Good things on the horizon

Diving for Pearls will be back after St. Patrick's Day as this writer takes care of some personal business (all good things).

In the meantime:

Q: Why was I doing this???

A: Because this:

Thanks to one hand of Double Double Bonus video poker, there's enough whisky to keep the reports going for some time.  There's also a great whisky anorak out there who helped me out with some additional fuel.  I'll be talking more about that in the coming weeks.

In fact, I have a number of new little projects in the queue.  I hope they're as fun in reality as they are in my mind.  Stay tuned...

NOT Single Malt Report: In with the new......Bank Note 5 year old

If you thought I was going to report on Gold Label Reserve or Platinum Label, well, I'm not that sorry to disappoint.  :)   You're just lucky I didn't go with "In With the Nude" and post pictures that would blind all y'all thirsty MFs (Mannochmore finishers).

These reports have always been about my personal whisky experience.  Firstly, I will not pay a dime for Gold Label Reserve nor Platinum Label.  Secondly, I've been on the search for a new everyday blend around here, something to replace Black Label.

I tried Famous Grouse.  It was okay, but got old very quickly.  Too bad I had purchased a one liter bottle of it.  Then I bought Isle of Skye 8 year.  A full step up from Grouse, it had more angles and twists, and was more interesting to mix.  But I tired of it two-thirds of the way down.

I bought Bank Note blindly.  David Driscoll of K&L Wines had been talking it up since they started carrying the blend.  I liked the idea, a high malt blend bottled by a company I like selling for less than 20 bucks, but wasn't ready to go all in.

It's when I read Scotch Noob's positive review, then saw Total Wine & More selling it for $15.99 the following day that I decided I'd take the risk.  One can pay more for a single neat whisky at an LA bar than for a whole bottle of Bank Note.

A little background on it:  Formerly a popular blend in the late 19th century, Bank Note is now owned and produced by AD Rattray, the independent bottling company run by the Morrison family (who'd sold Morrison Bowmore to Suntory two decades ago).  Aside from putting out some great and comparatively cheap single cask single malts, AD Rattray also bottles the McClelland's single malt line: Islay (baby Bowmore), Lowlands (baby Auchentoshan), Highlands (baby Glen Garioch?), and Speyside (baby Benrinnes or Glen Grant?).  Bank Note, a newer product in the US, has a high (40%) malt content, is bottled at 43% ABV, and has the courage to state its young age of 5 years.  It carries that great price and an old-timey bank-note-looking label.

Now to notes on the Note:

BANK NOTE FIVE YEAR OLD BLENDED WHISKY

pic from Pacific Edge Wine & Spirits, their distributor

Brand: Bank Note

Ownership: AD Rattray

Distilleries: Several, likely including Bowmore, Benrinnes, and Auchentoshan amongst others

Type: Scotch Blended Whisky

Age: at least 5 years
Blend: 40% single malts and 60% grain whiskies

Alcohol by Volume: 43%

Chill-filtered? Yes

Caramel Coloring? Yes
And here's a fun official Sales Sheet

Color -- Rich gold
Nose -- At first, there's yeast with a tiny bit of sherry and brandy. Give it a few minutes and a seaside boat dock note floats up (motor smoke and seaweed).  Some more time yields a citrus prickle as well as some savory hints.
Palate -- Lots of butter and milk chocolate. A Bowmore-ish peat develops over time, as does some Pale Ale-type bitterness.  Young malt and young grains are present though far in the background.  Burnt bread and a little more bitterness appear after an hour.
Finish -- Vanilla, brown sugar, a little peat, and buttered white bread linger for an impressive length considering the whisky's age and strength.

Sometimes, I just want to dump some whisky in a tumbler, not measuring out exacting pours in a Glencairn glass.  Bank Note works exceptionally well in that category.  It also holds up decently for a proper nosing and tasting.  It makes for a good whisky & soda, as some of the peat even sticks around through that.  I also assembled an Old Fashioned with it, using lemon rather than orange.  Turned out to be a very refreshing summer-appropriate drink.

I'm drinking this all sorts of ways and it's still working.  In fact this bottle is going faster than any other of recent memory.  The peat didn't show up upon the first couple of pours, but after a week or so, there it was.  And even though it's a youngster, I recommend giving it a few minutes in the glass.

