Any scotch lovers out there?

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So....i unboxed the Snow Phoenix Christmas eve.It's a very "civilized" single malt.Nothing extra special to my taste sense, and not much different than any other 10 yr old Gelnfiddich.
But the tin box is really nice. ;)
 
STARSHIP said:
Disaster, I stripped the cap when I opend a bottle of Gelnfiddich last night, so now it does not tighten too well, any ideas where to get a top that fits?
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Disaster? It ended up in yur belly didn't it? WIN!
 
Wingboy said:
So....i unboxed the Snow Phoenix Christmas eve.It's a very "civilized" single malt.Nothing extra special to my taste sense, and not much different than any other 10 yr old Gelnfiddich. But the tin box is really nice. ;)
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Really? I did a taste test with Angus last night, comparing the Snow Phoenix to Glenfiddich's 12 year. We found the Snow Pheonix far smoother and drinkable, with a fruity sweetness.
 
BusaBob said:
Really? I did a taste test with Angus last night, comparing the Snow Phoenix to Glenfiddich's 12 year. We found the Snow Pheonix far smoother and drinkable, with a fruity sweetness.
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I think i'm becoming a "scotch snob"! Boooooo! And to tell you the truth,i had a couple fingers to chill out after spending a few hours at the KW emerg ward with my father in law that nite.I'll give it another chance later.
 
I didn't realize how much I apparently liked scotch until I opened my Christmas present's.

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I think I may be attending a few AA meetings in the new year.
 
REDBALLS said:
I didn't realize how much I apparently liked scotch until I opened my Christmas present's.

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Where's the Scotch? Is it behind those bottles?
 
STARSHIP said:
Disaster, I stripped the cap when I opend a bottle of Gelnfiddich last night, so now it does not tighten too well, any ideas where to get a top that fits?
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Aside from the possible off-gassing leak, it's not much of a disaster. You can do one of a few things:

1. take some cellophane and wrap the neck & mouth first, then screw on the cap
2. soak a natural cork in water for about 30min, then gently insert it in place of the screw cap
3. get a rubber stopper from your local LCBO for $0.98 and use that instead of the cap
4. drink faster (as mentioned by others) and then replace the BOTTLE
 
Fyi....Glen Breton Rare is on sale till feb 26th,$82.75.Mmmmm.
 
Heading to Scotland 1st week of May. Planning to go to the Dalwhinnie Distillery since it's a 10 minute walk up the road from the train station. Looked at others, but they're really hard to reach without driving or taking a ferry.

Also looking to find a rare bottle of 21 year old Bruichladdich Classic while I'm there, but may have to settle for the 18 yo. Would love to visit that distillery, but it's a heck of a jaunt over to Islay from Edinburgh where I'm staying.
 
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DJM said:
Heading to Scotland 1st week of May. Planning to go to the Dalwhinnie Distillery since it's a 10 minute walk up the road from the train station. Looked at others, but they're really hard to reach without driving or taking a ferry.

Also looking to find a rare bottle of 21 year old Bruichladdich Classic while I'm there, but may have to settle for the 18 yo. Would love to visit that distillery, but it's a heck of a jaunt over to Islay from Edinburgh where I'm staying.
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Yum, that was my first bottle of single malt:) So smooth.
 
Wingboy said:
If you like that sweet kind of after taste,you might like this new product from my favorite distillery. (and a great ride there to boot) They use old "Ice Wine" casks in the process.Never tried it myself.Sounds good tho! Check out this location http://www.glenoradistillery.com/ We tool the goldwing out there a few years ago and stayed at the distillery in one of their chalets on the hillside.Awesome time and the roads are incredible!
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And p.s. It's "The Macallan" 18 yr old is my second fave.
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While it is a shame to take advantage of a single malt so young that is a fine one It is very tasty it sits next to the bottle of battle of the glen and between the Auchentoshan and the Glenmorangie.
So Aminal when are you stopping by?
 
I'm in Edinburgh, Scotland now. I'm like a kid in a candy store looking at all the available malts. Prices are about 40% less than what we pay for popular brands. 750mL bottle of Dalwhinnie works out to around $51.00 here.

Saw a 40 yo bottle of Glenfiddich locked behind glass for almost $3600.00 . Dahlwinnie Distillery is closed for maintenance so tours are spotty. Probably going to head to Auchentoshan or Glenkinchee Distilleries.
 
DJM said:
I'm in Edinburgh, Scotland now. I'm like a kid in a candy store looking at all the available malts. Prices are about 40% less than what we pay for popular brands. 750mL bottle of Dalwhinnie works out to around $51.00 here.

Saw a 40 yo bottle of Glenfiddich locked behind glass for almost $3600.00 . Dahlwinnie Distillery is closed for maintenance so tours are spotty. Probably going to head to Auchentoshan or Glenkinchee Distilleries.
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Yeah, you guys get hosed in Ontario/Canada. USA pricing is very similar to Scotland (cheaper in many cases, due to lower sales tax), and the single malts that I get for 'daily drinking' are often 50% cheaper than what you get at the LCBO. I can get a bottle of Glenfiddich 18 for $50 at Costco, whereas the same bottle is $100+ from the LCBO.

I've also seen a bottle of the Glenfiddich 40 for ~$2500 locally, but I can't bring myself to spend that much money on a single bottle.
 
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Ended up touring the Glenkinchee Distillery about 30kms outside of Edinburgh in East Lothian. Lots of rolling hills and fresh streams.

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Distillery was built in early 1700's.

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Glenkinchee is owned by Diageo Group, so the shelves had a lot of other Scotch Distillery products on hand.

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Higher end Scotch:

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First part of tour is the museum. Scale model of early unlicensed (bootleg) still from 1700's. Apparently there was over 400 of these by the late 1700's.

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Wasn't allowed to take pictures on production floor but surprisingly simple process. Germinated barley is shelled and minced, added to large stainless steel vat of hot water and cooked. Tranferred to large oak vats where yeast and sugar is added, mixed and steeped for 4 hours (vapours would get you drunk) then double distilled in large copper vats like model showm. First distillation is over 90% alcohol, second is 45%. Transferred to previously used oak barrels from France and sat for 12 years in on-site warehouse.

They have a term called "Angels Share" which is the loss of product from evaporation while in the barrels. Annually is around 3%, so a full barrel is reduced to approx. 64% volume after 12 years.

At the end of the tour you are led to a tasting room where you can select various Scotch brands for sampling. I chose the 3 Glenkinchee products. A regular production 12 year old, a 15 year old Distiller's Edition, and a 20 year old Limited Edition.

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12 year old was very light and aromatic, Glenkinchee doesn't use a peat wash at the end, so the taste is very flowery and citric.

The 15 year old was a bit heavier, with a sharper finish but absolutly fantastic. A couple drops of water really brought out the flavour.

20 year old was a bit dissapointing, very smoky finish that irritated my throat, apparently they use a sherry soaked barrel for this one.

I ended up with the 15 year old. Cost me 60 pounds so around 96 dollars CDN.

I think one of the problems with people sampling Scotch for the first time is that they pick a heavy, peated one (Lagavulin, Laphroaig)and it's so harsh to them they are turned off for good. Trying a light, Lowland malt first is a great way to start.
 
DJM said:
Saw a 40 yo bottle of Glenfiddich locked behind glass for almost $3600.00 . Dahlwinnie Distillery is closed for maintenance so tours are spotty. Probably going to head to Auchentoshan or Glenkinchee Distilleries.
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There is a 50 year old bottle on display at Summerhill. It retails for 26 000 dollars; yes that is the right amount of aeroes. Must be nice to have a 1000 dollar nip of scotch.
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