Scotch Tasting at Sir William's

[Mael Coluim]

Sir William hosted a Scotch whisky tasting at his home. For this one, Bill had five Glenmorangies for us to compare: The Original 10 Yr, Astar, Lasanta, Nectar D' Or, and Quinta Ruban. To mix things up a bit he had a 15 year old Glenlivet French Oak Reserve for us to compare.




Bill gave an overview of the whisky distillation process and the regional differences of Scotch whisky. He gave us the pointers of tasting the whisky and with each one we shared our findings. The Nectar D' Or, and Quinta Ruban tied for first place among us with the Lasanta coming in third. It was interesting that these finished their aging either in wine, sherry or port casks after the initial aging in bourbon casks. All three were preferred over the 15 YO Glenlivet French Oak Reserve.




Bill had baked shortbread for us to clean our palates between tastings. That was some of the best shortbread I’ve ever had!

The three XMarkers were properly attired. After the tasting Bill had a drawing for the bottles of whishy. As you can see here SCV40bt was one of the lucky winners!




Thanks Eileen and Bill for opening your home for us to spend a delightful Sunday afternoon!

[mookien]

Mael: Would I liked to have crashed that party! Sounds like you all had a great time. Thanks for the story and the pics. Nice outfits, too. You all look very Scottish. The smiles in that last picture belie total sobriety.

Those are all good malts. I would rank them Glenlivet 15 (I like oakey malt), Quinta Ruban, Lasanta, Original, Nectar D 'Or and Astar. Where did you rank the Astar? Coincidentally, those very bottles (except the Astar) are lined up side-by-side in my little scotch bar.

John

[Oddern]

Interesting! At the last whisky tasting at the Caledonian Society of Norway we also tasted the Glenmorangie extra matured range, and I agree with you that The Nectar D' Or and Quinta Ruban is the first of my choice.
Skål!

[ForresterModern]

Glenmorangie fan myself with all the above and a couple more---like my children, I love them each equally but in different ways for different reasons, as, like my children, they are all individuals of great and unique quality and value. Looks and sounds like you all had fun---wish I could have crashed it with Mookien. Next time John.

j

[Sir William]

This has become somewhat of an annual event since I held one about this time last year. I've no idea what I'll come up with for next year.

Next year I'll try to remember to invite all the local rabble (perhaps Ern and SCV40bt will remind me when the time comes). At least two others were invited but unable to attend. And, if any XMTS find themselves in the neighborhood at that time, they would be most welcome.

[ForresterModern]

And, if any XMTS find themselves in the neighborhood at that time, they would be most welcome.

Sir William

You give fair warning that you are about to open a few bottles of fine scotch whisky and I can assure you that you will have several additional xmarkers finding their way to your neighborhood stat pronto. I have kin in that area I am sure I could find an excuse to visit if necessary. ;)

j

[Sir William]

Those are all good malts. I would rank them Glenlivet 15 (I like oakey malt), Quinta Ruban, Lasanta, Original, Nectar D 'Or and Astar. Where did you rank the Astar? Coincidentally, those very bottles (except the Astar) are lined up side-by-side in my little scotch bar.

John

If I remember correctly, we ranked them in the following order:
Quita Ruben
Nectar D'Or
Lasanta
Glenlivet 15 French Oak
Astar
Original

We all agreed that it was a close call between the first three, though all of them were enjoyed.

[mookien]

If I remember correctly, we ranked them in the following order:
Quita Ruben
Nectar D'Or
Lasanta
Glenlivet 15 French Oak
Astar
Original

We all agreed that it was a close call between the first three, though all of them were enjoyed.

I'm not a big Sauternes fan, or I might have ranked the Nectar D'Or higher, too. Technically, it's very fine malt.

[ForresterModern]

I'm not a big Sauternes fan, or I might have ranked the Nectar D'Or higher, too. Technically, it's very fine malt.

IMHO there ain't a dog in the bunch.

I am surprised that the Astar fell that far down the list as I really like it myself. But each has his own tastes and preferences, and each whisky has its own flavors.

[Sir William]

IMHO there ain't a dog in the bunch.

I am surprised that the Astar fell that far down the list as I really like it myself. But each has his own tastes and preferences, and each whisky has its own flavors.

What I did was ask after we had tasted the Original and the Astar as to which was favored. Both came out about even. The Lasanta was next and when we voted it came in the winner hands-down.

After that it was neck and neck as we sampled the Nectar D'Or and the Quinta Rubin, though the Quinta still came out ahead (I was the sole person who favored the Lasanta after we'd tasted these next three).

We then tried the Glenlivet 15 (French Oak) and it didn't fare as well, though it was favored above the Original and Astar, but only by a small margin.

In the end, the three whiskies that had spent time in a wine barrel of some kind were preferred over those that had not left the oak barrel. That said, as we tasted each whisky everyone stated they liked it, though perhaps not as much or perhaps better than the previous bottles.

I would say we all had a good time and learned something new. I don't think that any of us present had had more than two of the Glenmorangie finishes, and a few had not strayed much further afield than Glenlivet and Glenfiddich so this was a totally new experience for them. At least 3 had never been to a single-malt tasting.

On the other hand, my wife gave me a bottle of Balvenie 14 year old matured in a rum barrel. Very tasty!!! I'd rank it with the Glenmorangies with a wine-based finish.