Bank Note delivers.  For a blend at its price, I've yet to find an equal.

Availability - An increasing number of liquor specialists
Pricing - $17-$24
Rating - 86

NOT Single Malt Report: Out with the old......Johnnie Walker Gold Label

This one is difficult to write.  I'd take a belt of Gold Label if I wasn't at work (trying desperately to sneak out this post).

Gold Label used to be my favorite Johnnie Walker.  I used to recommend to folks that instead of buying Blue Label, one should just get two bottles of Gold (and if there's some money left over get a Green Label too).  Actually, let's take this beyond the Johnnie Walker line.  Gold Label used to be one of my Top Ten whiskies, period.  It was a well-textured, honeyed, lightly sweet, graceful whisky -- mostly thanks to the 18 year old Clynelish within.

When I'd started this site's whisky reports, I couldn't wait to get to Gold Label.  It had been a few years (approximately 2008) since I'd finished my last bottle but I was willing to wait until the right time.  Then I saw that Diageo was retiring Gold, replacing it with Platinum Label.  As some of my readers know, that made me mad (in two parts).  So, in early December of last year, when Costco was selling Gold Label for a ridiculous $55, I picked up a bottle for a last hurrah.

But to my increasing dismay, I discovered Diageo removed the hurrah from the blend.

Brand: Johnnie Walker

Ownership: Diageo

Distilleries: Many, including Clynelish and Cardhu

Type: Scotch Blended Whisky

Age: at least 18 years
Blend: single malts and grain whiskies

Alcohol by Volume: 40%

Chill-filtered? Yes

Caramel Coloring? Yes
Bottle Code: L2257DM000 / 08131509
Bottled: September 2012

I'd originally opened my bottle when I was with my brother in Vegas.  After finding the whisky oddly uninspired, I decided to leave the bottle alone to see if three weeks of half whisky / half oxygen would help it out.  It didn't, even after an hour in the glass.

Color -- Dark gold
Nose -- Pretty muted. Some fresh apples, sherried butterscotch, smoked lemon peel, vanilla.  A citrus note develops more over time.
Texture -- Watery
Palate -- Lots of grains, caramel sauce, distant wood smoke but not much of it, orange zest, honey, and lemon pepper.  Again, more time, more citrus.
Finish -- Brief. Vanilla, honey, a little citrus. That's all.

If I'd tried this blindfolded and was told it was a single grain whisky, I wouldn't have questioned it.  I take no issue with well-aged grain whisky, but Gold Label isn't grain whisky.  There's supposed to be some malt in there.  Perhaps the blend used to be 40% malt?  Is it possible that it now has 20% malt?

I found it odd when the official Johnnie Walker site and official tasting videos started recommending keeping one's bottle of Gold Label in the freezer, as of two years ago.  That's the sort of advice usually given for vodka, which is made entirely from grains in a continuous still......similar to grain whisky distillate.  Freezing booze thickens a thin liquor and helps blanket over rough edges by numbing the drinker's tastebuds.  There was no need for that with the Gold Label I used to enjoy.  But now, I'm half ready to throw my bottle in the freezer.

This bottle was filled in September 2012, several months after Diageo had announced the Gold's demise.  Could this have been the last of it?  Could they have sold Costco the dregs?  Were they trying to stretch that 18 year old malt as far as it would go so that they could fulfill final distribution agreements?  No matter what was done, this parting was made easier.

All that is Gold does not glitter.

Availability - Gradually decreasing, but still at all or most liquor specialists
Pricing - $70 at the lower end to $100 courtesy of the price gougers
Rating - 78

Single Malt Report: The Longrow Taste Off! (Part 2)

Continuing on from Friday's post, here's how things are lining up:

Longrow CV - Still as delicious as I always find it.
Longrow 14yr Sherry Finish - Much better than I'd anticipated.

And then for today's expectations:

Longrow 10yr 100proof - Ready to pull the trigger on a purchase as soon as the tasting is over, I'm that excited about this one.
Longrow 14yr Burgundy Wood - Sincerely hoping that the Longrow can withstand the wine-y topping.

