invergowrie arab Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 On 16/10/2023 at 17:24, HeartsOfficialMoaner said: I was off the drink for a while but I bought a few bottles from the SMWS and I have opened some up. I would say that only 1 of the 4 opened has been quality, 2 have been average at best and the other is okay with ginger ale, it's quite rough straight out the bottle. Have any members noticed that the bottling isn't very good or have I just been unlucky? If you aren't spending the money on their black labels I don't find them particularly good value these days. I got a lovely 20yo Glentauchers earlier in the year but had to pay 120 for it. Anything under 10 year old bottled at cask strength might need a fair bit of water and air to open up so might be worth playing about and persevering. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeartsOfficialMoaner Posted October 18, 2023 Share Posted October 18, 2023 10 hours ago, invergowrie arab said: If you aren't spending the money on their black labels I don't find them particularly good value these days. I got a lovely 20yo Glentauchers earlier in the year but had to pay 120 for it. Anything under 10 year old bottled at cask strength might need a fair bit of water and air to open up so might be worth playing about and persevering. I'll maybe have to do likewise, I don't want a shelf full of malts I don't really want and £120 is pretty decent for a 20 year old. The Fettercairn I opened is 13 years old and £80. It's great. Yes, the one that needs a watered down quite a bit is a Tomintoul 10 year old. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holiday Song Posted October 18, 2023 Share Posted October 18, 2023 On 10/10/2023 at 23:31, invergowrie arab said: Any views on the Hearach? Haven't opened mine yet but have a batch 2 and an 8. Had a taste last week and was quite impressed (although didn't go in with much expectation!). Good nose and easygoing taste but felt like something about it. I would have guessed it had been aged longer in sherry casks than it says (but I'm certainly no expert). Would probably buy a bottle if could find online. Had it at The Abbey bar in Edinburgh, which had never heard of before. It looks a bit like a Belhaven style pub online but would have loved to stay there for more than one as a good selection! Abbey Whisky List – THE ABBEY (abbeybar.co.uk) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invergowrie arab Posted October 18, 2023 Share Posted October 18, 2023 5 hours ago, The Holiday Song said: Had a taste last week and was quite impressed (although didn't go in with much expectation!). Good nose and easygoing taste but felt like something about it. I would have guessed it had been aged longer in sherry casks than it says (but I'm certainly no expert). Would probably buy a bottle if could find online. Had it at The Abbey bar in Edinburgh, which had never heard of before. It looks a bit like a Belhaven style pub online but would have loved to stay there for more than one as a good selection! Abbey Whisky List – THE ABBEY (abbeybar.co.uk) The Abbey is outstanding. A brilliant Edinburgh whisky bar with a very low c**t ratio. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeartsOfficialMoaner Posted October 18, 2023 Share Posted October 18, 2023 Just finished this off. Really enjoyed it, I bought it when it first came out but I had kept a bit for later. Lovely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 Currently enjoying this from the previously mentioned top shelf in the local: https://smws.eu/marmalade-overdrive/ I'm as ever getting 1% of those nonsense tasting notes - it's just a very nice, sweet and spicy dram. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 On 26/07/2023 at 15:38, carpetmonster said: Quinta Ruban is excellent although I don’t have much experience of other port finishes to compare it to. La Santa isn’t quite as good; it does some time in bourbon as well as sherry so it’s not a sherry bomb like, say, Dailuaine. If you wanted a lighter sherry finish and you can get a deal on it, fine, but I wouldn’t rush out for that one. Well LaSanta is currently £37 on Amazon so I've decided that's worth the punt. Hopefully Black Friday will produce some decent discounts: for rum it has been pretty much a dead zone for deals over the past couple of months. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.Aye.R Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 10 minutes ago, virginton said: Well LaSanta is currently £37 on Amazon so I've decided that's worth the punt. Hopefully Black Friday will produce some decent discounts: for rum it has been pretty much a dead zone for deals over the past couple of months. Going by the last few prime day deals, I would be surprised. Very little on offer these days. Anything that is advertised as such is normally reduced down to what it should be. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 Prime Day is just a load of shite in general though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gannonball Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 (edited) 32 minutes ago, virginton said: Currently enjoying this from the previously mentioned top shelf in the local: https://smws.eu/marmalade-overdrive/ I'm as ever getting 1% of those nonsense tasting notes - it's just a very nice, sweet and spicy dram. Yeah I struggle with 'tasting notes'. When I did the warehouse tour of Lagavulin there was on old boy taking it who you could tell would rather be in amongst the manufacturing than speaking to gimps like me. The whisky being offered was described as good drams or overrated/priced shite which I couldn't help but respect. Edited October 21, 2023 by gannonball 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.Aye.R Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 3 hours ago, virginton said: Prime Day is just a load of shite in general though. I disagree, years gone by I've paid the following £47 for deanston 18yo £24 for auchentoshan 3 wood £82 for glengoyne 21 Thats within the last 3 years or so btw. