Glenmorangie, Ardbeg, and Highland Park 25

A couple weeks ago, Danny and I attended another scotch tasting. These events are purportedly an opportunity to taste a few varieties of malts, to learn a bit more about the process of distilling and aging scotch whisky, and perhaps to buy a bottle or two. More accurately, they are just another excuse for drinking whisky; and in this case, several glasses of whisky.

Laid out before us at the tasting were placemats with six circles; inside each circle there was the name of some malt we were to sample that evening; on top of the circles were placed six sturdy glass tumblers; and then two guys from the friendly neighborhood purveyor were making the rounds, pouring a sample of each malt into one of the six glasses. There was an older guy (our age) and a younger guy doing the pours. And the younger guy came to our table first, pouring about an ounce and a half of Glenmorangie 10 into the first of six glasses. Are we drinking six glasses like that? I asked. Danny told the kid to pay me no attention; his pours were fine; he could give us as much scotch as he wanted. One advantage, of course, of the generous pour system, is that the customer is more likely to purchase at night’s end, after tasting all six malts, and after suffering considerable impairment of judgment.

Mostly we drank Glenmorangies that night, and I’m already a devotee of Glenmorangie 10. It’s light, smooth, and an excellent choice for drinking before a meal. Of the various Glenmorangies we tasted that night, however, our collective favorite was the 12 aged in burgundy casks. By now, we’ve all had several varieties of malts aged in wine casks, sherry casks being the most common. Sherry gives the scotch a sweet mellow character, making it very accessible. Often, when introducing a novice to single malts, I use something aged in Sherry (Macallan 12, or Aberlour 15), because they are so likeable. The problem though is that sometimes the sherry begins to dominate the flavor of the malt, and even though the whisky is easy to drink, it loses some of the distinctive character of single malt scotch whisky. What I liked about the burgundy aging was that it was more subtle, with less sweetness in the whisky. But this is not a drink for every day; it’s distinctive, and I could see that I might tire of it if I drank it too often. Best drunk after a meal, when one might be otherwise inclined to have a cognac, or a port. A nice dessert whisky.

The surprise of the night was Ardbeg. Ardbeg is the peatiest of the Islay whiskies, and only the 10 is typically available around here. It has a huge flavor, but be forewarned: it really is peaty, even more so than Lagavullin or Caol Ila. The funny thing about this whisky is that it’s almost colorless; it has almost no tint to it. And the other surprises are that it’s rather smooth for a 10 year old, and pretty affordable. But as I mentioned, this is probably not for beginners. You need to know that you like Islay scotch before buying Ardbeg.

Lastly, just for the record, after recently settling a difficult case, I bought myself a bottle of Highland Park 25, which remains the very best whisky I have ever tasted. Smooth, velvety smooth, and enormously flavorful. The taste lingers in your mouth long after it’s been swallowed, and there is no aftertaste, no change whatsoever. Just a long long delicious finish. Worth every penny.