Scotch Addict

Do you know how to pronounce Lagavulin? Glenfiddich? Glenmorangie?

If you know those, you’re in pretty good shape. How about Bruichladdich? Caol Ila?

Now, visit this website and play all the names. They have an audio file for a lot of distilleries (many of the majors, most of the smaller ones too) in both .wav and .au, though some are only in .au file format.

How many did you get right? If you got the pronunciation right did you accent the right syllable? Glenmorangie is easy to say but I bet you accent the wrong syllable like I did.

Learn how to pronounce scotch whisky names from an expert.

Reference Bruichladdich, Caol Ila, Glenfiddich, Glenmorangie, Lagavulin

I spent the last week in Nags Head, North Carolina, with a few of my friends renting a vacation home and we took advantage of the numbers to buy a few bottles of whisky. One of the prime choices was Ardbeg 10, a bottle I’ve wanted to try for a while but hadn’t gotten around to it.

As a fan of Lagavulin and Laphroaig, I wanted to try what is billed at the peatiest of whisky. When I poured it from the bottle, I was struck at how light it was. It’s a pale yellow, very pale, and the peat and smoke is very evident. I added a few drops in and it opened up a little, with a little fruit sweetness hiding behind the smoke and warmth of the whisky.

Overall, it was pleasant but nothing shouted “peaty!” like the billing leads you to believe. In the future, I think I’d like to try one of the more mature bottlings to get a more complete picture. Or… I just need to try it some more.

(Photo: ppz)

Tasting Notes Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Laphroaig

In 1988, the United Distillers and Vintners began marketing the “Classic Malts of Scotland” as a selection of six single malt scotch whiskies that were representative of the best Scotch whiskey available. The United Distillers and Vintners was later purchased by Diageo, who has continued the marketing campaign. The “regions” in the six classic malts of Scotland differ from the official Scotch Whiskey Association region classifications, most likely so that they could include other scotches to the list of classics.

It’s not an official designation, just a marketing one. That doesn’t stop the six from being fine scotches though.

The six Classic Malts of Scotland are:

• Dalwhinnie 15 – Highland
• Talisker 10 – Isle of Skye
• Cragganmore 12 – Speyside
• Oban 14 – West Highland
• Lagavulin 16 – Islay
• Glenkinchie 12 – Lowland

As you can see, Isle of Skye (part of the Island subregion of the Highlands in the SWA’s official regions) isn’t an officially recognized region and Campbeltown, where Diageo does not own a distillery, isn’t represented on the list.

General Cragganmore, Dalwhinnie, Diageo, Glenkinchie, Lagavulin, Marketing, Oban, Talisker

Lagavulin 16 is another scotch I’ve had on many an occasion but I never really sat down to sip it with the intent of breaking it down and pulling out the flavors. Lagavulin is rated a 95 in Michael Jackson’s Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch, pretty high praise when you consider most of the scotches listed don’t even crack 90, let alone hit 95. In fact, in my brief flipping through the book, I’ve only seen a couple 96 and they’re all extremely limited vintage Macallans (“1841″ and The Macallan 1948). In fact, the 95 puts it on par with the Macallan 25 and Macallan 30, but at a fraction of the price. All I know is that I enjoy Lagavulin for its smoky peat and it’s rich textures.

Jackson’s guide says that the palate is a peaty dryness like gunpowder tea (never had it, must try now). As the palate develops, oily, grassy, and, in particular, salty notes emerge. I can’t tell whether it’s oily and I also can’t get a sense of the salt, but the grassy is certainly there. It has a hint of what a freshly mowed lawn smells like, the sharpness of that flavor is in there. The finish is cutely described as a bear hug.

One tip I read online in helping get a better sniff is to cover the top of the glass for a few seconds. This lets the aromatics accumulate in the glass so you can get a better smell of it. I find this helps since as a child I had my note cauterized (because of nose bleeds) and I think this may have had an effect on my olfactory sense. It definitely stings when I take a deep breath, it is 43% alcohol (a little higher than the standard/required 40%), but I can’t get the sea spray sense that is often called out.

Either way, it’s tasty.

Tasting Notes Lagavulin