Reply With QuoteJust a heads up, that the Yamazaki 12yo is back on Master of Malt.
Trying Imperial speyside for the first time. A 19yo bottling from Signatory which is really nice.
Just a heads up, that the Yamazaki 12yo is back on Master of Malt.
Anyone put their name into the raffle for the chance to buy one of the samples of the 2016 Yamazaki Sherry Cask at Master of Malt? Think they've handled their 6 bottle allocation extremely fairly actually, despite the backlash. Seems a very fair way to undermine the speculators to be honest so that enthusiasts get to try a dram without being immediately priced out of the market.
Not any more.Originally Posted by Marios
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Yes.
Failed in the equivalent TWE raffle tho'...
Unbelievable that it's been sold out already!
I don't understand the crazy hype around this Yamazaki stuff - I've got the Distillers Edition, and whilst it's quite nice and perfectly drinkable, there's far more interesting stuff out there for less money.
I personally agree generally speaking. Although the Yamazaki 12 is much much nicer than the Distiller's Reserve NAS in my opinion. Still, the demand for the age statements is truly unbeliavable! Last time I was in Harrods I saw two different people buying the Yamazaki 18! In a period of twenty minutes and with a hefty pricetag!
It's a knock-on from the accolades given to to a different NAS, the 2013 Sherry Cask by Jim Murray, et al.
Coupled with a general decline in Japanese whisky stocks and recent hype from *all* quarters, you probably have a perfect storm.
Probably.
Having said that, I rather it.
I was certainly keen to get one of these miniatures of the new Yamazaki from MoM to see what the hype is all about but alas I didn't succeed in the lottery. Bah.
I attended a tasting at the Whiskey Shop in St Anne's q Manchester last Thursday, and I noted that they have completely sold out of all the Japanese malts - nothing on the shelf or downstairs !
Apparently a mention in dispatches from Jim Murray is enough to send the punters into a frenzy.
Personally, my highlight of the evening was the Talisker 57' North.
No age statement, but cask strength and quite splendid value for money - I enjoyed the Talisker Storm, and this is even better.
Last edited by W124; 1st March 2016 at 18:30.
^At cask strength, I have found Glenfarclas 105 (60%) to be very very good.
Nikka from the barrel, Japanese style, tonight:
^At cask strength, I have found Glenfarclas 105 (60%) to be very very good.
Nikka from the barrel, Japanese style, tonight:
水割り?
Whiskey and ice.
水割り = mizuwari.
Indeed :). I do not add so much water though, just one big ice cube which usually lasts me for a whole hour.
I agree although I generally prefer the Islay malts over anything else.
I had a bottle of yamazaki years ago and finally used it in cocktails to get rid of it. It tasted very similar to Bell's to me (which is fine as long as its for cooking!).
And what's this ice business? Obviously I am willing to defend your rights as a human being to do whatever you want within reason even if I do not agree. However I would have to apply the same logic to people who larp and/or pretend to be babies.
It's good in the heat of a Tokyo summer. Obviously, I'd not use a single malt!
Of course not. But in a hot climate with a nice blended whiskey it's just right! - I used to be snob with my whisky too though
The bad; I'm in a UK Sales Meeting.
The good; It's being held in the tasting room of the Glengoyne distillery and in a couple of hours time the tour, the blending, the tasting and the good stuff begins. Plus a very nice chap called Arthur has just come into the room with fresh tea, coffee and shortbread.
Interesting factoid one of my Scottish colleagues told me this morning - apparently Glengoyne is the last Scottish owned distillery in Scotland. That took me aback.
.....and it turns out that my friend was wrong. Out of 109 distilleries in Scotland 14 are still Scottish owned (but that's still a shocking fact).
If you ever get the chance I highly recommend the malt masters tour. Includes a blending session with some very prime cask strength malts.
We all ended up a wee bit pished to be honest.
Had the chance to go and visit some friends in Glasgow this week for a wedding, and immediately realised it was prime opportunity to try squeeze in a distillery tour. I was located very near to the Auchentoshan distillery so decided to give it a go.
