Bourbon hunting look what I found

Bourbon hunting down in arizona and stumbled on this

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Nice find Don! I hope you picked him up a bottle.

The bottle’s label should be a guy frantically repairing his neighbor’s snowblower before that night’s snowfall.

Grouse never mentioned he is also in the liquer business.

I knew I Knew that guy from someplace
Speaking of Whisky, I ran out of all 3 of my favorite ones lately. Had to stop to buy some on my way home last night. I could not bring myself to replace all 3 at once. That would have been way spendy. Just picked up one. Hard choice to choose what one. Will have to budget to replace the other 2 . Like having choices and mixing it up from time to time.

The Famous Grouse is the most popular blended Scotch in the UK. However… I don’t actually drink it. I don’t drink blended Scotch at all.

The origin of my name goes back to the early days of Internet forums. Mrs Grouse poked her head into the study and said, “What are you grousing about on that forum now? You’ll become famous for grousing. You’ll be The Famous Grouse! Ha ha ha ha…”

Me: “Hmmmmm.” [Changes user name in settings…]

For the Scotch whisky drinkers amongst us, here are a few of my recent favs to try.

The Balvinie Caribbean Cask. Wonderful take on a classic. The rum cask ageing adds a totally different finish.

The Shin – A Japanese whisky made in the Scottish style. Absolute masterpiece. Depth, flavor, finish. Magical. Well worth tracking down.

Highland Park 18 year old. Island whisky with refined beauty and grace. Probably the perfect all around islander.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

For the Scotch whisky drinkers amongst us, here are a few of my recent favs to try.

What is the biggest difference between Scotch and say a Canadian Whisky other than where it is distilled? I believe Scotch has a much more smokey flavor. I also believe all scotch is made from Barley where Whisky is made from various Grains including Barley. I’ve branched out a little from traditional whisky’s and am starting to drink a few Bourbons as long as they don’t taste real smokey. Not a big fan of the licking a ash tray flavor.

fishthumper wrote:

What is the biggest difference between Scotch and say a Canadian Whisky other than where it is distilled? I believe Scotch has a much more smokey flavor. I also believe all scotch is made from Barley where Whisky is made from various Grains including Barley. I’ve branched out a little from traditional whisky’s and am starting to drink a few Bourbons as long as they don’t taste real smokey. Not a big fan of the licking a ash tray flavor.

I thought Scotch was supposed to taste like moss. I have not found a Canadian whiskey I like either. However enjoy bourbon and some american whiskey’s. I just last night picked up a bottle of Elijah Craig 18yr I did not crack it yet.

If I were to crack the Johnny Walker Blue I have would it taste like mossy scotch?

John Rasmussen wrote:

I thought Scotch was supposed to taste like moss. I have not found a Canadian whiskey I like either. However enjoy bourbon and some american whiskey’s. I just last night picked up a bottle of Elijah Craig 18yr I did not crack it yet.

Used to be big into bourbons. Elijah craig 18 year is good but very woody.

suzuki wrote:

If I were to crack the Johnny Walker Blue I have would it taste like mossy scotch?

No clue I have only tried a couple. The one I did were not good. To each his own, a buddy picked up a bottle of Sunken Bobber and it tasted like dirt, he ended up pouring down the drain. I guess I should try it again sometime.

fishthumper wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>TheFamousGrouse wrote:</div>
For the Scotch whisky drinkers amongst us, here are a few of my recent favs to try.

What is the biggest difference between Scotch and say a Canadian Whisky other than where it is distilled? I believe Scotch has a much more smokey flavor. I also believe all scotch is made from Barley where Whisky is made from various Grains including Barley. I’ve branched out a little from traditional whisky’s and am starting to drink a few Bourbons as long as they don’t taste real smokey. Not a big fan of the licking a ash tray flavor.

Difference between the different types of whiskey is usually geography, recipe(what grains used to make it), and aging process(what types of barrels and for how long).

