The Bourbon - and other spirits - Thread (was: @ Myronwemissyinz)

The instant I heard about this, I screamed, "WANT!!!"

Funny. I have a great sister. She was already ahead of me. (This bottling is not yet available in PA. But she lives close enough, she picked it up for me in Delaware). I suppose it's only fitting she found it for me. After all, she was the one who got me hooked on scotch in the first place. I won't actually have it in hand until she visits in a few weeks. But it's nice to know I don't have to hunt.

 

Any luck? (I'll open it in a few days when I can make a night of it)

 

Yeah. Online stores won't even ship to PA due to our backwards laws. And the PA State store will ship, but their shipping fees are unreasonable as well. If that stores has it in their system, maybe they can reserve a bottle for you?

 

Ok. Here we go...

First impressions only:

Distinctly Lagavulin but with its edges softened a bit. I get the usual sweet berries, peat smoke, savory meat, slight saline and tiny hint of mint i usually expect from Lagavulin 16. But with an added layer of dark chocolate and oddly enough, pronounced raspberry.

With a tiny bit of water, the raspberry disappears and the dark chocolate morphs into more of a milk chocolate.

Mind, this is very first pour out of the bottle and first impressions. In a few weeks, this assessment will likely change. Long story short, at MSRP, well worth the price.

 

Good find. They only put a limited number of those out per year AFAIK. I stumbled into one a year and a half or so ago by accident. You'll like it.

 

Not to degrade bourbon or rye. I enjoy both when the mood strikes (more bourbon than rye). But the range of variation within either category is very small compared to scotch. As Strummerfan said, the different regions alone give wide windows of variation. And to me, even within a region, there's more variation than there is with, say, bourbon.

I mean, let's be honest, the vast majority of bourbon is within 5% in flavor from any other bourbon. That's mostly due to the rather strict rules on what can be called bourbon. Not a bad thing necessarily, but it's true. The real distinction is in quality / age.

Whereas in scotch you have 5 major regions each with a distinctive style. And in truth, IMHO, it really should be 7 or even 8. Plus scotch isn't hand tied to only using new oak barrels, which allows for even more variation depending on which barrels are used for aging.

If someone doesn't like scotch, they just haven't found their region/ brand yet. Or, like me in the past, they assume all scotch is like the bad scotch they had once.

 

Ok, after a couple weeks, my final verdict on Lagavulin 11 Offerman Edition: Guinness Cask Finish

Might be a top 5 all time for me. Absolutely delicious. Just a shame that this is most likely a one off bottling and we'll never see it again.

So, IOWs, if PA ever gets their act together and sells some, I need to hoard as many as I can afford.

 

Awesome!, @strummerfan

I hope you like it as much as I did. Just let that first pour breathe a bit.

 

I always get berries from Lagavulin 16. Just not that pronounced. And never specifically raspberry.

 

Awesome! Enjoy it. More than a few whiskies there I'd like to sample.

 

My birthday is fast approaching. But I'll be working that day. So my wife took me out to my favorite watering hole today in celebration. For the first time, I finally pulled the trigger and ordered a whiskey flight. Believe it or not the flight only cost me $35.00!!! I wasn't expecting generous pours.

From right to left, Oban 18, Glendronach 18, Aberlour A'Bunadh, and Laphroaig Cairdeas Fino Cask. All whiskies that have eluded me to add to my collection.

It's been a good day.