Kevin and I went to a Scotch tasting party. It was the first time I’ve had distilled alchohol. Kevin was more savvy and knew what he was getting into.
Everyone brought a bottle of whatever they felt like bringing, as long as it was single malt scotch. (Kevin brought a peated single malt Irish whiskey* (rulebreaker)). When all the guests were assembled and the knowledgeable host had sorted them by peaty-ness, this was what was on the table:
Glenmorangie
Dalwhinnie
Balvenie
Bowmore
Connemara (Kevin’s)
The Macallan
Laphroaig
*Scotch is “Whisky”. Irish is “Whiskey”. We think.
Kevin
Kevin liked them all pretty well. The Glenmorangie was very mild, sweet – overall very pleasant, but lacking the peaty, smoky flavors that he associates with a single malt scotch. Overall – B+
At the other end of the scale, the Laphroaig is the peatiest, smokiest. A lot of people had trouble adjusting to something with that much flavor. But after the initial tasting, it has a strong presence and a smooth drinkability. Has had it before – was good to experience it again. Overall: A
Dalwhinnie was the most popular. (Very close to Glenmorangie). Shows a strong preference by the crowd for a less peaty flavored Scotch. Overall – B
The others – Balvenie Bowmore The Macallan – were all enjoyed to varying degrees. A lot of the scotch tasting is based on personal preference. Lots of people thought The Macallan had a very peaty nose, but not so much of the flavor.
The Connemara – the Irish single malt whiskey – had a mild peaty aroma and reasonably strong flavor and a slight sweet aftertaste. The crowd didn’t really go for the Irish. We heard references to Mike Meyer’s All Things Scottish slogan (YouTube) several times.
Ramona
I didn’t try them all. Tried the Glenmorangie, starting out with everyone, then the Dalwhinnie. Then I decided not to try them all, and tasted the one we brought (Connemara). Then, because it seemed to be the bookend to the experience, I tried the Laphroaig.
Glenmorangie – Mildly antiseptic. (Read:could no longer feel the back of my throat).
Dalwhinnie – Actually, I only tried to drink this one. Diluted it with a lot (a LOT) of water. Still couldn’t do it. Should have stopped there.
Connemara – I cannot describe the Connemara. It was … eviscerating? That’s close enough.
Laphroaig – unfortunately, for this one I had witnesses. They remarked on the size of the pour (as in, miniscule or – it being Scotch – wee). Then they watched. And then they were concerned. Tears, literal tears, sprang forth and they fetched me glass after glass of water. I had to sit down. I had to sit down for a long time. I actually felt ill.
So. Laphroig is NOT for beginners.
Actually, neither is scotch night. How do people ever start drinking scotch?
Oh, and that night I had reruns of ALL of my standard insecure nightmare dreams (and not the fun ones where you’re naked and no one cares, but the bad ones where you have to take an oral final exam in front of all your peers for the class that you forgot to go to all semester, or it’s opening night for the play you didn’t know you were the lead in and don’t know your lines or blocking – where you’re stupid and inadequate and exposed and everyone just stares at you) and woke up a complete neurotic mess. Who is it that drinks this, is sick and nightmarish, and wakes up and thinks “Wow – I want to do that again!”. Sick bastards. That’s who.
Paging Chris! Mr. Azbill, please report from the peat bog to the scotch tasting thread!
Your brother drinks Laphroaig and yeah that stuff is like drinking a peat bog IMO.
I drink Scotch because I like to sip at it, like just enough to evaporate off the tip of your tongue sip. It’s also rather good with a cigar. Yeah I said it a CIGAR. That said I’ve not had much scotch in the past year and the wee nip I had on New Years burned a hole all the way down.
Not a beginning drink, not at all.
So sorry it caused a bad night. Those dreams are my least favorite. =(
Short Version:
Ramona, as you may know I have a collection of scotches that I drink. Speaking as someone that drinks scotch, I’m very sorry that your first experience was a bad one.
Laphroaig is *not* a drink to hand to a first-timer, except to say “here, smell this but please just smell.. that’s enough to see how far this stuff goes”.
Long version:
Here is a brief re-cap of my thoughts as I read your post….
First, the list:
Glenmorangie – Oh, hey, that shouldn’t be too bad from what I’ve read.
Dalwhinnie – Great starter as it’ll let you know if you want to try more or not. Cause, you know, it’s on the ‘easy’ side of things.
Balvenie – Mmm… I think I have a bottle around here. Or did. Not a bad drink.
Bowmore – I’ve had it, not running back to the store for more though.
Connemara (Kevin’s) – Neat, haven’t heard of this before.
The Macallan – Good stuff, I have a bottle of the 18 …
Laphroaig – Oh mmm… good stuff. Wait. …
Then I remembered the line: “It was the first time I’ve had distilled alchohol”
And my next thought was: Oh, for the love of all that is good about scotch and for the love of everything, do NOT let Ramona drink the Laphroaig!!!
Really.
Giving someone who is ‘new’ to scotch a Laphroaig is just.. well, a great way to scare them away from scotch.
Especially if it was the 10 year or the Cask Strength stuff. (I think you might be able to use those to de-grease engines by placing the bottle near the engine and saying “hey, grease, if you’re still here tomorrow I’m going to pour this on you” )
As for the rest of my thoughts as I read.. well, it went the way I was afraid it would.
I’m sorry Ramona. With scotch the ‘nose’ (smelling it) is a great indicator of how it will taste. Stick your nose just above the glass (and, for quasi-snobbery, a tupip shaped glass is best.) and take a smell. If it totally burns your nose and makes you feel more ill than anything… well, it’ll probably do the same to your stomach.
And taking a drink is, as Christina said, best done in little itty bitty sips for a scotch you are trying to taste w/o prior experience with it. That way it’s only your tongue that tries to file a Restraining Order against your brain and not your entire body that revolts.
Because there are some serious “aquired taste” styles of scotch out there.
I happen to like some of them but I wouldn’t give them to someone that didn’t know what to expect.
*sigh*. Again, sorry Ramona.
Appreciate everyone’s support. Three days out, and I think I’m beginning to recover.
Kevin says the reaction is all one-sided, though 🙂
So someone tell Kevin they’re glad he got to revisit the scotches and that they’re glad he had a good time.
And lest you think ill of the host, I was the only scotch virgin in the room. I don’t think it crossed anyone’s mind that I didn’t know what I was doing. When the one person (the person fetching me those glasses of water) was told same, she had the most quizzical look on her face, as if she simply couldn’t believe such a thing.
And I was taking itsy bitsy sips. I could smell the stuff, I didn’t want to do any more than acquaint the taste buds. Seriously, you could measure my tasters with an eyedropper. But Laphroig is INTENSE. Even in milliliters.
Laphroig is certainly one that packs a punch. I’ve had the 10year and the 15year versions. Will try the Cask Strength when I get the chance. (Cask Strength: ie, strait from the barrel w/o any dilution by water. The 10 and 15 are diluted to make them more drinkable… )
So yes, I do know just how strong that stuff is. And I’m one of those twisted people that actually drinks it willingly.
But if it isn’t for you, then don’t worry – more for me!
Last: I didn’t mean my first post to be mean sounding towards anyone; I wrote it at about midnight after a long day. So it is like a formatted string of consciousness on the subject.