Scotch needs to be made in scotland, usually made from malted barley, single malt scotch for instance must be produced at a single distillery and use 100% malted barley in their ‘mash’. Even given that though, scotch itself has a very broad range of flavors as it has less standardization than bourbon. Some areas of Scotland use dried peat when smoke malting their barley, this in turn makes the resulting whisky taste ‘smokey’. If you buy a scotch that says ‘Islay’ on the bottle anywhere, it’s almost surely going to be smokey or ‘peatey’. Some of those distilleries located near the coasts also can take in a salty/briney flavor from the region.

Other regions of Scotland like Speyside or highland scotch are often lighter and fruitier. Some scotches start aging in used bourbon barrels and then are moved to sherry or port barrels where they pick up some of the sweetness or fruitiness from the inside of the barrel.

Bourbon on the other hand has much more strict requirements. They must be made from at least 51% corn and aged in new, charred american oak barrels. This means that by and large most bourbons have a very similar taste/palette. Although time spent aging and variances in that recipe (like a high rye content) have an impact on the final taste. Most bourbon is made in Kentucky which is landlocked and has a pretty consistent climate, unlike the various regions of Scotland.

So the taste differences are normally attributed to the type of grains used, how long the whisky is aged in barrels, where the whisky is aged(temperature fluctuations impact the expanding and contracting of wood in the barrels), what types of barrels are used, and what the final product is blended with.

Peatey scotch whisky is pretty polarizing, some tastes like a campfire, some have a briney taste, other tasting notes include things like ‘wet bandaids’ lol. If you’ve tried scotch and didn’t care for it because of any of those tastes it’s definitely worth trying a different style of scotch as they are night and day!

suzuki wrote:

If I were to crack the Johnny Walker Blue I have would it taste like mossy scotch?

Johnny Blue shouldn’t taste mossy, but it will have some smoke flavor to it. It’s a blend of scotch whiskies from different regions/distilleries in Scotland, but I believe all of their bottles have some Islay whisky in them.

If you’re looking for an approachable scotch to try, I’d find something from the Highland or Speyside region. I find Glenfiddich 12 and 15 very enjoyable and they don’t break the bank, Balvennie Caribbean Cask as mentioned before is a great option too(although it’s gotten pricy), or anything from Glendronach.

Most scotches will have the region on the bottle somewhere, Campbeltown, Highland, Speyside, Islay, Lowland being the big 5.

Some of this is overly generalized of course, but hopefully it helps!

This^^the scotch that taste like dirt are the ones where the barley is dried over peat fires.
Not all scotch taste like that.

Justin Donson wrote:

Most scotches will have the region on the bottle somewhere, Campbeltown, Highland, Speyside, Islay, Lowland being the big 5.

I’ve most often read and heard of the 5 Scotch whisky gropings described as Highland, Islands, Lowland, and Speyside.

Islay distilleries most definitely have characteristics of the Island whiskies. Laphroaig has all of them and then some. Not for the faint of heart.

fishthumper wrote:

What is the biggest difference between Scotch and say a Canadian Whisky other than where it is distilled? I believe Scotch has a much more smokey flavor.

There are tremendous variations in the taste of different Scotch whiskies.

The mossy/smoky taste is the smoke flavor imparted by the distilleries that use traditional peat fires in the malting process. This produces a smokey flavor, more pronounced in some than in others.

If you’d like to try a single malt Scotch that has very little smoke flavor, try The Glenfiddich.

BTW, “ich” in Scotland is pronounced “ick”. So Glenfiddich is properly pronounced “glen-fid-ick”.

Must’ve been a small store since the next product directly to the left is Jag. I don’t find that in the Scotch section of my local liquor store!

Here in arizona bottle shops are hard to find. They have total wine but you have to go to the grocery store. Safeway,frys, winn Co costco

suzuki wrote:

If I were to crack the Johnny Walker Blue I have would it taste like mossy scotch?

Very nice blend, lots of fruit and spice notes. There is certainly a mild hint of peat smoke, but from my recollection it’s by no means as strong as peaty single malts.

