Whisk(e)y Lovers thread

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MightyQuin said:
The first was a rhetorical question...

The second part was pointless indeed...

I have emailed him so let's see.
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It sounds promising but I'd want to try before I buy. Boplaas still has a way to go with whisky so I'd be hesitant to drop that cash without a taste.

Edit: I see they have a rum finish as well (for what it's worth)
 
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I've had whiskies all the way between 40% ABV and up to 60% ABV. I don't see a big benefit in bottling a whisky at 58% ABV unless there's a superbly strong flavour behind it - like heavy peat smoke. I'd wager that whisky will have to be watered down quite a bit in order to reveal the flavours, specially on an 8-year old.

Regarding the bourbons. Right. So, I decided to stick to my tried-and-trusted method, going with the cheapest stuff first. So Maker's Mark was on the block. First thing that struck me was that the bottle is a screwtop. Yes, it doesn't say much, but with a wax-dipped look I was honestly expecting a cork stopped. A tiny bit of a bummer because I actually select my whiskies based on the bottles as well - I want to reuse the bottles. But that's not important.

So, on to the nose. Strong corn, sour mash. Typical bourbon nose, but stronger and cleaner. There's very little and a light note of American Oak on the nose. It's there. Not overbearing, at all. On the nose it's quite well presented and I was VERY excited about the flavours here.

Taste - bourbon. Very much bourbon. Think of Jack Daniels, but cleaner. I use the word "cleaner", because using the word "thinner" isn't the right word. It is thinner in mouthfeel than I expected, which is interesting because of the relatively dark colour (might be colouring added?). I was expecting more, but a few seconds after experiencing the "thin", I found it quite refreshing. That's why I use the word "clean" instead. So, taste. Because it's at 46% ABV it's a tiny little bit strong on the alcohol. It might be a bit younger, but there's a slight sharpness to it that might indicate a lower age than I'm used to (12 and 15 year old Scotch whiskies, mostly). That's fine. It makes way for corn sour mash, fruit like pear and apple juice with the dryness of oak on the finish. I like this. I would have liked it more had it been in the barrel a few years more, but I like this.

Finish isn't very long on the bourbon side, but it does leave a rather interesting apple flavour in the back of the mouth. It reminds me of overripe red apples, those mealy ones, but not in a completely bad way. I was quite interested in tasting this with Coke (let's face it, it's a cheaper, younger bourbon), but I'm not sure I want to drink it that way now. I enjoy this enough as a neat dram, so I think it'll stick to that for now. At least until I can get the Maker's 46 and Knob Creek under taste.

Overall a good whisky. Whiskey. Worth the money, I'd have to say.
 
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Toxxyc said:
I've had whiskies all the way between 40% ABV and up to 60% ABV. I don't see a big benefit in bottling a whisky at 58% ABV unless there's a superbly strong flavour behind it - like heavy peat smoke. I'd wager that whisky will have to be watered down quite a bit in order to reveal the flavours, specially on an 8-year old.

Regarding the bourbons. Right. So, I decided to stick to my tried-and-trusted method, going with the cheapest stuff first. So Maker's Mark was on the block. First thing that struck me was that the bottle is a screwtop. Yes, it doesn't say much, but with a wax-dipped look I was honestly expecting a cork stopped. A tiny bit of a bummer because I actually select my whiskies based on the bottles as well - I want to reuse the bottles. But that's not important.

So, on to the nose. Strong corn, sour mash. Typical bourbon nose, but stronger and cleaner. There's very little and a light note of American Oak on the nose. It's there. Not overbearing, at all. On the nose it's quite well presented and I was VERY excited about the flavours here.

Taste - bourbon. Very much bourbon. Think of Jack Daniels, but cleaner. I use the word "cleaner", because using the word "thinner" isn't the right word. It is thinner in mouthfeel than I expected, which is interesting because of the relatively dark colour (might be colouring added?). I was expecting more, but a few seconds after experiencing the "thin", I found it quite refreshing. That's why I use the word "clean" instead. So, taste. Because it's at 46% ABV it's a tiny little bit strong on the alcohol. It might be a bit younger, but there's a slight sharpness to it that might indicate a lower age than I'm used to (12 and 15 year old Scotch whiskies, mostly). That's fine. It makes way for corn sour mash, fruit like pear and apple juice with the dryness of oak on the finish. I like this. I would have liked it more had it been in the barrel a few years more, but I like this.

Finish isn't very long on the bourbon side, but it does leave a rather interesting apple flavour in the back of the mouth. It reminds me of overripe red apples, those mealy ones, but not in a completely bad way. I was quite interested in tasting this with Coke (let's face it, it's a cheaper, younger bourbon), but I'm not sure I want to drink it that way now. I enjoy this enough as a neat dram, so I think it'll stick to that for now. At least until I can get the Maker's 46 and Knob Creek under taste.

