Last night I invited some of the guys over for a whiskey/scotch tasting. Mark came up with the idea of all of us purchasing a nice bottle on our way back into the country and then getting together to share them. There were seven of us and 10 bottles. Seemed like a good idea at the time! Here is the lineup:
1st row from left to right: Ardbeg 10year, The Balviene Golden Cask 14 year, Highland Park 1990, Glenfidich Rich Oak 14 year, Glengoyne 10 year, The Balviene Double Wood 12 year
2nd row from left to right: Johnnie Walker Black Label, Glenlivet 12 year, The Glenfiddich 12 year, Dewars 12 year.
The whole group moving on the the second discussing the finer flavors that were experienced on the last. The looks are sober but they would not stay that way for long! We quickly realized 10 bottles was way too much... but we weren't stopping yet!
This was a great night and the conversation was magic. College reminiscing, loss of our scotch virginity, Rob making verbal love to Siri and of course the constant barrage of witty banter. We will be repeating this event in the future with more guys and less bottles! After getting through 8 bottles we ranked our favorites and tallied. The top three were then blind tasted to pick the winner. The top three from first to third were: The Belviene Golden Cask, The Glenfiddich Rich Oak and the Highland Park 1990.
Looking over our tasting notes is pure comedy! there is a general degrading of sophistication of prose and neatness of handwriting as the evening wore on. Here are a few choice tidbits from the evening:
Balviene Golden Cask: "Frisky"
Glenfiddich Rich Oak: "Makes me want to swallow"
Glengoyne: "Nice Back", "Reckless beginnings, bitter end"
Ardbeg: "Punch in the teeth" "Peat train"
Highland Park: "Smooth, building to a crescendo"
Black Label: "I just drank this and I can't remember it"
Balviene Doublewood: "Sugary and playful, but may bite when provoked. Homeostatic and predictable, which is fun"
Dewars: "Bitey"
In conclusion: if you want a smooth drinking, subtle but interesting scotch go with the Glenfiddich Rich Oak. If you want something more complex, something that will make you stand up and take notice but is not harsh buy the Balviene Golden Cask. If you want good bang for the buck the your best bet is the Balviene Double Wood (5th place behind the 4th place Ardbeg) not as smooth as its big brother but just as interesting.
2nd row from left to right: Johnnie Walker Black Label, Glenlivet 12 year, The Glenfiddich 12 year, Dewars 12 year.
This is a shot of the boys checking out the bottles. If I would have covered up the bottles and asked what you thought they were looking at...
The whole group moving on the the second discussing the finer flavors that were experienced on the last. The looks are sober but they would not stay that way for long! We quickly realized 10 bottles was way too much... but we weren't stopping yet!
This was a great night and the conversation was magic. College reminiscing, loss of our scotch virginity, Rob making verbal love to Siri and of course the constant barrage of witty banter. We will be repeating this event in the future with more guys and less bottles! After getting through 8 bottles we ranked our favorites and tallied. The top three were then blind tasted to pick the winner. The top three from first to third were: The Belviene Golden Cask, The Glenfiddich Rich Oak and the Highland Park 1990.
Looking over our tasting notes is pure comedy! there is a general degrading of sophistication of prose and neatness of handwriting as the evening wore on. Here are a few choice tidbits from the evening:
Balviene Golden Cask: "Frisky"
Glenfiddich Rich Oak: "Makes me want to swallow"
Glengoyne: "Nice Back", "Reckless beginnings, bitter end"
Ardbeg: "Punch in the teeth" "Peat train"
Highland Park: "Smooth, building to a crescendo"
Black Label: "I just drank this and I can't remember it"
Balviene Doublewood: "Sugary and playful, but may bite when provoked. Homeostatic and predictable, which is fun"
Dewars: "Bitey"
In conclusion: if you want a smooth drinking, subtle but interesting scotch go with the Glenfiddich Rich Oak. If you want something more complex, something that will make you stand up and take notice but is not harsh buy the Balviene Golden Cask. If you want good bang for the buck the your best bet is the Balviene Double Wood (5th place behind the 4th place Ardbeg) not as smooth as its big brother but just as interesting.
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