It's getting that time of the year, Autumn is slowly rolling in and dare I say... we may be stocking up on our darker liquors for the long winter? Oh, as if we needed an excuse...
Speakeasy Aquisitions - September 2010
- Thread starter castlecraver
- Start date
Might as well start the ice melting. Bought a bottle of Bulleit bourbon yesterday, and have my eye on a bottle of Laphroig quarter cask to go along with my bottle of glenfiddich 18.
Now I just gotta figure out which one to fill the flask with for camping next week
Now I just gotta figure out which one to fill the flask with for camping next week
Ah yes, fall is the time to break out the fine brown goods. A dram in front of a nice fire in a comfortable pair of cords and a flannel shirt with a good book on my lap sounds inviting after a welcome but very warm summer. I have been mulling the purchase of a bottle of the Glenlivet 21. I have a good stock of Glenlivet 12 and Macallan 15 and 18 so I am not in a hurry but it does beckon.
Doug
Doug
I picked up a bottle of Barbancourt Five Star rum. Looking forward to cracking it open when i get home.
Picked up a bottle of Sierra Nevada's seasonal Brown ale and a bottle of New Belgium's Berlinerweiss from the "lips of faith" series.
Picked up a small bottle of Maker's Mark the other day, and will be trying to find a nice bottle of sake over the weekend. If I can't, then I may buy a bottle of Red Breast or replace my dwindling gin reserve.
ETA: Found a nice small bottle of sake tonight, along with a small bottle of Gentleman Jack and Sailor Jerry's. Should be a good month or two.
ETA: Found a nice small bottle of sake tonight, along with a small bottle of Gentleman Jack and Sailor Jerry's. Should be a good month or two.
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For my first wedding anniversary (8/8/10) my grandfather and father chipped in and bought me a bottle of Glen Garioch, 1958, 46 Year Old. This is one of the finest Bourbons I have ever drank. I have vowed to only to take one drink every anniversary. Being as this stuff runs about $2500 a bottle I cant just go and buy a bottle every month. Not to mention I have no clue as to where they acquired it.
Highland Park 18 keeps coming up in so many threads lately that it reminded me I needed to restock. Scored one on the way home last night.
Just nabbed a great bottle of aberlour a'bunadh cask strength...oh yeah! 
To quote: "Not a Nice Person from his review:"
Aberlour a'bunadh is a unique experience among Scotches . . . cask strength and intensely sherried, rich, deep and complex. There are many wonderful Scotches out there, but this one is something truly special, and in a category of its own.
Packaged in a slightly squat, thick-necked bottle, its color is a deep ruby red in the bottle, and a rich mahogany in the glass.
Depending on presentation, the Aberlour's nose ranges from caramel and apple, to sherry and almonds, to lightly floral . . . in a nosing glass, however, be prepared to let it "breathe" a long time; that 121.2 proof cask strength is no joke and will singe your nostril hairs but good!
Sipped straight, it will make your lips tingle and set your mouth aflame before opening into a rich melange of toffee, smoke, and oak flavors, with an incredibly long sherry finish with hints of licorice and spice.
Mouthfeel is smooth and buttery on the tongue, with spice notes occurring along the sides of the tongue and smoke flavors mostly hitting the back of the throat.
The high proof accommodates a little spring water or a few rocks extremely well, without surrendering complexity or flavor.
As you can see from the images, I tried the full range of tasting experiences, from "wee dram" to Scotch & soda, and the Aberlour a'bunadh was, simply put, astonishing and superb in all of them. Even the most dilute, the Scotch & soda, didn't feel like a sacrilege or a waste . . . in fact, the high proof and intense flavors mean that the first few sips taste like straight Scotch. A wonderful straight Scotch, at that.
I like this one best on the rocks, with just a splash to dilute the proof slightly, but if you're patient enough to let it breathe awhile, it's a fantastic experience neat.
At $68, Aberlour a'bunadh is more expensive than a lot of single malts, but less so than than many other special bottlings, and considered on a proof basis---since most will choose to dilute it, it takes less and lasts longer---works out to be quite competitive.
Highly recommended. If you like sherried Speysides, this one will be a revelation.
NANP™
I can't improve upon this review other than to bump it, highlight it, underscore it etc....it is THAT good!
To quote: "Not a Nice Person from his review:"
Aberlour a'bunadh is a unique experience among Scotches . . . cask strength and intensely sherried, rich, deep and complex. There are many wonderful Scotches out there, but this one is something truly special, and in a category of its own.
Packaged in a slightly squat, thick-necked bottle, its color is a deep ruby red in the bottle, and a rich mahogany in the glass.
Depending on presentation, the Aberlour's nose ranges from caramel and apple, to sherry and almonds, to lightly floral . . . in a nosing glass, however, be prepared to let it "breathe" a long time; that 121.2 proof cask strength is no joke and will singe your nostril hairs but good!
Sipped straight, it will make your lips tingle and set your mouth aflame before opening into a rich melange of toffee, smoke, and oak flavors, with an incredibly long sherry finish with hints of licorice and spice.
Mouthfeel is smooth and buttery on the tongue, with spice notes occurring along the sides of the tongue and smoke flavors mostly hitting the back of the throat.
The high proof accommodates a little spring water or a few rocks extremely well, without surrendering complexity or flavor.
As you can see from the images, I tried the full range of tasting experiences, from "wee dram" to Scotch & soda, and the Aberlour a'bunadh was, simply put, astonishing and superb in all of them. Even the most dilute, the Scotch & soda, didn't feel like a sacrilege or a waste . . . in fact, the high proof and intense flavors mean that the first few sips taste like straight Scotch. A wonderful straight Scotch, at that.
