Advice needed for a tasting night

[rjpobrien]

Hi everyone,

I don't post very often, but enjoy reading the forum when I get a chance. I was hoping on this occasion to get some advice though. I'm having an informal whisky tasting night with some friends next Friday. The intention was for it to include drams beyond what you might typically get in a supermarket or bar and hopefully find some new favourites! And because of differing tastes amongst the guests I wanted to cover a range of different types of whisk(e)y! So...my proposed list of whiskies to include are:

Highland - Glencadam 10 Year Old
Speyside - Glendronach Revival
Islay - Ardbeg Uigeadail
Japanese - Suntory Yamazaki 12 Year Old
Bourbon - Rowan's Creek

I'd welcome thoughts and feedback on this selection. I was originally going to have a Lowland and skip the Islay as I thought the majority of guests wouldn't be a fan of the peaty whiskies but on reflection I think you need an Islay in there to provide a 'well rounded' selection, even if its not the most popular (plus I've been wanting to try some more Ardbegs for a while!). I've never heard of the Rowan's Creek before but reviews seem good and I'm keen to avoid some of the more common bourbons like Maker's Mark, Eijah Criag etc.

I'd also welcome any feedback on the Suntory. I know nothing about Japenese Whiskies tbh but wanted something different in there. Don't know what a good starting point is but would welcome suggestions. Was also considering Suntory Hibiki 12 Year Old; Nikka Taketsuru 12 Year Old; or Nikka from the Barrel.

Many thanks in advance and also thanks for such a great forum - it really is a great fountain of knowledge!

Richard

[Quaich1]

[Mark]

Hi Richard, that looks like a good rounded selection to me.

I would start with the Bourbon but personally i didnt think much of Rowans Creek. I would suggest taking a look at the Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star which is superb IMO.

Perhaps follow it with the Suntory Yamazaki 12 which has a nice barley sweetness and a wee bit cake, sherry and spice also. This would be my choice of Japanese whisky from the selection you have mentioned.

The Glencadam 10 is an excellent young Highland malt, you dont hear it mentioned much but it really is a great whisky and a good choice for anyone new or old to drinking whisky.

The Glendronach Revival and Ardbeg Uigeadail are both outstanding. I would keep the the sherried Glendronach until 2nd last and finish wth the sherried/peaty Uigeadail.

Dont forget plenty of bottled water for your friends to cleanse their palates between drams. Hope it goes well.

[Innes]

I cant comment on the Japanese or Bourbon but i would say your choice of Scotch whiskies is very good and certainly fits the bill for whiskies you wouldnt normally find in a supermarket.

[Fergie]

You definitely need an Islay to provide an all round selection of whisky styles and the Uigeadail is a cracker, and as Mark suggests, i would serve it up last.

Four Roses Single Barrel 50% is another excellent Bourbon.

[Alexppp]

[rjpobrien]

Many thanks all. Some really useful and helpful comments.

I'm already a fan of Glenfarclas and Four Roses - I tried the 105 for the first time the other week and have had a couple of different Four Roses drams at various points (I'm also currently working my way through a bottle of the Yellow Label at home though this is more for cocktails but still very good on its own).

So I'm going to rule out the 105 and Four Roses Single Barrel for this tasting (something like organiser's privilege, tailoring it to what I've not had before ).

The Ancient Ancient Age 10 star sounds interesting and I've never heard of it before. So that may complicate things! Will have to look into it some more as this is making me rethink.

Thanks also for the suggestion on the order to drink them in - I hadn't thought that far ahead! And probably wouldn't have been that structured about it.

Final slight complication is that TWE are currently out of stock of the Revival. I'm hoping they'll get some more in the next few days. If not, any alternative suggestions? I'd like to avoid brands like Balvenie, Glenfiddich etc. and try to avoid special bottlings if possible. I do think the 105 would be a good choice but part of me is keen to try something new. Would welcome any thoughts on a backup plan for a good Speyside.

Thanks again,
Richard

[Alexppp]

If you want something similar to Glendronach Revival (both in flavour profile and quality), then you can't go wrong with the Glenfarclas 15. The Glendronach is ever so slightly my pick of the two, but the Glenfarclas is excellent as well.

[William]

As Alexppp says the Glenfarclas 15 is a good alternative for the Glendronach Revival, if that doesnt appeal then take a look at the Aberlour 16 year old Double Cask and the Aberlour 18 is worth a look also for a few pounds more.
_________________
There's no bad whisky. Just good whisky and better whisky.

[Keith]

I agree the Glenfarclas 15 and Aberlour 16 are both very good and i am sure any will go down well at your tasting.

[Quaich1]

[andyroid20]

+1 for the Aberlour 16. It is an excellent dram and one of my favourite Speyside drams. Plus I got mine for about £30 last time I went to France

[rjpobrien]

Thank you all. Your help is hugely appreciated and has given me plenty of options. I'll let you know how it all goes and thanks again!

Richard

[Quaich1]

[rjpobrien]

Just wanted to say a big thank you again to everyone. The night was a great success (although almost a complete disaster as the whisky hadn't been delivered :-S. Luckily the delivery company sorted this out pretty quickly!). The order we drank the whiskies in worked really well so thank you for that suggestion. What was most interesting, but not altogether surprising, was the stark differences in opinion between everyone on each of the different whiskies.

Rowan Creek - no one disliked this but only one person ("the bourbon drinker") really rated it. Given I included a bourbon mainly for this guys benefit I thought this was a result and I personally thought it was perfectly pleasant and good value.

Yamazaki 12 Year - everyone liked this and commented just how smooth it was. But no one raved about it. It has certainly made me keen to try more Japanese whiskies though.

Glencadam 10 Year - generally rated higher than the Yamazaki, including by myself. It was equally smooth but seemed to have more character with a bit of a kick but not excessively so. A very pleasant dram that is also good value IMHO.

Glendronach Revival - Very divisive but personally I loved it. I was worried I had too high expectations of it given what I had read. But it was fantastic. Only one person didn't like it but only one other person loved it so four people firmly in the middle.

Ardbeg Uigeadail - Wow. Again, I was worried the expectation would be greater than the reality but I absolutely loved this. And it showed just how divisive Islays can be. Two other people absolutely raved about it and everyone else hated it. I do find the price point a little high as an 'everyday dram' but think I would buy again. One friend summed it up as "incredible but the type of whisky where I'd only have one, probably after dinner, but would really enjoy it". I think I agree, just that it would have to be quite a big one!

Thanks again. I'm certain I'll be doing another one at some point in the future so I'm sure I'll be back asking for more advice!

Richard