Ended up doing the most basic tour with a couple of friends for just £7 - this included an hour long tour, with a free sample in the bar at the end (Auchentoshan American Oak) and a glass too. In reality we had about an hour and twenty minutes with the guide (Neil) who was a great guide - very chatty, friendly, and knowledgable.
I was contemplating buying a bottle and had seen in the shop 'Distillery Cask' which was a nice dark sherry cask style whisky, which I enquired about in the bar at the end. I had a very small sample and it was amazing so I went to the gift shop to buy a bottle which was priced at £75. Neil said that actually the Distillery Cask is the one you get to bottle yourself and, if I preferred, would I like to bottle my own instead? We had plenty of time so of course I jumped at the chance.
Neil took us back into the warehouse, into a special room set aside for bottling your own. There was a full size butt cask placed centrally in the room. We uncorked it, and I was handed the tool (a valinch?) to draw out my bottle of whisky... a little bit left over which we polished off at cask strength (but was so smooth you could drink it neat no problems.. and I never ever drink at cask strength normally!) and returned to the shop to label and box my bottle. It was distilled in September 2004, and of course bottled in March 2016 so is a bit under 12 years old, and was recorded at 59.6%.
A great experience and £75 seemed very fair for the experience and the whisky which is stunning - like a good Aberlour A'Bunadh batch but far far smoother and richer. Will be one to save for special occasions I think.
Pics here: http://imgur.com/a/Uqigj
Johnnie Walker Green label has been a whisky that has eluded me for a few years. Jim Murray rates this extremely high at 95. I believe blends of single malts like these are termed 'Vatted Malts'.
I always seem to miss it as its sold out or no longer available on websites like master of malt. Also its not featured on JWs website (where they have every other colour; red, black, blue, gold, platinum etc.) so I'm not sure if its a regular job.
Anyway, I picked up a bottle in LHR T2 last week, cracked it open tonight.
It states that its a blend of; Talisker, Caol Ila, Cragganmore & Linkwood. ('Linkwood' is the only fraction of this blend that I am ignorant of)
SO in summary chaps, this is a very fine and handsome whiskey. Great subtle woody/smoky nose. Oaky/slightly smoky/good spice. Fantastic long mild spice after-taste (nutmeg ?). Opens up with splash to give small fruit.
Love this. Highly highly recommended at £40/Litre.
Tesco have a few offers on atm for easter. A couple of my favourite ones Glemorangie original 10 is reduced from £35 to £26 and Wild Turkey 81 straight bourbon reduced from £23 to £15
bought both and got a voucher for £6 off next £40 shop, tempted to go back in for a few more ☺
Last edited by DamianM; 24th March 2016 at 23:13.
First time ever I have quoted my own post but I really like this dram (have had about 6 goes off it at this point), and it makes me wonder why Johnnie Walker do not have this as one of their regular offerings.
Love this. Highly highly recommended at £40/Litre.
Maybe the single malt costs are too high ?
If I was ignorant of the fact that this was a blend of single malts, my tasting notes so far would have pinned this an excellent Speyside single malt with a smoky background that was very easy to drink.
They have reintroduced it.
It *is* "a Speyside with a smoky background" - Linkwood / Cragganmore, plus Talisker and Caol Ila.
I'm by no means an expert, but do like to have a drop very regularly. Since I'm no expert I tend to drink moderately priced whisky with the occasional Glenfiddich 12 years old as top of the bunch. This time I decided to be a little extravagant and treat myself to a bottle of Ardbeg Corryvreckan and I think I have been missing out for a long time. Can't say enough good things about it. Just smelling it is already immensely pleasing. The flavour is very rich, peaty but not overwhelmingly so, and it has a great ' thick' feel in the mouth. Still not an ecpert, but I do know now what I really like.
Not tried the Corryvreckan yet, but love the 10 year old. Still not sure that the Ardbeg 10 is worth the premium over Laphroaig 10 year old though. I will have to keep testing both :-)
Matching Blue tonight
Blue by Robert Seymour, on Flickr
And the Yamazaki 18 is distinctly superior to the 12. Really, really superior. Hard to find now in Japan, but possible. Used to be easy - I bought two bottles at the local electronics store last year, and they had loads in stock. An electronics store.
