scotch

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So, while in Edinburgh, my visit to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society member's room inspired me to join! I ordered this welcome kit with three whiskies. I can't recommend it enough, especially if you're willing to spend serious money on scotch.

The three bottles in the intro package vary, but I got a nice range from spicy and dry, to sweet, fruity, and mellow, all the way over to a lightly peated selection. All great examples of single-cask goodness. And the best part is they don't list the distillery on the label, so you get a whisky based on flavor profile rather than who made it.

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I had a couple Bunnahabhains in the mail that I ordered while I was in Edinburgh. They finally arrived! The past two years of Feis Ile bottles.

I've already reviewed the 2022, and it's still great. Strikes a nice balance between sherry and spice.

The Móine Bordeaux 2021 is a steakhouse in a bottle. Peat smoke up front gives way to oak and red wine. A good one to chew on, and an excellent contrast to the 2022. God I love Bunnahabhain.

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I brought back a few goodies from Edinburgh! I've yet to crack open the little baby Bunnahabhain, but the other three are fantastic!

The Woodrows of Edinburgh Bunnahabhain 7yo bottled on 7/20/22 is an oddball from the distillery. Very peaty, but also a sherry bomb as well. Incredibly smooth and drinkable at cask strength, but adding water brings out an even smoother profile. Like a milk chocolate bar by the campfire.

The Treasurer Selection Bruichladdich 2004 is an unpeated Islay malt. An easy drinker but leaning toward vanilla and spice. Like lunch with a work buddy.

The Cadenheads Jura 11yo from Spring 2011 is unbelievable. Dark chocolate coats your goat. Musky and rich. You just cracked open a 300 year old dictionary to the definition of "goodies".

Cheers!

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Well, I bit the bullet and bought a membership. Also, correction: it's the Scotch Malt Whisky Society

Oh boy am I in heaven.

This is my first time at Single Malt Whisky Society, which is an independent bottler that offers membership benefits and sells by flavor profile, not distillery. Their catalog is absolutely incredible, and so was this 14 year PX cask dram. Like hugging a pillow made of toffee.

Not to mention the interior of their Edinburgh location was gorgeous.

[scotch]

Oh boy am I in heaven.

This is my first time at Single Malt Whisky Society, which is an independent bottler that offers membership benefits and sells by flavor profile, not distillery. Their catalog is absolutely incredible, and so was this 14 year PX cask dram. Like hugging a pillow made of toffee.

Not to mention the interior of their Edinburgh location was gorgeous.

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So, long story short: I have been up and down Edinburgh asking every shop owner and bartender if they have any Bunnahabhain festival bottles from the last two years. Coincidentally while speaking to a hostess at a cocktail bar, whom I did not mention this to, she recommended I visit this bar. Lo and behold, they have a Bunnahabhain Feis Ile 2022 Abhainn Araig.

Distinctly a Bunnahabhain malt. High abv up front but opens up wonderfully with a splash of water. Pedro Ximenez heaven.

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I haven't posted in a long time, so a bit of an update. Tumblr's Scotch Club has unfortunately shuttered due mainly to the pandemic putting a squash on gatherings. The members have also scattered to the winds off to different opportunities, but remain in touch.

I have been quietly enjoying whatever whisky I can get my hands on, and I'm currently back in Edinburgh enjoying this 12 yo Highland malt from an unnamed Orkney distillery (aka Highland Park) bottled by The Single Malts of Scotland in 2019. A perfect highlander, nice and light for the afternoon. A bit of spice and pleasantly malty.

Hope everyone is doing well, and I hope to revive regular meetings of Scotch club at my current place of work. At the very least, I'll be posting my scotch haul from this trip when I get back stateside. Cheers!

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Time for a refill!

Before we put @cyle ‘s next batch of mead in this barrel, it needs a little wakeup from storage. The barrel was dormant for a little while, but now it’s time to put it to use again.

Five American Liters of Old Overholt Bonded going in! Let’s see what happens to this rye after sherry, scotch, and rum touched this barrel.

