Cigar Weekly

jazznut · 03-22-2009, 11:12 AM

Always nice to be up in the country, especially on the first day of spring (never mind the still substantial quantities of snow on the ground). So we kicked back after dinner and slowly sipped our way through the following...

Nikka Taketsuru 12YO (lovely sweet-dry balance with the faintest whisper of smoke-infused oak... a little perfumey as well, though pleasantly so)
Dalmore 12YO (initially much sweeter and toffee-ishly smoother than I remembered, but gradually gaining in that bittersweet Seville orange quality I like so much)
Glenmorangie The Quinta Ruban (good flavour thrust... slight bitterness, possibly from a less prolonged maturation period combined with the higher proof... still think I prefer the old Port Wood Finish over this one, however)
Bowmore 16YO Wine Cask Matured Distilled 1992 (perhaps not quite as outstanding as the 1991 Port Matured edition, but very interesting nonetheless... seemed more harmonious than the older Bowmore Dusk Claret Finished release, with the Islay characteristics percolating through in quite a 'serene' fashion)

Lots of water on the side!

AnejoMofo · 03-22-2009, 02:57 PM

Epic!

Any seegars in the mix?

In the immortal words of Pink Floyd: "I wish I was there".

...something like that.

-Mike

jazznut · 03-22-2009, 03:37 PM

Alas, no cigars... Non-smoking environment inside and too windy and cold outside.

Real springtime is just around the corner, however.

This evening:

Aberlour 16 Year Old Double Matured (truly a sophisticated whisky... I may just have to 'up' my appraisal of this one)
Caol Ila Distillers Edition (a 'sweet thing' until the Islay side of the whisky begins to kick in)
Caol Ila Cask Strength (no getting around the straight-ahead herbaceous salt and smoke punch of this absolutely spot-on Islay spirit)

This Thursday past, I found myself at the downtown Signature (specialty) outlet of the Société des Alcools de Québec. And who should I run into but Mark, the manager of the Montreal LCDH? Of course, we got to talking about whisky and cigars (he's just added Bowmore 18 Year Old to the bar list at the LCDH). I immediately alerted him to the dwindling stock of 1991 Limited Edition Bowmore 16 Year Old Port Matured Cask Strength, advising him how well this stupendous single malt would pair with an Upmann, Partágas or San Cristobal de la Habana.

Here's hoping.

univibe88 · 03-22-2009, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazznut

Caol Ila Cask Strength (no getting around the straight-ahead herbaceous salt and smoke punch of this absolutely spot-on Islay spirit)

This is not available in the US

We can only get the 25 year, which is CS but it is $$$

I really want to try the 8 year @ 64.2% but that is also not sold in the US!

jazznut · 03-23-2009, 07:05 AM

Truth be told, the only way I was able to obtain the Caol Ila CS was by purchasing it through the Liquor Contro Board of Ontario. And even then, the wine & liquor monopoly had just discontinued listing of its 750ml bottle of said whisky, obliging me to purchase 3x200ml boxed sets of the 12YO, 18YO and CS at a premium over what had been charged for the full bottle.

But then, I do also happen to like the 12YO and 18YO, so the pain wasn't quite as intense.

univibe88 · 03-23-2009, 07:06 AM

I am a big fan of the 12. It's very tasty and a good value.

jazznut · 03-23-2009, 06:54 PM

Monday evening was spent at a convivial whisky dinner hosted by a physician friend of mine. Although we were unable to tackle all of the bottles on hand, we did manage to do some damage to the following selections. In order of tasting, they were...

Chivas 18 Year Old (a solid blended Scotch entry point, though quickly paling when pitched against what followed)
Glenmorangie Cask Strength (clean as a whistle and perfect at full strength)
Glenfiddich 30 Year Old (honeyed malt notes doing battle with the oak)
Longmorn 16 Year Old (this one seems to get better and better each time I try it... quite superb, in fact)
Highland Park 18 Year Old (guaranteed excellence!)
Isle of Arran Tokaji Cask Finish (a sweet and feisty thing, this one)
Bowmore 1992 Wine Cask Matured 16 Year Old Cask Strength (quite challenging yet ultimately rewarding)
"Lucky 13" (my 'dark-horse' entry, a meld of 13 single malts, ranging from 16 to 28 years of age, blended by me at home on Friday the 13th of March ... really tasty with a long, subtly smoke tinged finish, it more than held its own against the 'competition')
Suntory Yamazaki 18 Year Old (sweet and tart fruit notes playing off the wood... lovely balanced whisky, but perhaps not quite in the same class as Nikka Yoichi)

jazznut · 03-31-2009, 06:57 AM

Sunday evening's post-prandial pour marked a return to a 'long lost' favourite... Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Solera Reserve.

Served alongside some deliciously sweet California strawberries and local blueberry ice cream, the whisky worked perfectly, its creamy texture and lovely combination of malt derived fruitiness, soft oak and very subtle smokiness providing a great match to the dessert.

This is probably one of the most approachable, versatile, quality single malts out there.

samiam2 · 03-31-2009, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazznut

Sunday evening's post-prandial pour marked a return to a 'long lost' favourite... Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Solera Reserve.

Served alongside some deliciously sweet California strawberries and local blueberry ice cream, the whisky worked perfectly, its creamy texture and lovely combination of malt derived fruitiness, soft oak and very subtle smokiness providing a great match to the dessert.

This is probably one of the most approachable, versatile, quality single malts out there.

Dangit Douglas...

trying to work here...You ever hit the local liquor store for lunch...

jazznut · 04-01-2009, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samiam2

You ever hit the local liquor store for lunch...

For lunch?