I don't think it was particularly revered here, at least not as something almost mythical as it now appears overseas. It was just a great whisky at a reasonable price (~20,000 yen a bottle). There are other high quality and interesting Japanese whiskies, but, as with high quality and interesting Japanese watches, once something gets a bit of English-language exposure (see also: "Seiko Snowflake") demand narrows and spikes.
Paul
Really? I was speaking to a friend in Japan last week and i asked him the price of a bottle, he checked for me and said the cheapest place selling it is £176.
I wouldn't pay that much for it.
I bought a bottle a month ago, and had to have it sent up from a shop in southern Japan as I couldn't source it in Tokyo. It used to be easily available for about 20,000 yen. At 155 yen to the pound, 20,000 yen (which includes all taxes) is under £130. Not too long ago, at about 200 yen to the pound, it would have been more reasonable still.
Given that recent auctions on Scotch Whisky Auctions have seen the Yamazaki 18 hit nearly 300 quid on a regular basis, 130 quid doesn't seem unreasonable. If you're interested in setting up a small supply chain, sure we can make some money here ;)
Bowmore 15 YO last night, forgotten how good it was! must pick a bottle up soonish
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
Current favourite tipples:
Talisker 10
Bowmore
Ardmore Legacy
Highland Park 12
Caol Ila
Auchentoshan
And still one of my favourites, the distillery is well worth a visit if you ever venture to SKYE.
I had some super smooth Japanese stuff today in The Whiskey Shop, for got the name but was £70 so reasonable and very good
RIAC
I have a bottle open now and it is an easy drinker, but nothing really memorable, and nothing that would make me go looking for it.
I was drinking it last night and put a good bit of water in it and 20 mins later it was tasting so strong of anise that it was like sambuca... well maybe not quite, but it was a strong, before this it was peaty and sweetness with a light touch of sherry.
An interesting whiskey which is more complex than you would first think.
I would like to try the 18.
Last edited by studly; 18th May 2016 at 01:37.
Tesco have the 50cl bottle of the Hibiki 12 year old which scores well on Master of Malt, etc for only £40. Keep thinking of picking up a bottle.
The prices there can be toppy. I recall them selling Taketsuru Pure Malt and the Hakashu Distillers for 60-70GBP, which is Selfridges territory...
That's been reported as being discontinued and replaced by the Harmony blend, so might be worth grabbing while you can.
I was thinking it seemed like it would be worth picking up - I think I will grab a bottle at lunch time. In fact looking on ScotchWhiskyAuctions, the last bottle went for £80 - so if they still have them, I might pick up a couple of bottles.
A good session whisky, I reckon: light, smooth, and well-balanced. As you say there's a bit more to it than meets the nose.
Success - managed to score two bottles of the Hibiki 12 :)
Oooo where from, have they re-released it? Last I heard it was discontiuned? Does it still come in the lovely decanter style bottle?
Edit, just seen, tesco. Will have to pop in tomorrow, if they have any left!
Does seem like it would be a bit of a lottery to find any.
Thought I'd have something special this evening seeing it's World Whisky Day
The perfect place for a sales meeting.
Glengoyne is a fantastic wee distillery in a lovely area just north of Glasgow and only a short distance from the Beech Tree Inn. I had my 21st birthday party in there several decades ago and I still love it up there. It's not far from Loch Lomond. All three are well worth a visit if in Glasgow.
I love a glass of Aberlour A'Bunadh or Edradour Cask Strength (Ibisco Decanter). The Edradour is easily my favourite cask strength of all time and a must visit if up in Pitlochry. I must try the cask strength Auchentoshan very soon.
Last edited by j111dja; 21st May 2016 at 22:54.
In the Lakes for a week with my Dad and Brother so picked up a bottle of this for the holiday, at £40 its excellent value
I'll be tasting a few of these this evening
The SMWS ones are rather special.
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
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