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpetmonster Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 5 minutes ago, V.Aye.R said: I disagree, years gone by I've paid the following £47 for deanston 18yo £24 for auchentoshan 3 wood £82 for glengoyne 21 Thats within the last 3 years or so btw. When is Prime Day in the UK mate? You can take out membership by the month (not sure if that's because we have a US membership tho) so we usually do that in December to get Chrimbo presents to folks back home sent out. Deals like that would sort my Dad and brother out handsomely and we could just do the rest of the Xmas shopping early. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.Aye.R Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 7 minutes ago, carpetmonster said: When is Prime Day in the UK mate? You can take out membership by the month (not sure if that's because we have a US membership tho) so we usually do that in December to get Chrimbo presents to folks back home sent out. Deals like that would sort my Dad and brother out handsomely and we could just do the rest of the Xmas shopping early. Theres been a couple in the last few months. You can sign up to a free trial to redeem the offers if something jumps out. Like I say, i think the glory days are over on decent single malt offers, sadly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 Prime Day used to be an actual day but is now a near-monthly event to fit Amazon's marketing strategy. That's why the current deals are utter shite. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpetmonster Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 23 minutes ago, virginton said: Prime Day used to be an actual day but is now a near-monthly event to fit Amazon's marketing strategy. That's why the current deals are utter shite. Ah bugger. They’re actually still not bad over here, albeit for random stuff. Last one was June-ish and I got a spiffy $200 electronic toothbrush for $50 and a pair of Adidas Squadra fitba-ish shorts for $7. No booze on Amazon US tho. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gannonball Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 12 hours ago, V.Aye.R said: I disagree, years gone by I've paid the following £47 for deanston 18yo £24 for auchentoshan 3 wood £82 for glengoyne 21 Thats within the last 3 years or so btw. A hill I will happily die on is Deanston 12 > Deanston 18 I tried Auchenstoshan 3 wood in a pub recently for the first time in years and it was a fair bit better than I can remember, seemed a bit darker too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bairnardo Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 Re tasting notes, there are a couple of things I have/can pick out in a whisky. I can get apple, furniture polish (specially in bourbons), honey, and that Christmas pudding thing from sherry bombs. Not every time tho, these are just ones where iv noted exactly that flavour. The rest tastes like whisky, and the majority of things people claim they can taste strikes me as absolute made up pish. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiGi Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 8 minutes ago, Bairnardo said: Re tasting notes, there are a couple of things I have/can pick out in a whisky. I can get apple, furniture polish (specially in bourbons), honey, and that Christmas pudding thing from sherry bombs. Not every time tho, these are just ones where iv noted exactly that flavour. The rest tastes like whisky, and the majority of things people claim they can taste strikes me as absolute made up pish. Oh most tasting notes are complete bollocks. Never ending of cycle of people who don't want to appear they know less than someone else so continually add more notes in an effort to seem knowledgeable. I used to browse the Scotch reddit when looking for info on what to try/buy when I was getting into whisky, but chucked it for the amount of complete w**k I'd read. I just went and had a look at it there to see what folk are monologuing about these days. 10 points for guessing which (pretty common) malt this is for: Quote NOSE: A soft presentation of smoke hits you first with a copper metallic edge. A slightly acrid tar smoke, like sour or rancid used cigarettes piled into an unwashed ashtray. Honeyed. Smoked apples underneath. Ham presented in various ways, sometimes roasted with a pineapple honey glaze, other times smoked with a heavy black pepper crust. Saltiness from seaweed, Japanese nori or Korean salted kim, and occasionally fresh or salted clams. A bit vegetal and this was more floral than fruity. During individual sessions I got, grilled string beans, pickles, black tea, memories of Altoids or mint jelly, bright lemons with the rinds, lemon candy, honeydew melon, various berries, and one time I unlocked a childhood memory of eating Hormel Brand vienna sausages straight out of the can. That was a good session. PALETTE: After 12~22 minutes rest: on arrival, delicate honey sweetness with apples, vanilla (especially at the bottom of the glass), and honeysuckle. Despite the fruit notes, this was again, more floral and heather than fruity and definitely not jammy. Then the smoke hits, with building, though still modest, intensity right into the departure. The sourness of lemon rinds. Citrus+herbal lozenges. Mildly bitter vegetal notes like baby bitter greens and wheat grass. Mouthfeel was modestly oily. During individual sessions I got, hammy smoke, smoked oysters, cinnamon candies, and peppermint candy. FINISH: was medium to medium long. Immediately presents savory, sweet, and bitter notes of smoked ham with honey glaze and smoked vegetables. There was also a nice salinity. Apples, a slight sourness of lemons. A moment later, slightly medicinal like band-aids. The aftertaste faded to smoked apples and apple skins, and honeysuckle. A slightly refreshing minty or cinnamony quality remained at the end. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiGi Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 "Memories of Altoids" 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bairnardo Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 2 minutes ago, GiGi said: "Memories of Altoids" Surely a piss take. There's no way any c**t really thinks they are taking all that from something that's 40+ % alcohol and tastes mostly of wood 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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