The Whisky Wall (Beta) Whisky Forum

I enjoy a cognac from time to time, the last one I had was a Conjure.

Had a few close friends over last night everyone brought a bottle over, Started with Jura 10 yr, Better than I thought it would be. Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or don't think I would spend my hard earned cash on this one preferred their Port finished one more. Finished off with the Talisker 10 not quite how I remember it at the restaurant, less of a leather taste but very smooth and drinkable.

My all time favourite Sherry bomb is without any doubt Macallan Malt 12 years in a single Olorosso cask & what a cask - This hasn't been around for a few years and I suspect was ever only available ex. distillery. I have about 100ml. left and I look at it often and then grab the a'bunadh: I really don't want it to finish. I cracked a Springbank recently, the spicy port wood 11 yo. I don't want it to finish either, but it is a very differnt Whisky from the Macallan. Aberlour a'bunadh is always available (Brisbane), is always good, is affordable and is, indeed, A sherry Bomb!

Clynelish 14!

@bwmccoy The moon is just passing now. It was fabulous. I'm sure Facebook will be inundated by image of the eclipse. It's hard to grasp as real it's so strange. Right at ground zero here.

@RobertH - Would love to see some of photography of the Eclipse. It's cloudy and rainy here, so no hope of seeing it.

I'm waiting for the eclipse of the sun drinking a nice Arran malt, a single cask, sherried. Cask strength and lovely. I hope the 4 hour photograph I am making of the eclipse doesn't catch my camera on fire. :)

Im afraid mine was Cuttysark, it was so bad I didn't taste Scotch again until about 20 years later. Then a nice gentleman from Edinburgh bought an image of mine and sent me a check as well as a Signatory bottle of Caol Ila. That took some getting used to and now is still one of my favorites.

Finished off another bottle of Four Roses Yellow Label tonight. It only took us two weeks to finish this one. I guess all the experimentation with Mint Juleps helped. :-)

@AboutChoice: I know! Well, cheers!

Anyone tried the Camus Ile de Re cognacs? Cognac aged on an island off the west of France, giving it a "maritime" character that some have likened to Islay whiskies. I had the XO a while ago and loved it. Recently picked up the "Double Matured", aged both on the island and then transported to age in the Camus cellars in Cognac to mellow out a bit. Yet to open it, but looking forward to it! :)

Elijah Craig Single Barrel 18 Years. Somehow I have been warming to bourbons a lot in the past few weeks. This Bourbon really is something special, especially after adding a drop of water. Glad I picked it up on impulse! :P

The first one that won me over was Lagavulin 16...it's been a slippery downhill slide ever since.

Funny, my story is very similar to @Victor - Glenlivet 12 or Glenfiddich 12, but then it was Laphroaig 10 that really got my interest going!

Back about 20 years ago when I was working in the restaurant industry I think I tried Glenfiddich 12yr. Again as others have stated nothing memorable. 1st one I liked enough to place in my Bar would have been Dalwhinnie 15 yr, funny enough I think both bottles were gifted to me.

Getting ready for the second half of Chelsea vs Bayern Munchen. What's a neutral American to drink? Evan Williams BIB.

Interesting discussion - I have a big loveaffair with spirits of all kind but especially Whisky, Rums, Cognac/Armanacs, Brandys, Schnaps and Tequila/Mezcals. The diversity in different Whiskys can also be found in all the other spirits - @aboutChoice as I own quite a significant number of Rums I would definitely disagree with your 50 Rums Theory; Rum is produced in more than 40 Countrys and there are hundreds of great Rums - I could count 50 superb Rums from one independant bottler alone ( Samaroli, Italy)...

My first Malt was given to me as a gift from a very close friend - he got it from Nepal and it had a blue Label with the Himalayas on it - I do not remember much but it was very sharp and harsh. The Whisky which paved the way to my Whiskyjourney was JW Black Label - first on the rocks and then straight - still one of my go-to favourites.

@TomH, Marigot! ...such a great place and such good memories! We love it there. Took the funky little jeepny local bus back and forth from the Dutch side. First malt? Some of the usual Glenfiddich 12 and Glenlivet 12 in the environment which made an ok but not too deep impression. For serious exploration, I think my first was Laphroaig 10. Loved it. Then backed away from the peat for awhile, then returned to it. Also early in the experience I had Old Pulteney 12 which I always liked and Macallan 12 which I loved at first but of which I have had occasionally one-dimensional batches. (nothing to taste but sherry). I much prefer a somewhat lesser-sherried Macallan 12 in which you can actually taste the barley.

Like MacBaker62, many many years ago when I asked the bartender if there was a step up from Chivas, he said that he did have one single malt, Glenfiddich, so that was my first. I did try Glenlivet a few months later. To be honest though, I really didn't get into single malts until many years later when at a liquor store in Marigot, St Martin the owner had me try Oban (Along with a 30 YO Armagnac - my first >$100 purchase). Totally changed my whisky world.

Mine was Glenfiddich 12 years ago, though technically I drank the whole thing with coke. The first Single Malt I had neat was Highland Park 18.