IMO Blue is a blended Scotch imitating the best of the Speyside whiskies. I wouldn’t let a bottle of it sit unopened, that’s for sure.

If you guys are bored, check out my buddy, “Basement whiskey guy” on Instagram. He has quite the collection.

I like reminding him that my go to is Windsor…
DT

John Rasmussen wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>fishthumper wrote:</div>
What is the biggest difference between Scotch and say a Canadian Whisky other than where it is distilled? I believe Scotch has a much more smokey flavor. I also believe all scotch is made from Barley where Whisky is made from various Grains including Barley. I’ve branched out a little from traditional whisky’s and am starting to drink a few Bourbons as long as they don’t taste real smokey. Not a big fan of the licking a ash tray flavor.

I thought Scotch was supposed to taste like moss. I have not found a Canadian whiskey I like either. However enjoy bourbon and some american whiskey’s. I just last night picked up a bottle of Elijah Craig 18yr I did not crack it yet.

John – Two of my favorites are Basil Hayden which is classified as a bourbon and Pendleton midnight which is a whisky that is aged in Brandy Barrels. If you have not tried either of those and want to try something different a try those would be a good choice

Youbetcha wrote:

Used to be big into bourbons. Elijah craig 18 year is good but very woody.

I’d like to give the Elijah Craig 18 year a try. What do you mean by Very Woody? How much smoke flavor does it have? It’s a heavy smoke flavor that turns me off. I can handle a touch of it but not to much.

fishthumper wrote:

I’d like to give the Elijah Craig 18 year a try. What do you mean by Very Woody? How much smoke flavor does it have? It’s a heavy smoke flavor that turns me off. I can handle a touch of it but not to much.

I cracked it over the weekend and it’s not to smokey my opinion. Very good in fact. The price tag is hard to get over but I would buy it again as a treat.

fishthumper wrote:

John – Two of my favorites are Basil Hayden which is classified as a bourbon and Pendleton midnight which is a whisky that is aged in Brandy Barrels. If you have not tried either of those and want to try something different a try those would be a good choice

I have tried a couple Basil Haydens and liked them. Have not tried the Pendleton, isn’t that one a Canadian?

I can vouch for Pendleton Midnight. It’s easy to drink whether neat, on the rocks, or in an old fashioned.

John Rasmussen wrote:

I have tried a couple Basil Haydens and liked them. Have not tried the Pendleton, isn’t that one a Canadian?

Yes Pendleton is a Canadian Whisky. I truly prefer the Canadian Whisky’s over the American or Irish ones.

fishthumper wrote:

Yes Pendleton is a Canadian Whisky. I truly prefer the Canadian Whisky’s over the American or Irish ones.

So far I prefer the American over the Canadian. Have not tried any Irish ones yet.

fishthumper wrote:

I’d like to give the Elijah Craig 18 year a try. What do you mean by Very Woody? How much smoke flavor does it have? It’s a heavy smoke flavor that turns me off. I can handle a touch of it but not to much.

It sat in an oak barrel for 18 years and tastes like it. Its good dont get me wrong but you will notice that.

Youbetcha wrote:

It sat in an oak barrel for 18 years and tastes like it. Its good dont get me wrong but you will notice that.

Tasting like a Oak Barrel is one thing. Tasting like a charred oak barrel is another. Lots of the things I drink have been in various types of barrel’s for a long period of time and still don’t taste smokey

fishthumper wrote:

Tasting like a Oak Barrel is one thing. Tasting like a charred oak barrel is another. Lots of the things I drink have been in various types of barrel’s for a long period of time and still don’t taste smokey

FT I have had some that really tasted smokey and did not care for them. This one did not turn me off, in that way at all. For the price I would pick some other ones before it that cost less but it is good for sure.

John Rasmussen wrote:

FT I have had some that really tasted smokey and did not care for them. This one did not turn me off, in that way at all. For the price I would pick some other ones before it that cost less but it is good for sure.

What price point are we talking on the Elijah Craig 18yr? These days I prefer quality over Quantity. I don’t drink all that much, but when I do I want to enjoy what I’m drinking