---

LONGROW 10 YEAR OLD 100 PROOF (UK)

Distillery: Springbank

Brand: Longrow

Ages: at least 10 years

Maturation: ex-bourbon barrels

Region: Campbeltown

Alcohol by Volume: 57%

From a 30mL sample purchased via Master of Malt.

NEAT:
Color -- Light pale gold. Actually looks identical to that of the 14yr Sherry Finish.
Nose -- Some overripe bananas hit first, then the Longrow lemon note arrives exponentially boosted.  Sometimes there's rotting milk.  Other times, Boston creme.  Considerable peat is followed by mint and pears.
Palate -- Woody, and I don't mean vanillin.  I mean actual oak.  Peated bananas, smoked black peppercorns, and (yes) a tiny bit of vanilla.  But lots of ethyl.
Finish -- Broccoli or something similar, followed by cooked mushrooms.  Vanilla, molasses, barley, and lemons cheer the situation up a bit.

WITH WATER:
Nose -- Phew, very kirschy, lots of rough spirit. Some cheddar, yeast, ham, and vanilla as well.
Palate -- Spirity again, and savo(u)ry. Butyric, even. Sour porridge follows sweet malt and mild peat.
Finish -- Lengthy, sour, yet with lots of simple syrup. Chlorine and veggie peat bring up the rear.

Well.  Um.  It's...

Kristen and I have this deal worked out.  Whenever we try a new wine, the first person to say "That's interesting" owes 25 cents to our charity jar.  I mean, you know that feeling.  You sip something and it's not exactly this, it's not exactly that, and it's not exactly good.  The first thing that tends fall out of the drinker's mouth (other than the fluid) is "That's interesting."  In that case "interesting" doesn't actually describe a damn thing.

This Longrow 10yr 100proof left me with the desire to say "That's interesting" many times over.  Just to make sure I wasn't nuts when I found that butryic note, I had to do some searching and, voila, Jason over at Guid Scotch Drink found him some baby vomit in its nose.  What's extra interesting is that this doesn't taste anything like a higher-powered Longrow 10 year (which is very good). [In the comment section Jordan pointed out why this is: The regular 10 year is a mix of sherry and bourbon casks.  Perhaps the mix of casks help it out?]

Could this have been a bad batch?  Is this any different than the US 50% ABV version?  Or is this an issue with the sample?

I don't know.  Though regarding my purchase of a bottle, this was cause for pause.

Availability - This specific 57% ABV bottling is only available in Europe
Pricing - $70-$95, depending on the size of your shipment
Rating - 73

---

LONGROW 14 YEAR OLD BURGUNDY WOOD 1997

Distillery: Springbank

Brand: Longrow

Ages: 14 years (Feb 1997 - Oct 2011)

Maturation: refill bourbon barrels for the first 11 years
Finish: first fill Burgundy casks for the next 3 years

Region: Campbeltown

Alcohol by Volume: 56.1%
Limited Bottling: 7,800

From a 30mL sample via Whiskysamples.

NEAT:
Color -- Dark copper.
Nose -- Currant juice and raisins on vanilla ice cream arrive at the start. Then some mothballs, leather, and something quite similar to sulfur. It's all sort of sherry-ish, in fact. Faint smoke and sweaty socks appear as minor notes.
Palate -- First: Semisweet chocolate, tobacco smoke, sweet berries and cherries. Then: raspberries in vanilla yogurt and maple syrup. Finally: a little nail polish remover peeks out just to remind you that there's some actual poison hidden inside this delight.
Finish -- All raspberries, cherries, and chocolate. Still a little sherry-ish to me.

WITH WATER:
Nose -- Ah now it's more like dry red wine.  Blackberry jam, leather, and tobacco.
Palate -- Wine + barley + oak + alcohol in a tidy package. Raspberries in vanilla ice cream, cinnamon, and a bit of chocolate.
Finish -- Cinnamon and chocolate first; then lots of sweet berries; finally the lemons roll in.

Winner Winner Whisky Dinner!

Or dessert for that matter.  Yummy.  That shot my whole whisky-and-wine-finish gripe in the butt.  I don't really have any other comments about it.  Those tasting notes tell it all.