I like this one best on the rocks, with just a splash to dilute the proof slightly, but if you're patient enough to let it breathe awhile, it's a fantastic experience neat.
At $68, Aberlour a'bunadh is more expensive than a lot of single malts, but less so than than many other special bottlings, and considered on a proof basis---since most will choose to dilute it, it takes less and lasts longer---works out to be quite competitive.
Highly recommended. If you like sherried Speysides, this one will be a revelation.
NANP™
I can't improve upon this review other than to bump it, highlight it, underscore it etc....it is THAT good!
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Another bottle of rum for me this September. El Dorado 15.
I picked up a bottle of Zafra Master Reserve Panamanian Rum over the weekend.
Just started a new batch of Cider. 3 gallons Whole Foods apple juice blend, 2 gallons Whole Foods Gravenstien apple juice.
ph - 3.6
OG - 1.050
Nottingham yeast
I'll ferment for ~10 days or until the gravity reaches around 1.008 then crash cool in the kegerator. I'm using this as a backup in case the 13% Belgian Golden Strong I brewed a year ago for the toast at my wedding doesn't carbonate in time.
ph - 3.6
OG - 1.050
Nottingham yeast
I'll ferment for ~10 days or until the gravity reaches around 1.008 then crash cool in the kegerator. I'm using this as a backup in case the 13% Belgian Golden Strong I brewed a year ago for the toast at my wedding doesn't carbonate in time.
2003 Graham's LBV Port
Germain-Robin Fine Alambic Brandy
Deschuttes Jubel 2010
Deschuttes Black Butte Porter
...and a bunch of every day wine I can't remember...
Germain-Robin Fine Alambic Brandy
Deschuttes Jubel 2010
Deschuttes Black Butte Porter
...and a bunch of every day wine I can't remember...
My Speakeasy Acquisitions for this month so far are:
Spirits
1 bottle of Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey (now about half-gone already)
1 bottle of Disaronno Amaretto (also about half-gone already
)
1 bottle of a friend's home-made wine named "The Stuff That Makes You Go Arrr!"
1 bottle of Glenmorangie
1 bottle of Glenfiddich
And no need for beer, the fridge is already stocked with plenty.
Tobacco:
1 pouch of Blue Note
1 pouch of Midnight Smoke
My local tobacconist that sells pipe tobacco I believe gets their stuff through Lane Limited and Altadis. I believe they have worked together on blends as well as just selling blends that are normally available from these two.
2 oz. of my regular smoke to top off the jar. (Shady Lane) From local tobacconist
1 oz. each of the following (new to me) blends to try from a local tobacconist:
Vanilla Custard
St. Elmo's Fire
Madrigal
The Original
Castle Conwy
Silver Bullet
Balkan I
And the following samples:
MacBaren Plum Cake
Tobacco Barn Balkan
Tobacco Barn Old Tavern
Tobacco Barn Traditional English
Tobacco Barn Silverado
AND I'm goin' broke!
Spirits
1 bottle of Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey (now about half-gone already)
1 bottle of Disaronno Amaretto (also about half-gone already
)1 bottle of a friend's home-made wine named "The Stuff That Makes You Go Arrr!"
1 bottle of Glenmorangie
1 bottle of Glenfiddich
And no need for beer, the fridge is already stocked with plenty.
Tobacco:
1 pouch of Blue Note
1 pouch of Midnight Smoke
My local tobacconist that sells pipe tobacco I believe gets their stuff through Lane Limited and Altadis. I believe they have worked together on blends as well as just selling blends that are normally available from these two.
2 oz. of my regular smoke to top off the jar. (Shady Lane) From local tobacconist
1 oz. each of the following (new to me) blends to try from a local tobacconist:
Vanilla Custard
St. Elmo's Fire
Madrigal
The Original
Castle Conwy
Silver Bullet
Balkan I
And the following samples:
MacBaren Plum Cake
Tobacco Barn Balkan
Tobacco Barn Old Tavern
Tobacco Barn Traditional English
Tobacco Barn Silverado
AND I'm goin' broke!
Well, there's these . . . 
Scotch list, last five bottles, no pics though---Glendronach Allardice 18 (I really should have shot that one before cracking it open, dammit), Glendronach 12 Original, Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban, Dalmore 12, Aberlour a'bunadh. That list goes back to about mid-August, though, I think.
NANP
Scotch list, last five bottles, no pics though---Glendronach Allardice 18 (I really should have shot that one before cracking it open, dammit), Glendronach 12 Original, Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban, Dalmore 12, Aberlour a'bunadh. That list goes back to about mid-August, though, I think.
NANP
oooooohhh ahhhhh 
I am quite fond of the Macallan single malts but have found that the Glenlivet has some very nice offerings as well. To date my favorite has been Macallan 18 year old. Today when I was at one of the local spirit vendors, I went over to the the single malt section and noticed that they only had one bottle of The Glenlivet 21 year left. The nice wooden box and its reputation beckoned and I relented. I am looking forward to a quiet evening in the not to distant future to do some comparisons.
Doug
Doug
Well, tonight I'm judging at The Quad City Highland Games....we just scored a nice aged bottle of scotch (though they won't tell me what kind until tonight) and a half-barrel of a local micro-brew called Scotch Terrier Scotch Ale donated by Blue Cat Brew Pub for the throwers and judges and this stuff is AWESOME!
Haven't stocked up yet, but I'm planning on picking up a bunch of Belgian beers and a bottle of Laphroaig 10-Year.
mmm Laphroaig. Got to try some Glenmorangie that was aged in Sherry Casks this weekend, not bad.
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