I have Speyside, and Arran, and Highland, and Islay (oh my!) in my library of Scotches, BUT! I have no Lowland or Campbeltown whiskeys.*****
What’s your favorite in those two regions? Why?
Also, if you know of a whisky in another Scotish region****** that I simply MUST try, boost your favorite!
(As vaild as other regions’ whiskeys are, I’m not ready to sart delving into Irish, Canadian, or other whiskeys - Not sufficient time & resources (cash!) to get a good grounding elsewhere)
****My mother an I are ardent amatuers at Scotch whisky, and are holding a whisky tasting for the church - Donations to & for which will go to the church. Between us, we’ve got the other regions covered. I’m mostly an Islay, Speyside or Islands fan. I love me some seaweed bonfires - But I’m open to other profiles and experiences.
*******Lagavulin, Kilchoman, Ardbeg, Arran, etc.
If you’re a fan of the Islay scotches you’re probably familiar already with this one-- I’m not a big scotch drinker, but when I do, I like Laphroiag. Nice smoky peat flavors. Other than that I got nothin’.
For Campbeltown, you’re pretty much talking Springbank. Springbank produces three whiskies, Springbank, the peated Longrow, and the triple-distilled Hazelburn. If you prefer peated whisky, then check out the Longrow - if you can find it. Otherwise, the 10-year Springbank has a nice fruity palate.
For Lowland, your choice will boil down to Auchentoshan, Glenkinchie, and maybe Bladnoch. Of these, I generally always have a bottle of Auchentoshan 12 on the shelf, and the Three Wood is also a nice whisky. I find Glenkinchie 12 (a Diageo “Classic Malt”) a bit soft; the palate is light and the finish is fairly faint.
Of the bunch, I would suggest a Longrow (NAS) and the Auchentoshan 12.
I don’t have any Scotches to recommend. The two regions you mention really are limited in the number of malt whisky distilleries. I am intrigued by one lowland distillery though. Most new distilleries sell their alcohol as soon as possible, but that’s not the case with Daftmill. Nearly 15 years in and no whisky yet for sale.
Indeed! But not cheap (about $180 US). If you can find the 6.3 edition, it tipped the peat-phenol scale at 258 ppm, the highest I’ve ever seen. The current 7.3 and 7.4 editions run about 160 ppm, which will still make you think you’re drinking a campfire. Great stuff.
Bruichladdich Octomore sounds daunting. I’m intrigued! And the price isn’t out of reach, either (I have a source at US$109).
Daftmill - Either they’re having a hard time getting a satisfactory distilation, or they’re going to lead with a 15- or 18-year distilation. And, of course, they need to build inventory, presuming they produce something that the market wants. Small distilleries can often produce top-quality malts that the larger distileries can’t afford to, or won’t, try. I have Edradour in my cabinet, and enjoy their product.
Longrow seems just the right. So does Auchentoshan.
Any thoughts on Hamilton? I know nothing of lowland whiskies, and this one has a recommendation from Wine Enthusiast, but I can’t find it in any of my Whisky Advisor issues.
I love my peaty Scotches, but I haven’t had the nerve to buy the Octomore yet. It’s one of those I just want a taste of. It just strikes me as the same sort of “how extreme can we be” sort of wars that go on with Imperial IPAs and their IBUs. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do like my IIPAs, but the whole thing just gets silly after a certain point. I can’t even imagine what 258 ppm is like when your standard Ardbed and Laphroigs are around, what, 50 if I’m remembering right? For peat, my favorite is probably the Ardbeg Uigeadail. I can’t quite figure out what its phenol ppm number is: I seem to be getting numbers anywhere from 55 to 100. At any rate, it’s peaty enough that I can be on the other side of the room from my friends opening up a bottle, and they’ll be able to smell it. I can’t even imagine 258.
Hamilton’s, if I remember correctly, is an independent bottler; I’m not sure which distillery their Lowland offering is from. I’m not familiar with a lot of the independent offerings. There are just so many.
I have the impression that Laphroaig got on that “who’s the peatiest?” bandwagon with their “Lore” release. I don’t know what the phenol level is, but I was surprised that Laphroaig came out with a peatier Laphroaig. Sherry cask finish as well, so it’s a really rich whisky. Not my favorite Laphroaig, but certainly worth a try.
Bruichladdich kind of has the reputation of being a distillery that experiments around a lot (they are big promoters of barley terroir), and the Octamore kind of started out as a dare to see how peaty of a whisky could be made, and it became one of their more sought-after offerings.
The Uigeadail, like the Corryvrecken, drifts a little in phenol content as the new editions enter the market, but you can’t go wrong with either of those, in my opinion. Corryvrecken is one of my favorites. In 2014, Ardbeg released a special edition, Auriverdes, and if you can find it, I consider it one of the best whiskies Ardbeg has ever released, possibly my favorite Islay (though it’s tough to choose over the Laphroaig 2014 or 2015 Cairdeas).
But yeah, when you open an Octomore, your friends in the next town will know you’re drinking.
I’m actually not as big a fan of Uigeadail, as I am other Ardbeg offerings. It isn’t the peat - Something in the finish just isn’t my friend. Their Corryvreckan, on the other hand, ranks high.
The Hamiltons’ is inexpensive enough that I’m going to give it a try anyway - If it fails, I can still use it for paint thinner.
Edit:
My mother and I both adore the Ardbeg Auriverdes - We got in on a local single malt tasting at a high-end local distributer; many distileries were present, including Ardbeg and Kilchoman. The impact on my mother when she sampled the Auriverdes was noted all across the room. Imagine a elderly scandanavian face suddenly turning into a pixie. People came over specifically to ask what she’d just sampled. Heh.
I’ll have to give the Corryvreckan a shot. (No pun intended. Besides, what heathen shoots good whisky? ) As much as I love the Uigeadail, I am getting a little burnt out on it and could use a little change of pace. I’m trying to remember what my brother got me for Christmas last year. It was a kind of cloudy bottle of Scotch, I believe unfiltered or something. It had a strange darker color that I’m not used to from Scotches. Really tasty and interesting. Unfortunately, I keep the bottle at my folks’ place. Looking online, the Aberlour A’Bunadh sounds about right.
Non-chill filtered. Chill filtering removes some of the heavier oils from the whisky which cause the whisky to cloud up when it gets cooled down, but most tasters prefer that those oils not get filtered out.
The A’Bunadh is like getting hit in the face with a fruitcake. Heavy sherry finish, cask strength - it’s almost overwhelming. I may have to have one tonight.
The 2016 Cairdeas had the Madeira finish (with the purple label), and I found it disappointing, as well. The 2015 (200th Anniversary edition) with the green label and the 2014 with the yellow label are much, much better (with the edge going to the 2014). If you are uncertain of the year, look at the alcohol content; the last two digits are the year of release (2014 = 51.4%, 2015 = 51.5%, etc.) Each year’s release is different.
Ah-ha. That explains something… I’d had a sample of the Cairdeas, and adored it. Then I got a bottle of Cairdeas and found myself disappointed. It must’ve been 2015/2016. I’ll have to go on a search…
And the price isn’t out of reach, either (I have a source at US$109).
) As much as I love the Uigeadail, I am getting a little burnt out on it and could use a little change of pace. I’m trying to remember what my brother got me for Christmas last year. It was a kind of cloudy bottle of Scotch, I believe unfiltered or something. It had a strange darker color that I’m not used to from Scotches. Really tasty and interesting. Unfortunately, I keep the bottle at my folks’ place. Looking online, the Aberlour A’Bunadh sounds about right.