Availability - A few liquor specialists carry it in the US.
Pricing - $110-130 (US). Similarly priced to the regular 14yr, though this one is more limited and at cask strength.
Rating - 90

---

As if you needed any more proof that I'm a fool, let's see how those original expectations fared:

1.) I was most excited about the 10yr 100proof. I not only expected it to be the best, but I was willing to buy a bottle of it blind from Europe. But I remained patient.  TWO POINTS FOR PATIENCE.
2.) I had mixed feelings about the Burgundy Wood, expecting the wine to smother the Longrow spirit.  WRONG.  Though it is a sweetie.
3.) Sherry finish: Meh? WRONG.

Longrow CV is still the champ in my heart, especially due to its price.  But the Burgundy Wood would make for a heck of treat.  I also just wanted to note that three out of four of these whiskys swam well.  I haven't found too many drams that handled water with ease, but most of these Longrows (especially the Burgundy Wood!) went well with a little hydration.

I gaze into my crystal ball, cloudy with unfiltered whisky (the ball, not me), and see more Longrows in my future.

Single Malt Report: The Longrow Taste Off! (Part 1)

When The Springbank Distillery began double-distilling the highly peated (approx 50-55ppm) Longrow malt in the early 1970s, the goal was to demonstrate that one doesn't need to be located in Islay in order to make an Islay-style malt.  Forty years later, the Longrow malt is still going strong.  The quality of the product proves its success.  I'm biased though (I've raved about Longrow here, here, and here) as I'm a sincere Longrow nut.

I had been daydreaming about doing a Longrow Taste Off for well over a year until I decided put those dreams into action.  As you can see below, I assembled the troops from multiple sources:

Firstly, we have the dregs of my bottle of Longrow CV.  Yes, look at that delicious sediment at the bottom of this unfiltered whisky.

I included Longrow CV as the point of reference. As I've gotten pretty familiar with the CV, it was present as something to compare the others to.

Secondly, we have Longrow 14 year old Sherry Finish, courtesy of a Master of Malt dram.  I feel lukewarm at best about sherry finishes, but I'm always willing to keep an open mind.

I went with those two first, as they were lightweights of the tasting.  You know you have a good taste off when the lightest whisky weighs in at 46% ABV.

Thirdly, the Longrow 10 year 100 proof (that's UK proof, so it's 57.1% ABV), via Master of Malt.

Fourthly, the wild card: Longrow 14yr Burgundy Wood.  This was among my first samples ordered from Whiskysamples.eu.

Going into this experience, I had the following expectations:
1.)  I was most excited about the 10yr 100proof.  I not only expected it to be the best, but I was willing to buy a bottle of it blind from Europe.  But I remained patient.
2.)  I had mixed feelings about the Burgundy Wood, expecting the wine to smother the Longrow spirit.
3.)  Sherry finish: Meh?

In this post, I will cover the CV and the 14yr Sherry Finish.  In the next post, I'll report on the 10yr 100proof and the 14yr Burgundy Wood, along with some final thoughts.

---

Random trivia: You'll often read that this Islay-style malt was named Longrow after one of the many fallen Campbeltown distilleries. But, curiously, in "Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom", Alfred Barnard reports on a Longrow Distillery within Campbeltown AND a Campbeltown Distillery in the Longrow center of the Campbeltown township. Thus a Longrow Distillery in Campbeltown and a Campbeltown Distillery in Longrow. Both were among the smallest of the Campbeltown distilleries, with Campbeltown Distillery (60,000 gallons) having a higher output than Longrow Distillery (40,000 gallons).

---

LONGROW CV

Distillery: Springbank

Brand: Longrow

Ages: between 6 and 14 years

Maturation: sherry, port, bourbon, and rum casks

Region: Campbeltown

Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Bottled: 2011

(As per Whiskynotes.be: "6 years old whisky from bourbon casks, 10 years old from port and rum casks, and 14 years old from sherry casks")

NEAT:
Color -- Cloudy gold
Nose -- Lemon rind, tangerine juice, young spirit, apple juice, fruit tart (sugar glaze and all), and peated vanilla custard
Palate -- Honeyed rummed peat smoke with brown sugar
Finish -- Sweet ex-bourbon oak, then toasted wheat bread and long lingering smoke

WITH WATER:
Nose --- The port pipes come out to dance with the lemons, lots of moss
Palate -- Very thick texture, lovely solid volley of brown sugar + cereals + wood smoke + tapioca
Finish -- Peat smoke, vanilla, and simple syrup

The notes here are brief as I'd intended this one only as a point of reference, so I poured a very small sample.  Nonetheless, what started out as love at first nose, 15 months ago, has never abated.  Sadly my CV lass has been replaced by a "Longrow Peated" bottling within the official range.  While I will not denounce that new young whisky, I will miss the CV greatly.  I hope to pick up one more bottle before it's gone.

