Tuesday, April 25, 2006

The Good Stuff


I've been trying to find the 33 year old Glendronach Single Malt Scotch Whiskey. No luck, the distiller won't ship directly to the U.S. and no one seems to be able to order it for me. I did find a 25 year old 1968 vintage Glendronach Single Malt Scotch Whiskey for a very reasonable price, reasonable compared to what the 33 year old stuff is going for.
If you never had good hooch it's understandable why you might think whiskey tastes like rubbing alcohol. Trust me, next time your in a decent bar ask the bartender to recommend a good single malt and order it on the rocks with a splash of water. There are those purists who think that the rocks part of my suggestion is heresy and there are numbnuts who would quibble with the splash. The rocks are optional, though recommended, the splash of cold water is a must because it releases the flavor of the booze. Try it and you can say stuff like this from the liquid log:

Next: the Glendronach 25yo 1968/1993 (43%, OB, 100% Sherry). Nose: Aaaaaah... This is MUCH more like it. Kiwi fruits. Deep sherry. Good wood. Unique. It has a 'light' and subtle fruitiness, despite the fact that it's obviously from a sherry cask.This is really something - it has a combination of features I never found in any other malt. Taste: Surprisingly soft start, developing into something medicinal with smoke and liquorice.You can taste the age. Pink bubblegum. Dry, woody and distinctively 'winey' finish.That might have lost it some points if it didn't keep surprising me at every corner. Score: 94 points - it earns one or two extra points for uniqueness. Simply stunning. That makes it the highest scoring malt at a 'normal' proof (40% or 43%) in my book..Also, it's the highest scoring Speysider on the Hit List . Really amazing stuff. But then again I guess I'm a sherry freak. This may be too much fun for some.

3 comments:

CultMan said...

I agree with you about teh purists, as would my father before me..... there are no such absolute, 1st priniciples, EXCEPT that you don't 'dis the folks who drink it straight.... I prefer it one way or the other, depending on my mood and the Scotch at hand....

Anonymous said...

Just received a bottle of the 33 year old as a gift from my brother, who picked it up in Heathrow Airport. Saving it for a special occasion. Heathrow airport has furnished me with several single malts. Their price are at or below anywhere else I've found

El Duderino said...

PJ Larry,
Hook a brother up! If you're anywhere near central CT I think the close proximity of two fine Scotch admirers is reason enough to crack that oldster open and share the wealth. What do you say?