My Tour of Cognac, I've just got back from a 4 day tour of Cognac where I tried a good barrel full of the stuff. As we have enthusiasts on here I decided I would share my journey: Firstly we stayed in Le Relais Saint De Preuil in a renovated 17th century hamlet which is directly in the Grand Champagne region surrounded on all sides by vineyards that travel as far as the eye can see. The hostess Christine helped us greatly in all of our journeys and cooked authentic gourmet french 3 course meals every night. This came with a range of local apertifs like pineaux and as much red wine as you can drink. The meal ended with a special coffee which was the favourite of Jacques Chirac and a 50 year old Cognac from a neighbour. This was the best hotel I have ever stayed in. On the tour which we did through the hotel, the Remy Martin sticks out as one of the best. Their new VSOP aimed at the European market is on Par with the XO. They give you 3 tastings of VSOP and XO along with chocolate, Foie Gras, and Salmon. Well worth it, it was interesting to see that the Chinese are now their biggest customers. About 400 Eau de vie's go into their XO and 1,200 in the top of the range Louis XIII. All the while this lovely little American babe takes you around and makes you feel as if your one of their top VIPs well worth doing. The town of Cognac itself is worth spending a day in, there is plenty to see and do. It is safe and the people are friendly. The Hennessy tour is the most educational and they let you watch the workers filling up the barrells and moving the stocks along. Some of the barrells are hundreds of years old. Unfortunatley the tour guide was passionless and miserable, but it was still well worth doing. I would do the cheapest tour they have on offer. The Remy Martin VSOP tasted better than the Hennessy XO to note. But the best of all was the small family producer we visited, Michel Forgeron in Chez Richon, Segonzac the Grande Champagne 1er Grand Cru. The family which feature in their advertisements were all working on the land. We were taken around the distillery by the son and most importantly taken to the precious barrells. They were the most generous with their Cognac which was pure nectar. Unlike the bigger houses the alcohol is not always at 40% as you can kill some of the taste when you knock down the Eau de vie from its original 70%. The Napoleon is at 43%, XO 45%, and Hors d age at 50%. Also this Cognac is unique as its best served at the temperature of the barrell its in. Meaning you drink it chilled (15 mins in the fridge) for the best taste. There is no need to warm it as the water is added to the Eau de vie extremely slowly allowing the Cognac to flourish. Also unlike the big brands, Foregeron has many vintage years where the taste is so good there just isnt a need to add hundreds of other Eau de vie's. We had out of the barrell the oustanding 1975 vintage which was simply the best I have ever tasted. Despite being about 53% its smooth sweet and has none of the harshness that I found in the Hennessy. We walked away with 4 bottles from the distillery, happy and intoxicated from our tasting session. For anyone interested check out these websites: www.cognacforgeron.com and http://www.relais-de-saint-preuil.com/ Contact the hostess Christine for a personal iteniniary for Cognac, she will arrange all bookings and travel for you. Bon Voyage mon ami's! (my attempt at French) :)

My first was one of two easy to find single malts in the US at the time. It was either the Glenlivet 12 year old, or the Glenfiddich 12 years old. I bought them within days of each other, and I quite frankly don't remember which was the first opened and tried. I do recall I thought the Glenfiddich had an aperitif quality that wasn't my style, and that the Glenlivet was well balanced and had a honey vanilla taste I liked, but now find lacking complexity. Both were fine introductions to single malts, but neither would be on my current must stock list.

Forgot to say what I thought of them - the Strathspey was intriguing, first "scotch" I put in a hip flask and drank neat on cold nights and was pleasantly surprised that it was drinkable neat. Sure, it was still pretty rough, but after a few sips it got smoother! That paved the way for single malts, I did some research on the Internet and planned my first single malt mini-collection and ended up taking home Bowmore NAS, Talisker 10 and Aberlour 10 way back in 2005 or so. I posted that it was the Aberlour I opened first, but in fact, sadly, I think it was the Bowmore which I really, really disliked. Have not tried another Bowmore since although I have the 12 in my cabinet and have heard good things about some of the more recent bottlings like "Darkest". The Aberlour I thought was fantastic and that really opened my eyes to the sheer variation of styles available and I've been hooked ever since.

Mine was sadly Glenfiddich 18 yr old. I say sadly because at that time I had no idea on how to actually appreciate good whisky and so I poured it all into whisky and cokes. I'm sure it would of been good. First serious single malt that changed the world for me was Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix which my wife and I bot love to bits. 4 bottles and counting now :D

Not 100% sure on single malt, but first "pure malt" was Strathspey. First taste of single malt might've been Glenfiddich 12, first bottle Aberlour 10.

Curious to find what everyones first single malt was and what they thought of it. Mine was laphroaig 10yo which was nothing like anything i have had before but enjoyed.

My first dram of Rowan's Creek. This might be a dangerous bourbon. It's 50% ABV, but seems closer to 40.

Finished my Duncan & Taylor Cragganmore 18 with my in-laws last night. Sad to see it go but happy to share the last drops with good people. My in laws are redoing my back garden over the week they're here, I've committed to paying them in spirits, wine, and food.

@dannyboy Oh, right! I haven't seen any NAS bottlings of those over here. I know what you mean RE: floral / herbal sweetness, I will probably make some references to this in my review/s. One thing is for sure, you really do have to spend some quality time with these whiskies to tease them apart and understand them, but it's very rewarding and enjoyable to do so! The word "sophistication" comes to mind. I hope to try many more Yoichis in future (well, as far as the wallet will allow).