Availability - Rare in the US.  Not prevalent, but still somewhat available in Europe.
Pricing - $50-$60
Rating - 92

---

LONGROW 14 YEAR OLD SHERRY FINISH 1997

Distillery: Springbank

Brand: Longrow

Ages: at least 14 years

Maturation: ex-bourbon barrels
Finish: ex-sherry casks (probably second or third fill)

Region: Campbeltown

Alcohol by Volume: 46%

NEAT:
Color -- Light pale gold (must have been a refill sherry cask)
Nose -- Brief sherry note, orange zest, tar, mild peat smoke, pineapple, lemon juice, rotting apples
Palate -- Much softer than the CV, mossy peat, red LifeSavers, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, a floral perfumy note develops after some time.
Finish -- Light lemon sourness, a whisper of peat, pepper, very sweet

WITH WATER:
Nose -- More sherry comes out now, cherry lollipops, candied cranberry sauce, moderate citrus note
Palate -- Simple, sweet, hints of pepper and tobacco
Finish -- Sweet and mild, lots of berries and vanilla

The sherry notes did not intrude, rather they snuck in around the corners.  The former sherry casks, as well the additional time in the ex-bourbon barrels, greatly calmed the peat.  There's another version of the 14 year old in circulation (not sure how the labels differ) that's a vatting of sherry and bourbon cask matured malt, which is what I'd tried at last year's Peatin' Meetin'.  That one was more farmyardy and salty than this one and probably preferred by my palate.  But for a sherry finished whisky, I was much impressed with this version from the Taste Off.  Perhaps the keys are using a refill cask......and having stellar malt to start with.

Availability - Rare in the US.  Not prevalent, but still somewhat available in Europe.
Pricing - $100-$120 in the US.  $75-$95 if placed in a sizable UK order
Rating - 87

K&L Single Cask Whisky tasting with the LA Scotch Club (Part 2)

(link to PART 1)

Let us start Part 2 with a pair of lovelies, sampled neatly.

Distillery: Caperdonich -- no link as it's now defunct :(

Independent Bottler: Sovereign (Douglas Laing)
Sold Exclusively via: K&L Wines

Age: 18 years (1994 - August 2012)

Maturation: ex-bourbon (possibly second fill?)

Region: Speyside (Rothes)

Alcohol by Volume: 58.4%

Caperdonich Distillery was Glen Grant's younger sibling, constructed by Glen Grant's ownership across the street from the older distillery.  In fact, it was known for some time as Glen Grant #2.  A very creative name.

Whisky was experiencing one of its boom phases in the 1890s, and the Grant family wanted to take advantage of that by expanding quickly in 1898.  So up the new distillery went.  Four years later, the boom ended (as *ahem* booms have been known to do) and the baby distillery was shuttered.  Over sixty years later Glenlivet Distillers bought it, spruced it up, and reopened it.  After passing between owners for a few decades, Caperdonich was closed again in 2002, this time permanently.

I'd never tried a Caperdonich before the K&L tasting.  Nor had I previously sampled any Sovereign bottlings, most likely because Sovereign is a label that Douglas Laing only sells outside The States.  (The K&L Davids have done a little trailblazing, bringing in four whiskys from the Sovereign label this year.)  When I arrived at the tasting on Wednesday night, I had no particular favorite but once the event began this one did pique my curiosity the most.

The first taste was a winner.  But as I had a long trip home at the end of the night, I scooped up a 25mL sample to try the next evening:

The color is light urine.  #1 as opposed to #2.  You're sold already, aren't you?
Wow.
Okay, let's start this again.

