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lauraanne_gilmanLast night, I dragged myself away from the manuscript (kicking and screaming, really) to [eat really amazing red meat and] attend the Master Series Scotch Tasting for Highland Park, hosted by F. Paul Pacult.
(pause to be amused that I now know two F. Pauls)
To say that this was an Experience is understating it. As it was recently Robert Burns' birthday, we started with a traditional piping in of the haggis, and the traditional ode read to it (this is something to behold at least once in your life, even if you claim not to like bagpipes or haggis or poetry). Then on to the tastings.
There were eight malts listed, all from Highland Park, but nine glasses set at each place. Hrmmm...what's this? A whiff (like wine, scotch is 80% about the nose) made some folk say tequila, some think of PGA, and some (okay, me) consider overripe oranges.
#9: pure spirit, distilled 23 January. 70% proof. What the good stuff tastes like before it gets mellowed by barrel aging. Discussion of how the distillery masters know when it's ready, and I joke to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
quarkwiz that this -- Malter's Bane -- will be the sequel to Vineart War I-III.... and then I realize that I have, actually, already set it up in book 1. Heeeee. But in terms of tasting and understanding, this is a really good place to begin.
and then on to the featured performers!
(note: for those new to this, the year listed is the youngest a whiskey in the bottle can be -- some may be older. 'single malt' means it is all from one distillery/region, not that it's all from one barrel. 'Single cask' is something else entirely. 'Blended" means it may be from many different regions, losing the specific geographic identity.)
#1: Highland Park 12-year-old Orkneys Single Malt Whiskey.
- a touch of brine, smooth. A little too faint and sharp-toned for me.
43% $40 SRP
#2: Highland Park 15-year-old Orkneys Single Malt Whiskey.
- thicker in the mouth, smoother. Very nice.
43% $70 SRP
#3: Highland Park 18-year-old Orkneys Single Malt Whiskey.
- much softer, and I detected a definite note of honey, but the smoothness is matched with a strong peaty flavor (not the brine-and-smoke of an Islay, but noticeable)
43% $99 SRP
#4: Highland Park 25-year-old Orkneys Single Malt Whiskey.
- much more bite to it -- bourbon casking coming through on the flavor. I like. A lot. And then I hear the price.
48.1% $250 SRP
#5: Duncan Taylor 21-year-old HP Orkney's Single Malt Whiskey.
- an outside distributor's bottling. My only comment on this was 'meh.' It really does make a difference, even if the original distillation was the same.
53.3% $175 SRP
#6: Scott's Selection 1986 HP Orkneys Single Malt Whiskey.
- I liked this one better, but still felt that the alcohol was too much present over the flavor.
54.1%, $125 SRP
#7: Highland Park 30-year-old Orkneys Single Malt Whiskey.
-- "foooking gorgeous" is my sole note. A balance of power and smoothness and smoke and sweet. If anyone ever wanted to buy me a bottle of this I would make them a very nice dinner to have before we cracked it open. Yes.
48.1% $350 SRP
#8: Highland Park 40-year-old Orkneys Single Malt Whiskey.
- Holy. Shit. I saw a few eyes roll back into heads, and happy smiles on the faces of people who had been anticipating this one. The nuances were probably lost on me [I'm much better at wine than malts], but unless you'd numbed your tastebuds entirely, you know when something perfectly crafted and aged hits them.
48.3% $2000 SRP
The thing to keep in mind when choking on the prices is that -- unlike wine -- a bottle of Scotch can be opened and enjoyed for an extended period of time -- I've had bottles last a year or more after being opened, without significant loss of taste. So it's not quite as chokingly awful as it seems at first. Just painful. Except that last one. That's just awful.
They're holding a Master Series for American Ryes in April. I'm really quite tempted to go.
(pause to be amused that I now know two F. Pauls)
To say that this was an Experience is understating it. As it was recently Robert Burns' birthday, we started with a traditional piping in of the haggis, and the traditional ode read to it (this is something to behold at least once in your life, even if you claim not to like bagpipes or haggis or poetry). Then on to the tastings.
There were eight malts listed, all from Highland Park, but nine glasses set at each place. Hrmmm...what's this? A whiff (like wine, scotch is 80% about the nose) made some folk say tequila, some think of PGA, and some (okay, me) consider overripe oranges.
#9: pure spirit, distilled 23 January. 70% proof. What the good stuff tastes like before it gets mellowed by barrel aging. Discussion of how the distillery masters know when it's ready, and I joke to
quarkwiz that this -- Malter's Bane -- will be the sequel to Vineart War I-III.... and then I realize that I have, actually, already set it up in book 1. Heeeee. But in terms of tasting and understanding, this is a really good place to begin.and then on to the featured performers!
(note: for those new to this, the year listed is the youngest a whiskey in the bottle can be -- some may be older. 'single malt' means it is all from one distillery/region, not that it's all from one barrel. 'Single cask' is something else entirely. 'Blended" means it may be from many different regions, losing the specific geographic identity.)
#1: Highland Park 12-year-old Orkneys Single Malt Whiskey.
- a touch of brine, smooth. A little too faint and sharp-toned for me.
43% $40 SRP
#2: Highland Park 15-year-old Orkneys Single Malt Whiskey.
- thicker in the mouth, smoother. Very nice.
43% $70 SRP
#3: Highland Park 18-year-old Orkneys Single Malt Whiskey.
- much softer, and I detected a definite note of honey, but the smoothness is matched with a strong peaty flavor (not the brine-and-smoke of an Islay, but noticeable)
43% $99 SRP
#4: Highland Park 25-year-old Orkneys Single Malt Whiskey.
- much more bite to it -- bourbon casking coming through on the flavor. I like. A lot. And then I hear the price.
48.1% $250 SRP
#5: Duncan Taylor 21-year-old HP Orkney's Single Malt Whiskey.
- an outside distributor's bottling. My only comment on this was 'meh.' It really does make a difference, even if the original distillation was the same.
53.3% $175 SRP
#6: Scott's Selection 1986 HP Orkneys Single Malt Whiskey.
- I liked this one better, but still felt that the alcohol was too much present over the flavor.
54.1%, $125 SRP
#7: Highland Park 30-year-old Orkneys Single Malt Whiskey.
-- "foooking gorgeous" is my sole note. A balance of power and smoothness and smoke and sweet. If anyone ever wanted to buy me a bottle of this I would make them a very nice dinner to have before we cracked it open. Yes.
48.1% $350 SRP
#8: Highland Park 40-year-old Orkneys Single Malt Whiskey.
- Holy. Shit. I saw a few eyes roll back into heads, and happy smiles on the faces of people who had been anticipating this one. The nuances were probably lost on me [I'm much better at wine than malts], but unless you'd numbed your tastebuds entirely, you know when something perfectly crafted and aged hits them.
48.3% $2000 SRP
The thing to keep in mind when choking on the prices is that -- unlike wine -- a bottle of Scotch can be opened and enjoyed for an extended period of time -- I've had bottles last a year or more after being opened, without significant loss of taste. So it's not quite as chokingly awful as it seems at first. Just painful. Except that last one. That's just awful.
They're holding a Master Series for American Ryes in April. I'm really quite tempted to go.