During lunch?

03-22-2009, 11:12 AM	#1
jazznut Managing Editor Emeritus Herf God Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 26,082	Last night's whisky line-up... Always nice to be up in the country, especially on the first day of spring (never mind the still substantial quantities of snow on the ground). So we kicked back after dinner and slowly sipped our way through the following... Nikka Taketsuru 12YO (lovely sweet-dry balance with the faintest whisper of smoke-infused oak... a little perfumey as well, though pleasantly so) Dalmore 12YO (initially much sweeter and toffee-ishly smoother than I remembered, but gradually gaining in that bittersweet Seville orange quality I like so much) Glenmorangie The Quinta Ruban (good flavour thrust... slight bitterness, possibly from a less prolonged maturation period combined with the higher proof... still think I prefer the old Port Wood Finish over this one, however) Bowmore 16YO Wine Cask Matured Distilled 1992 (perhaps not quite as outstanding as the 1991 Port Matured edition, but very interesting nonetheless... seemed more harmonious than the older Bowmore Dusk Claret Finished release, with the Islay characteristics percolating through in quite a 'serene' fashion) Lots of water on the side! __________________ My whisky adventure began at the age of nine. Good things DO take time!

03-22-2009, 02:57 PM	#2
AnejoMofo Club Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Live Free or Die! Posts: 1,824	Epic! Any seegars in the mix? In the immortal words of Pink Floyd: "I wish I was there". ...something like that. -Mike __________________ Check out Blog of the Leaf! FFF *GO PATS!!* "Always have cigars; the rest you can fix." -Ernesto Padilla _______ RIP Cubano67

03-22-2009, 03:37 PM	#3
jazznut Managing Editor Emeritus Herf God Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 26,082	Alas, no cigars... Non-smoking environment inside and too windy and cold outside. Real springtime is just around the corner, however. This evening: Aberlour 16 Year Old Double Matured (truly a sophisticated whisky... I may just have to 'up' my appraisal of this one) Caol Ila Distillers Edition (a 'sweet thing' until the Islay side of the whisky begins to kick in) Caol Ila Cask Strength (no getting around the straight-ahead herbaceous salt and smoke punch of this absolutely spot-on Islay spirit) This Thursday past, I found myself at the downtown Signature (specialty) outlet of the Société des Alcools de Québec. And who should I run into but Mark, the manager of the Montreal LCDH? Of course, we got to talking about whisky and cigars (he's just added Bowmore 18 Year Old to the bar list at the LCDH). I immediately alerted him to the dwindling stock of 1991 Limited Edition Bowmore 16 Year Old Port Matured Cask Strength, advising him how well this stupendous single malt would pair with an Upmann, Partágas or San Cristobal de la Habana. Here's hoping. __________________ My whisky adventure began at the age of nine. Good things DO take time!

03-23-2009, 07:05 AM	#5
jazznut Managing Editor Emeritus Herf God Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 26,082	Truth be told, the only way I was able to obtain the Caol Ila CS was by purchasing it through the Liquor Contro Board of Ontario. And even then, the wine & liquor monopoly had just discontinued listing of its 750ml bottle of said whisky, obliging me to purchase 3x200ml boxed sets of the 12YO, 18YO and CS at a premium over what had been charged for the full bottle. But then, I do also happen to like the 12YO and 18YO, so the pain wasn't quite as intense. __________________ My whisky adventure began at the age of nine. Good things DO take time!

03-23-2009, 07:06 AM	#6
univibe88 Herf Meister Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Slidell 4 Life Posts: 5,814	I am a big fan of the 12. It's very tasty and a good value. __________________ Karl "No man's life, liberty, or property is safe," warned Mark Twain, "while Congress is in session."

03-23-2009, 06:54 PM	#7
jazznut Managing Editor Emeritus Herf God Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 26,082	Monday evening was spent at a convivial whisky dinner hosted by a physician friend of mine. Although we were unable to tackle all of the bottles on hand, we did manage to do some damage to the following selections. In order of tasting, they were... Chivas 18 Year Old (a solid blended Scotch entry point, though quickly paling when pitched against what followed) Glenmorangie Cask Strength (clean as a whistle and perfect at full strength) Glenfiddich 30 Year Old (honeyed malt notes doing battle with the oak) Longmorn 16 Year Old (this one seems to get better and better each time I try it... quite superb, in fact) Highland Park 18 Year Old (guaranteed excellence!) Isle of Arran Tokaji Cask Finish (a sweet and feisty thing, this one) Bowmore 1992 Wine Cask Matured 16 Year Old Cask Strength (quite challenging yet ultimately rewarding) "Lucky 13" (my 'dark-horse' entry, a meld of 13 single malts, ranging from 16 to 28 years of age, blended by me at home on Friday the 13th of March ... really tasty with a long, subtly smoke tinged finish, it more than held its own against the 'competition') Suntory Yamazaki 18 Year Old (sweet and tart fruit notes playing off the wood... lovely balanced whisky, but perhaps not quite in the same class as Nikka Yoichi) __________________ My whisky adventure began at the age of nine. Good things DO take time!

03-31-2009, 06:57 AM	#8
jazznut Managing Editor Emeritus Herf God Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 26,082	Sunday evening's post-prandial pour marked a return to a 'long lost' favourite... Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Solera Reserve. Served alongside some deliciously sweet California strawberries and local blueberry ice cream, the whisky worked perfectly, its creamy texture and lovely combination of malt derived fruitiness, soft oak and very subtle smokiness providing a great match to the dessert. This is probably one of the most approachable, versatile, quality single malts out there. __________________ My whisky adventure began at the age of nine. Good things DO take time!

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