The color is a pale amber.  It's very herbaceous and vegetal on the nose at the start; some serious anise and pine.  But it also smells sugary and candied.  It's light on the vanilla, though heavier on banana, apples, and pencils.  There's a mossy note, followed by smoked apricots.  It's weird.  I love it.  The palate goes from chocolate to banana to pear to peat cinders.  I also found some perfumy herbs and wood smoke within the ethyl sting.  A hot hot finish.  Enormous in fact.  A big hit of white fruits, black pepper, and peat smoke.  It's actually not that peated but the note is sharp.  There's some cerealy barley couched amongst more of the gin-like herbs.  I think my chest is still warmed by it a half week later.

I'm a fan of the odd stuff.  This one won't appeal to the sweet-tooth nor the sherry-tooth nor the easy-going-tooth(?).  But it will appeal to the weird-tooth.  I've heard it takes to water well, softens it up, but I didn't force it to swim.

Availability - K&L Wines
Pricing - $125.99
Rating - 90

---

And then there was the oldie, the show closer, the Glenfarclas 1970.

Distillery: Glenfarclas
Ownership: J&G Grant Ltd.
Sold Exclusively via: K&L Wines
Region: Speyside (Central)
Age: 42 years (1970 - September 2012)
Maturation: ex-oloroso sherry cask
Alcohol by Volume: 56.9%

Look at that ABV.  Most 40+ year old whiskys would have alcohol content down in the low forties by that point their lives, the angels having walked away with the rest.  But this particular cask spent much of its life high up in a very warm corner of the warehouse.  As a result it aged a little like some bourbons do, with the water evaporating faster than the alcohol.  This resulted in only 134 bottles coming out of an entire sherry cask.  This is essentially whisky concentrate.

Even with my phone's goofy flash going off, the whisky's color matches the photo.  If you look above and below the label, you can see the black coffee tone.  Upon sniffing the sample at home, I instantly began pondering what it must be like to afford drinking glamorous whisky every day.  The billionaires must get spoiled for taste.  Can they still appreciate the greatness of the sensory experience?  This rich man's whisky has a glorious nose.  A Worcestershire sauce-soaked steak.  A dark rich boozy ice cream.  Brandied Hershey's syrup.  The very insides of an old European oak barrel.  The alcohol still flexes its muscles around moments of orange rind and oceanic salt.  The palate took me by surprise.  It's very salty.  The thick texture holds bitter baking chocolate, unsweetened cranberries, lots of grapes, dried cereals, and cured meats.  It's exceptionally dry and a little metallic.  The finish adheres itself to the tongue.  A duet of sea salt and bitter horseradish, followed by lemon sour candies and coffee grounds.

Those nose is phenomenal.  The palate and finish, though, really didn't do it for me.  I don't mind bitter and citric sour, but when combined with the big salt, metal, and dryness the result can cause a bit of pucker-face.  There's an unrelenting quality to all of its features that's admirable.  And its age is something be appreciated.  Going with a cask like this is a bold move on The Davids' part.  I do believe this would appeal to others' palates, especially folks who take their coffee black.

Availability - K&L Wines
Pricing - $579.99
Rating - 83

---

I cannot overstate the importance of K&L's Exclusive Cask work to us American whisky fans.  Compared to Europe, U.S. retailers have a limited amount of cask strength bottlings.  Even fewer independent casks.  Many of those we do get here have bloated prices.

To recap the selection from the tasting:
As you can see above, the Caperdonich would be my favorite.  The Kilchoman 100% would be second in line.  The Bruichladdich is good, but gone.  May I also recommend the very easy drinkin' Longmorn 10yr Signatory to those looking for an Exclusive in the lower price range.

Yet, of all the drams, I'm actually leaning towards buying the Faultline 10 year old North Highland.  Yes, a sherried whisky.  The reasons for this choice are as follows (in no order):

1. It tastes good.
2. The price.
3. Quality-wise, it's a leap ahead of Glenm*****ie Las***a, at a similar price.
4. I want to support the Faultline label so that we may see some more good picks in the years ahead.

Thanks again to The Davids for their excellent work.  I look forward to this year's discoveries...