Overall a good whisky. Whiskey. Worth the money, I'd have to say.
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I did a Masterclass with the guys from Makers a few years ago - standard Makers is between 5 and 6 years of age. More than that, not great (the reason I know this is that part of the tasting was Makers aged from 1 year to 8 years).

In recent years I have gone off the standard Makers - love 46 though. My stock entry bourbon remains Buffalo Trace or Bulleit.
 
5 to 6 is about where I'd have guessed it, yes. It's not as harsh as the younger whiskies on the market, but it's still not as mellow as older ones, so it makes sense. I can't love to give the 46 a try now. It's older and apparently more mellow, with a more oaky finish. I can't wait!
 
LOL. At least I don't pretend to collect whisky. I don't have the budget for that. I just enjoy it.

As a PS: How many bottles do you need before you can classify it as a collection? Because I have a nice "collection" growing now:
Ardbeg 10YO
Ardbeg Uigeadial
Knob Creek
Maker's Mark
Maker's 46
Blanton's Gold Edition
Dalwhinnie 10YO

And I'm strongly considering adding a Three Ships 5YO and a Speyside like Glenlivet Founder's to the "collection" soon.
 
Toxxyc said:
LOL. At least I don't pretend to collect whisky. I don't have the budget for that. I just enjoy it.

As a PS: How many bottles do you need before you can classify it as a collection? Because I have a nice "collection" growing now:
Ardbeg 10YO
Ardbeg Uigeadial
Knob Creek
Maker's Mark
Maker's 46
Blanton's Gold Edition
Dalwhinnie 10YO

And I'm strongly considering adding a Three Ships 5YO and a Speyside like Glenlivet Founder's to the "collection" soon.
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my problem is that my 'collection' never lasts.... maybe im the alcoholic doggy is sniffing out
 
Toxxyc said:
LOL. At least I don't pretend to collect whisky. I don't have the budget for that. I just enjoy it.

As a PS: How many bottles do you need before you can classify it as a collection? Because I have a nice "collection" growing now:
Ardbeg 10YO
Ardbeg Uigeadial
Knob Creek
Maker's Mark
Maker's 46
Blanton's Gold Edition
Dalwhinnie 10YO

And I'm strongly considering adding a Three Ships 5YO and a Speyside like Glenlivet Founder's to the "collection" soon.
Click to expand...
I buy much faster than I drink and I make a lot of impulse buys of very expensive, once off/rare releases....but I do have 21 opens at the moment.

I guess I am a collector then?

For me collecting is about quality/rareness/uniqueness and not volume...someone with 4 cases of VAT69 and 3 cases of White Horse in the garage is NOT a collector, even though they have the same amount of bottles of Whisky as me...

@BartSimpson is DEFINITELY a collector, but also a drinker ;) ....so is @axsis and @morkhans but this I know from personal interaction.

@Luben is definitely putting out extreme collecting vibes as well :)

But myself and ALL these guy I mention, also love sharing...swapping samples and helping each other with rarer stuff or "team imports" and that is where the true passion lies: tasting and sharing and also a little bit of "bragging" about cool finds/buys.

My 25c...
 
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Yeah I would have to agree. I drink VERY little compared to some, and I'm open to admit it. For example, the Dalwhinnie in my pantry was purchased in 2017. Some of my whiskies last years. Literally. Purely because I'll sometimes go for months without drinking a dram. I've got enough other stuff to drink, and not drinking a lot doesn't help the cause along. I also enjoy beer, cider and rum. So there's that. I have to balance all this booze. :D

EDIT: I'd love to be part of the sharing as well, TBH. Only once I have something worth sharing though. Maybe my DI-Whisky (as I've taken to calling it) will be a worthy entry into the market. It's not something anyone has ever tasted before, I can promise that :D
 
Toxxyc said:
Yeah I would have to agree. I drink VERY little compared to some, and I'm open to admit it. For example, the Dalwhinnie in my pantry was purchased in 2017. Some of my whiskies last years. Literally. Purely because I'll sometimes go for months without drinking a dram. I've got enough other stuff to drink, and not drinking a lot doesn't help the cause along. I also enjoy beer, cider and rum. So there's that. I have to balance all this booze. :D

EDIT: I'd love to be part of the sharing as well, TBH. Only once I have something worth sharing though. Maybe my DI-Whisky (as I've taken to calling it) will be a worthy entry into the market. It's not something anyone has ever tasted before, I can promise that :D
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Where are you based? And I may have asked this before but I'm getting old...
 
MightyQuin said:
That specific one? Only at Vergelegen, Seapoint and Mosselbaai according to the website for us Capies...
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Yes because I still Googled it when I saw it. First saw it weeks ago. They seem to be battling to sell it hense it's on special. Might go that way later. Will take a pic.
 
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