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[[SiC]]

I have a bottle of something [...] finished in Champagne casks ...

You have a whisky that was finished in Champagne casks!?

Did you receive it on April Fool's day?

-- Olaf

http://www.royalmilewhiskies.com/produc ... GF9NOHSQ6B

[01af]

I have a bottle of something [...] finished in Champagne casks ...

You have a whisky that was finished in Champagne casks!?
Did you receive it on April Fool's day?

http://www.royalmilewhiskies.com/produc ... GF9NOHSQ6B

Good grief! They don't flinch from mystifying their customers ...

A Grand Cru Champagne cask has not contained champagne (the beverage) but wine, most likely Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, from the Champagne (the region in northern France). Champagne (the beverage) does not exist in casks but in bottles only---it is not only sold in bottles but it's made in them.

That said, the Champagne-finished whisky still may be fine stuff even though it has nothing to do with champagne (the beverage) ... and if it actually is the rare single-cask Arran that [SiC] has pointed to then it obviously is a collector's item.

-- Olaf

[Birma]

Good Point Olaf Thanks for the link Zeb - I don't think it's that one and I'm away from home at the moment so can't check. Will have to get back to you at the weekend. More whisky tasting - boy this forum is tough work

I will have to get myself on a Champagne House tour to learn about the grape as well.

[Birma]

Well, my memory was obviously playing tricks on me - it wasn't "Champagne" casks but Sauternes casks that I was thinking of - sorry for the confusion. Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-7068.aspx. But now I've seen the Arran "champagne" finish I'll have to try that as well (http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-246.aspx, 58.9%!)

I'm taking a dram of the Nectar D'Or as I type and it's really nice stuff. Not so peaty, but still big and smokey with an intriguing sweetness. I've never looked at whisky on the inter-web before - amazing how much stuff is out there. Some much whisky - so little time - and too much will dent the A700 fund so will have to remain restrained.

Sláinte!

[01af]

Sauternes is a sweet and heavy (and expensive) French white wine, and I can imagine that whisky matured in Sauternes casks must be fine stuff indeed.

In the meantime I discovered a store in Nuremberg (half an hour from where I live) which has specialised in single malt whisky ... boy, talk about a kid in a candy store! In a superhuman effort of self-control, I managed to leave that store with only two bottles of single malt---a Glenrothes "Select Reserve" 43 % (from Speyside) and a Laphroaig "Quarter Cask" 48 % (from Islay). The Glenrothes is my first non-island whisky; I wanted it as a contrast to all the maritime Islay and Island single malts that I have collected so far. And guess what---I don't like it! It's sweet and fruity and non-peaty and non-smoky ... but the sweetness seems artificial and plasticy, like American jelly beans. Maybe the cork made from silicone is playing tricks on me ... anyway, the Glenrothes is not going to become my favourite.

I just keep falling back upon Islay single malts, in particular Ardbeg, Laphroaig, and Caol Ila. The latter is a dream for martini drinkers---strong hints of juniper and olives. The Isle Of Jura and the Talisker are also great but the Islays are the greatest. So I decided to acquire at least one bottle of single malt from each of the Islay distilleries in the next months. That's not too many, seven currently (Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bunnahabhain, Bruichladdich, and Bowmore---plus another, Kilchoman, coming up) ... a manageable collecting field.

-- Olaf

[Birma]

You have found a very interesting sounding store Olaf I saw the Laphroaig 'Quater Cask' while looking up the Nectar D'Or. I look forward to your tasting notes!

[David Kilpatrick]

Well, at least Olaf is proofing the Scotch whisky industry against the effects of the recession

In my case, the Scotch whisky industry is proofing me against the effects instead...

David

[Greg Beetham]

Well, at least Olaf is proofing the Scotch whisky industry against the effects of the recession

In my case, the Scotch whisky industry is proofing me against the effects instead...

David

Haw! The never say die David and Olaf team...that's the spirit!
Greg

[[SiC]]

Currently I own just one bottle of whisky - Old Pulteney 12 Years Old. Got it from my father on my birthday, but it's not quite as good as the Strathisla I'm afraid
Interesting thread though for someone trying to aquire the taste

/Zeb!

[01af]

I saw the Laphroaig 'Quarter Cask' ... I look forward to your tasting notes!

Well, the Laphroaig 'Quarter Cask' 48 % definitely was a good buy (unlike the Glenrothes 'Select Reserve' 43 %). The point of the Quarter Cask is to accommodate the expanding demand for fine single malt with younger yet smooth and palatable whisky. The smaller casks make the whisky inside mature quicker. However it does change the balance between the flavours, good and bad, that come from the distillation process and those that come from the maturing process in the wood. This is not necessarily a bad thing---it's different. By the way, the whisky has not spent all the time in the small quarter casks. Instead, it first matured in regular-sized ex-bourbon casks as usual, and then went into the smaller casks only for the rest of the maturing time.

First of all, the 'Quarter Cask' definitely is a typical Laphroaig, with all the peat, sea-weed, smoke, and medicinal flavours. But unlike the 'ordinary' Laphroaig---i. e. the 10-year-old at 40 %---the wood is fairly obvious and does add some smoothness. In the nose and in the mouth, there is some fascinating changing between moderate sweetness and bold Islay-ishness. Some may (MAY) say the wood was not integrated in a too balanced way---but I like it the way it is. Maybe it would be even better if the stuff was a bit older, but it definitely is not too young. Is it better than the 10-year-old 40 %? I haven't made my mind up yet as to which I like better ... I guess I like both

-- Olaf

[Birma]

Thank you for the detailed review Olaf, I am salivating at the thought of the Quarter Cask and it is only breakfast time Now, do I want an Angle Finder, or another bottle of whisky, mmm ...

[Dr. Harout]

Go for the angle finder Birma.

[Birma]

While visiting the Isle of Skye I thought I would try and get a picture of the Talisker Distillery. The rain was lashing down,and so a quick snap only .



Even in a gale, with heavy rain, the aroma outside the warehouses was fantastic .

[01af]

So that's where my bottle of Talisker came from ... interesting! Thanks for sharing that snap!

By the way, the wealth of scents and flavours inside a whisky still keeps baffling me. In the meantime I've learned that even pro tasters need several days to become acquainted with a new whisky ... well, I seem to need weeks. I'm afraid it's virtually impossible to judge a single malt unless you've worked half-way through the bottle dram by dram. In the Laphroaig 'Quarter Cask' 48 %, for example, I found a flavour today which I wasn't aware of before---it's sort of animal, like rawhide or even bacon, which is absent (I think) in the regular Laphroaig 10yo 40 %. And I still cannot make up my mind which of the two Laphroaigs I like better ... it's the one on odd days and the other on even days ... or vice versa

And Talisker 10yo 45.8 %, while we're at it, becomes more and more fascinating, too. It's as if it was made from pepper, not barley. Sweet in the nose like Southern Comfort but then, pure lava in the mouth. I'm having one right now ... couldn't resist after looking at your photograph of the distillery ...

-- Olaf