Scotch Tasting

[From Cindy, mistress of scotch tasting]

Wow. What a great night. 19 different scotches and scotch-like liquors for tasting.

Big, big thanks to Drew from Plumjack on 24th Street for once again guiding us. Was I the only one who could almost see the waves battering the casks filled with scotch on top of those Scottish cliffs? Drew has a scotch tasting coming up in Noe Valley, so check it out if you’d like more information and more tasting with him.

And of course huge thanks to Matt for hosting (and Melanie and Mark for putting up with us at their place). Matt says he still has many glasses and scotches that belong to others, so let him know if you left anything behind. Thanks always to Chris for being my partner in crime.

Here’s the rundown and my extremely unscientific notes, according to the fairly random numbering system I used:

.5 Johnny Walker Green label, single malt. Not technically scotch since it’s not from Scotland but a big, surprised thumbs up from a few folks.

1. St George. Alameda’s own. Everyone remarked on the anise flavor and several folks gave it high marks.

2. Singleton 12 year. One of my surprise favorites. Spicy finish to a lighter scotch.

2.5. Glenkinichie 10 year. Another lighter, slightly sweet scotch favored by a lot of folks, especially those newer to the taste.

3. Glenfiddich 12 year. Not many comments but I suspect that’s because it was pretty familiar to most.

4. Oban 14 year. Everybody loves Oban. An oldie but a goodie.

4.5. Connoisseurs Choice Highland 12 year. Also started with a “T, maybe Tomatin?? [Tullibardine - thanks Greg!] Probably the biggest surprise of the night. I had marked it number 1 early on due to it’s light color, but we had to move it up because it had a lot more body than we expected. Lots of folks voted it the favorite of the night.

4.8. Dalwhinnie. Familiar to most. One person said it was their favorite.

5. Scapa. 14 year. Big bite, strong flavor. One quite drunk person said: “I’m a litigator, I like scotch that bites back.”

5.5. Glenmorangie 1975. The clear winner of the evening. Jose Luis retains his title as the person who brings the most-loved and most expensive scotch of the evening. Sweet, cherry flavors, in part because it was stored in Syrah barrels for a very, very long time. Longer than several of the tasters had been alive, but I’m not naming names.

6. Edradour 10 year. Also a big bite scotch. Old favorite to many.

7. John, Mark and Robbos Smokey, Peaty One. True to its name. It was a blend and some found that it was trying a bit too hard. Others raved.

8. Aardbeg 10 years. Not many comments, again I suspect because it was familiar to many and we were all in search of something new.

9. Bowmore 15. Overlooked a bit, same as Aardbeg. Bowmore has been one of our surprise hits in the past so this year I thin folks we’re looking for something new. Some commented that it leaned almost toward bourbon with its sweetness and thickness.

10. Lagavulin Special Release. Stored in ola rosa sherry casks this was the other favorite of the night. “Started out sneaky smooth then ended with that Lagavulin kick,” said one admirer. Others thought it was just Lagavulin trying too much to be like Laphroig.

11. Laphroig 15 year. An old favorite again. And for those who love peaty goodness, it’s still the standard.

12. McCarthy’s malt whiskey. Another US product so not technically scotch, but the Oregon brewery has done itself proud with this one. Very nice.

13. McCallan. Has many fans as usual. One person said she thought McCallan was the next step along from Oban (probably heresy to Oban lovers).

14. White Horse. Drew’s blended “depression buster.” Surprisingly good for the price, likely due to all that Lagavulin in there.