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the next round of cyle’s mead is a very basic traditional mead for the @scotch cask. filled these up with around 3 pounds of clover honey each, along with a raisin and orange and earl grey tea, and EC-1118 yeast to get these to maximum ABV as fast as possible. once they’re all done in a few weeks, we’ll throw them in the barrel for aging to see what happens!

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After 13 days, we’re done! The rum has picked up some strong cinnamon and other baking spice notes. A bit of vanilla too. This was about two weeks in a cask that once contained Spanish sherries, then single-malt Scotch, for a month each.

On the nose, the fermented mango and grassy hogo now shares the stage with a nice accompaniment of oak. Overall, this is like no rum we’ve ever tasted before.

And here’s a comparison of the raw material, one week, then two weeks in the barrel:

Next up: a barrel full of Funk.

I bought this rum on a whim because I saw “pot still” and “unaged”. The label is correct. It’s real weird. @cyle described it as “grass-filled gummy bears”. I think it’s a bit like an herbal-y mezcal. Feels like new make they watered down to 100 proof.

Whatever it is, it’s in the barrel. Let’s see what happens!

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Dec 12 (1 week): The rum picked up a spiciness from the barrel, and a sweetness from the sherry and scotch that preceded it. It’s almost a bit cinnamon-y now. The hogo is still strong, but now it’s sharing the stage with oak.

A pint of this is going into a Philly Fish House Punch tonight. It’s gonna keep aging, but probably not much longer based on the amount of oak it’s already picked up.

And it’s already picked up some color! Left is original, right is 1 week:

Next up: a barrel full of Funk.

I bought this rum on a whim because I saw “pot still” and “unaged”. The label is correct. It’s real weird. @cyle described it as “grass-filled gummy bears”. I think it’s a bit like an herbal-y mezcal. Feels like new make they watered down to 100 proof.

Whatever it is, it’s in the barrel. Let’s see what happens!

[scotch]

Dec 9 Update: No color change yet, but there’s notes of oak developing on the nose. High levels of hogo, indistinguishable from the bottle.

Next up: a barrel full of Funk.

I bought this rum on a whim because I saw “pot still” and “unaged”. The label is correct. It’s real weird. @cyle described it as “grass-filled gummy bears”. I think it’s a bit like an herbal-y mezcal. Feels like new make they watered down to 100 proof.

Whatever it is, it’s in the barrel. Let’s see what happens!

[scotch]

Next up: a barrel full of Funk.

I bought this rum on a whim because I saw “pot still” and “unaged”. The label is correct. It’s real weird. @cyle described it as “grass-filled gummy bears”. I think it’s a bit like an herbal-y mezcal. Feels like new make they watered down to 100 proof.

Whatever it is, it’s in the barrel. Let’s see what happens!

[scotch]

Wow! It was only four weeks and this whisky is over the hill. Notably sweeter and less of a burn, but unfortunately we over-oaked it. The turn happened over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Still, an excellent experiment. What’s going in the barrel next? Stay tuned!

Home Aging Time

We’re experimenting with an oak barrel! It started off with a brief fill with water to hydrate the barrel.

Then, 5L of a Lustau PX and Amontillado blend sat in the barrel for 1 month. We’re big fans of Spanish Sherry scotch here if you haven’t noticed.

Finally, the barrel was filled yesterday (Nov 4th, 2019) with 5L of Deanston Virgin Oak. Why? It’s cheap, and we like it to begin with. Let’s see what this barrel does!

[scotch]

Home Aging Time

We’re experimenting with an oak barrel! It started off with a brief fill with water to hydrate the barrel.

Then, 5L of a Lustau PX and Amontillado blend sat in the barrel for 1 month. We’re big fans of Spanish Sherry scotch here if you haven’t noticed.

Finally, the barrel was filled yesterday (Nov 4th, 2019) with 5L of Deanston Virgin Oak. Why? It’s cheap, and we like it to begin with. Let’s see what this barrel does!

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We decided to do a retreat this year somewhere local instead of returning to Scotland. We rented some cabins in Vermont.

On the table:

Bunnahabhain 18 yr

The Glendronach 19 yr Oloroso Single Cask

Glengoyne 21 yr

Bruichladdich Classic Laddie

Mortlach Signatory