Upcoming Northern California Scotch Tastings
Some upcoming tasting events in the California Bay Area, Feb 2014.
Month: January 2014
Great King Street: Experimental Batches
Compass Box is doing something very cool. After the incredible success (due in no small part to its very high quality) of Great King Street: Artist’s Blend, the company is expanding its blended scotch selection under the Great King Street label.
W. L. Weller (12 year) Bourbon
There is a nice array of pleasant flavors and aromas, although just because this is a wheated recipe does not mean it bears much resemblance to Pappy Van Winkle 15. There just isn’t that much depth in the W.L. Weller. Still, for the money this is an easy-going sipper – an uncomplicated glass of bourbon, both with and without an ice cube.
New Host, and Updates
Hello all, after suffering through the holiday season with a very slow site, I’ve now finally gotten set up on a new host with better stats and some extra space. I’ve also changed the way I display my shelf: I’m loading up my profile page from Whisky Base, a pretty cool whisky database site. Check …
The Consistency Illusion
Is consistency just another whisky marketing ploy that turns out to be so much hogwash in the face of profits? Is the disappearance of available stock due to demand surge causing this severe a quality downslope, despite corresponding price increases? Is the quality degradation intentional, and being managed slowly over time in an attempt to keep consumers from noticing the “watering down” of their “consistent” products?
Tomintoul (10 year)
This may indeed be “The Gentle Dram”, but even at 10 years of age it leaves a lot to be desired. The usual suspects for a Highland malt aged in middling ex-bourbon casks are present – the typical caramel, yeasty bread, brown sugar, and nuts – but nothing serves to elevate this dram above any other similarly-aged malt.