Hard Drinkers, Lets Drink Hard (Spirits, Liquors and Cocktails)
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The 10yr old Laiphroaig used to be better than the 10yr old Ardbeg but they broke it a few years ago. Started chill-filtering and colouring with caramel. Idiots.
Seriously? I'm no scotch drinker but I thought the whole thing was purity/locality/tradition of the spirit.
I recently read about "the man who saved bourbon from itself." He lobbied heavily for standards regarding what could be called "straight bourbon" and "bottled in bond" when a large number of cheaper producers were operating (and doing things like adding color). He also invented the distillery tour, as he felt transparency was important in a society that had just read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. Of course, I forget his name at the moment, but I'll look it up later.
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Seriously. They started doing it around 10-12 years ago. Only the standard 10 yr old mind.
Their argument was that it had become a globally recognised product and they felt they had to standardise it as there were variations in colour and taste caused by the different oak barrels amongst other things. As I said earlier, idiots.
That strategy assumes the customer expects exactly the same product each time they buy it. In the case of Johnny Walker or Jack Daniels that is fine. When it comes to single malt, that is severely underestimating the consumer. I get that they see it as entry level whisky, but do IH skimp on their values and traditions when making 14oz denim? I think not.
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Yea, I'd agree. Obviously these things swing back and forth, but I think there's been a trend towards buying fewer well-made/hand-made as opposed to a ton of mass produced junk. Obviously everyone here values quality. In the realm of alcohol, in the US there was an explosion of craft breweries and now there is another explosion of craft distilleries.
It was E.H. Taylor Jr., btw. Appropriately, his namesake whiskey is indeed "bottled in bond," which is nice to see in an industry rife with lip-service, faux tradition, and marketing gimmick.
I'm getting my info from a quirky book called "Dead Distillers" which briefly catalogs the life, death, and final resting place of some of alcohols interesting characters in the US.
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Any whisky sold at less than 46% ABV will be chill filtered, no matter the cost age or 'quality' if it wasn't the whisky would be cloudy in the bottle and unsalable to 99% of consumers. Colouring is a different matter on the other hand and should not happen, but unfortunately it does now more than ever. Whisky drinkers, particularly in Scotch Whiskys biggest export markets, like whisky to be dark in colour. :o
laphroaig 10 is great whisky and I would recommend it to anyone, but Ardbeg 10 is better, truly one of the whisky greats.
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All this talk of red breast made me get one. The 12 yo was the first bottle i got but i wanted to try something new. And two great other ones as well.
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@Max:
All this talk of red breast made me get one. The 12 yo was the first bottle i got but i wanted to try something new. And two great other ones as well.
. I like the 12 yr Red Breast a little more than the 15. If you can,taste them side by side. With bourbon being my preferred whiskey it's understandable that I'd like the younger one better.
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^awesome. Love finding stuff like that. That ones gonna be nice and spicy!
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^ love that stuff. And that's saying something given that I'm usually sworn to single malt from Islay.
Great stuff indeed, only problem is the small size bottle!
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Just came in today, gonna be a good night.
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Leopold MD Style Rye (Denver, CO) ~$70
Eyes/Nose- Hay colored, much lighter drink than I'm accustomed to. Perhaps I'm unfairly biased, but I really do prefer that copper brown. The nose was nothing much at first, and I'll admit that this, combined with the lighter color, caused me to worry that my MD pride had allowed a company to swindle me. However, after about 10 minutes the initial alcohol dissipated and rewarded me with some serious complexity. They spontaneously ferment the initial beer (like a lambic), so there are many fruity notes. If I had to be concise, the nose is peppered fig. Awesome.
Drink: I found it somewhat syrupy considering it's relatively low proof (86), and the drink is balanced. If you were wondering, a Maryland style rye differs from a Pennsylvania style rye in rye content. PA rye tends to be very high rye, 90%+ of the mashbill. MD rye includes a larger % of adjunct grains, but usually not corn (might explain lighter color). Anyway, there's a good amount to explore, atypical for a rye, which is usually rather straightforward. There's wood and vanilla, some of that pepper from the nose, but while interesting nothing is super assertive, and the drink is pretty good.
Finish: One of the most enjoyable finishes of any rye I've tasted. Almost better than drinking it, to be honest. Somehow almonds come through on the finish, none of the side of the tongue tingle that keeps you reaching for your glass again. As such, this actually took a while to drink, mostly because I was enjoying that finish.
Overall: If you think you've tasted all the rye you care to, this is definitely worth a shot. While I was worried initially that this wouldn't live up to its price tag, I have to say I stand corrected. It's clear care has been taken with the details, which is something I can appreciate. I'm sure this bottle will last me a while, but I will consider re-buying it in the future.
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Elijah Craig Small Batch ~$27 (Bardstown, KY)
Eyes/Nose- That good ole familiar copper red bourbon. Magical liquid. Nose has noticable alcohol, but beyond that a corn sweetness backed by wood smoke. Like a buttered smoked corn on the cob. I'm biased, bourbon is my drink.
Drink- This one was a special barrel selection for a distributor (Liquorama!). I know nothing beyond that, but it cost me exactly $2 more than the regular Small Batch so the risk was low, and Elijah Craig is a known quantity. Mouthfeel is a bit thinner than the leopold, despite the similar poof. Almost oily, but not in a bad way. Otherwise it's a solid bourbon and all that entails, with more noticeable charred oak.
Finish- Short, with some of that side of the tongue tang I alluded to earlier. I probably finished this glass twice as fast as the Leopold, which is neither good nor bad.
Overall: A nice bourbon for under $30. I would say it's slightly heavier on the corn than I prefer (I'm a high rye guy), but that's merely a preference. If you had this and Bulleit in your cabinet you'd be ready for any bourbon drinking guest.
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I'm guessing that rye might be kind of young. Any idea as to how old it is? My current go to rye is Pikesville,although I have quite a few in my cabinet. Nice review.
No age statement, and I agree it's young. Although I'd say it has wisdom beyond its years.
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Some of the liquor stores in my area also have the Elijah Craig barrels. Haven't tried one as i have some in my cabinet as well as a bottle of the 18yr Single Barrel which is one of my favorites. Bourbon is my drink as well and I think Elijah Craig is one of the best values out there.
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