovery.

The official UDV/Diageo 'Hidden Malts' edition of Caol Ila at 12 years of age is certainly one of the Islay whiskies with the widest potential appeal. Here, the archetypal peat and salt arrive cloaked in a smooth, oily, oak-enhanced texture imbued with a distinctly ripe fruitiness. This style is light years away from that of many of the independently bottled versions, which tend to emphasize a crisp, brusque, seaside-driven demeanour. Yet there's still more than enough island substance to satisfy hard-core Islay fans.

If that particular Caol Ila doesn't quite light your Islay fire, however, then Laphroaig's 10 Year Old Cask Strength surely will. Even the sumptuous vanilla overtones derived from those ex-Bourbon barrels can't tame the high alcohol and typically intense Laphroaig medicine. The sensation is cooling and warming at the same moment, and the aftertaste reverberates long into the next sip. Tremendous stuff!

Speaking of heat, the 12 Year Old Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask release of Glen Grant, finished off in Rhône wine casks, positively bombards the palate with notions of plum fruit, dense barley malt, nuts and pepper. I also discern a subtle yet persistent underlying earthiness that hints at peat smoke. Bottled at a sage alcoholic strength of 50% (as are all of the whiskies in this series), this is a single malt made to both challenge and please the more experienced among us. Sip it as it pours for maximum effect. What is particularly noteworthy about this whisky is the seamless manner in which the flavour aspects of the red wine cask finishing process meld with the intrinsic characteristics of the malt itself. Well done.

Oh... I almost forgot.

Another in UDV/Diageo's 'Hidden Malt' portfolio: Clynelish 14 Year Old. This single malt has it all - a lovely, creamy texture through which tiny bursts of more sharply defined spirit constantly percolate, fruit-laden malt, seasalt and the merest trace of smoke. The only way I can imagine it getting better would be to up the alcohol level from 46% (a nice strength, by the way) to barrel-proof, and be spoiled by the distillate having run off the old Brora pot-stills (housed in the original, and long closed, Clynelish buildings). But I'm just nitpicking.

It's autumn. The days are getting shorter and the nights cooler. Time to pour another dram!
__________________
My whisky adventure began at the age of nine.
Good things DO take time!
jazznut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-25-2008, 09:44 AM   #2
univibe88
Herf Meister
 
univibe88's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Slidell 4 Life
Posts: 5,814
Re: Recent Scotch highlights...

Quote:
Originally Posted by jazznut
The official UDV/Diageo 'Hidden Malts' edition of Caol Ila at 12 years of age

Another in UDV/Diageo's 'Hidden Malt' portfolio: Clynelish 14 Year Old.
I've got an open bottle of each right now.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jazznut

It's autumn. The days are getting shorter and the nights cooler. Time to pour another dram!
And they will both soon be empty
__________________
Karl
"No man's life, liberty, or property is safe," warned Mark Twain, "while Congress is in session."
univibe88 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-25-2008, 12:41 PM   #3
AnejoMofo
Club Member
 
AnejoMofo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Live Free or Die!
Posts: 1,824
Thanks for the great review, Doug. Sounds delicious.
__________________
Check out Blog of the Leaf!
FFF
GO PATS!!
"Always have cigars; the rest you can fix." -Ernesto Padilla
_______
RIP Cubano67
AnejoMofo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-25-2008, 04:33 PM   #4
jazznut
Managing Editor Emeritus
Herf God
 
jazznut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Montreal, Canada
Posts: 26,082
If any of you single malt fiends haven't yet had the opportunity to sample some of the Old Malt Cask Series whiskies from Douglas Laing, then you really should make a point of searching out purveyors (either merchants or watering holes) who carry the firm's Scotches.

As well as the Glen Grant mentioned above, a 19-year old Caol Ila also ranks among the very finest single malts I've tasted.

And then there was that 25-year old Ardbeg distilled way back in 1975 that upped the ante even further...

These may not be the cheapest whiskies around, but the quality shines through.
__________________
My whisky adventure began at the age of nine.
Good things DO take time!
jazznut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-26-2008, 03:48 AM   #5
Herf
Club Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: MA
Posts: 1,644
Getting to be time to pull out the Laphroaig Cask Strength again. I don't drink a lot of scotch during the summer but now the nights are getting cooler. Thanks for the reminder.
Herf is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-26-2008, 04:40 AM   #6
jazznut
Managing Editor Emeritus
Herf God
 
jazznut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Montreal, Canada
Posts: 26,082
Quote:
Originally Posted by Herf
I don't drink a lot of scotch during the summer but now the nights are getting cooler.
I too go through something of a seasonal shift around this time of the year (though I never really do stop drinking Scotch, merely substituting a little more Bourbon and Rum during the summer months).

This weekend, I'm headed to the countryside with (what else? ) a few bottles of single malt in tow.
__________________
My whisky adventure began at the age of nine.
Good things DO take time!
jazznut is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 08:36 PM.