K&L Single Cask Whisky tasting with the LA Scotch Club (Part 1)

Last Wednesday (2/27), 45 of us met at Blu Jam Cafe for dinner and drams with David Othenin-Girard of K&L Wines.  David brought along a slew, a flock, a murder of K&L's single cask releases for us taste (and possibly contemplate purchasing).

Here's a slightly mostly out-of-focus pic of the main lineup:

David walked us through each of these eight single malts, talking to us about the distilleries and the bottlers.  He shared some cask selection tales, as well as some industry insider info.  And, yes, there were Diageo tales, none of which am I going to repeat since they only reinforce my disgust with that company.  Despite that, it was a very positive and extremely enjoyable tour through these delectable goodies:

Glen Garioch 14 year old 1998 - 55.2% ABV - $100
Aged in a bourbon hogshead, this whisky has a lot of whole wheat bread and gingerbread on the nose with plenty of sweet fruit and honey on the palate and finish.  I'm a fan of all things Glen Garioch, both old and new, and this one was made a few years after they had stopped peating their malt.  The price may look steep, but it is GG's lowest priced cask strength bottling to date.

Faultline 10 year old North Highland Single Malt - 50% ABV - $55
Faultline is K&L's own label.  Over the past couple of years they've been able to pluck some whiskies and gins to bottle on their own and then sell at a relatively reasonable rate.

They do not disclose which distillery this malt came from and neither will I, specifically.  But I will say this, as a sherry casker it beats the daylights out of the Las***a.  That's possibly due to the fact that it spent its entire life in a sherry cask rather than just being finished in one.  Or maybe it's because that cask was a second fill.  Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that this Faultline whisky wasn't engineered to try to suit everyone's tastebuds.  No matter the reason, the whisky works.

As for the booze, it has a great silky, almost oily mouthfeel.  There's buttery caramel and toffee on the nose.  The sherry element is mild.  There's a touch of spice and cocktail bitters in the palate.

Caperdonich 18 year old 1994 (Sovereign) - 58.4% ABV - $126
I grabbed a little sample of this to take home so...
Full tasting notes on this tomorrow!

GlenDronach 19 year old 1993 - 54.7% ABV - $140
The GlenDronach single cask releases have been getting rave reviews for the last few years, so why K&L still has ton of these in stock, I don't know.  As the Davids note, it's considerably better than Macallan 18, at a higher strength, older age, smaller availability, and a lower price.

As I've written on a few occasions, my palate is really not taking to lots of sherry in my whisky, recently.  But this one was fun to try.  Dark chocolate, leather, and spent matchsticks on the nose.  Yes, something sulfur-ish.  But it was quite good.  There's some earl grey tea and cayenne pepper amongst the sherry in the palate.  The finish is sourish, not at all sweet.

Kilchoman 100% Islay Single Sherry Barrel Cask Finish - ??? ABV - $120
I missed getting the ABV on this, but it is at full strength.  Like its Kil'oman brethren, the whisky is young but of stunning quality.  Kilchoman usually gets its barley from Port Ellen at the Ardbeg peating specs.  But this one is made from local Islay barley and is peated much lower, in the 10-15ppm range.

The whisky has a bright crazy zippy nose full of pepper, ginger, and molasses.  The palate is "carrot cake, delicious, more baked sweets".  The finish reminds me, oddly, of Corsair's Wry Moon with its cinnamon and white pepper.

The Kilchoman may have been the most popular one at the event.  It's a bit out of my current price range, but if it wasn't, I would buy it yesterday.

Bruichladdich 2003 Peated Single Barrel - 54.2% ABV - $73
This one is sold out, so this is just a damned tease.

It's not that sherried, in fact it reminded me of Kilchoman.  In fact, my notes say "More Kilchoman than Kilchoman."  Otherwise, the palate is full of pepper, brown sugar, and peat.  It is solid cask strength peatness at a good price.  I won't tease you further.

BenRiach 27 year old 1984 Peated Sherry Cask - 49.6% ABV - $200
This peated malt spent its first twenty-three years in ex-bourbon, then the final four years in Pedro Ximenez casks.  I'm glad I had a chance to taste this one.  Part of my brain (the part I'm trying to corral) was trying to find some excuse to buy this blindly.  The price is considerably below almost all 40-43% whiskys of its age, let alone the cask strength ones!  Plus I'm liking the peated BenRiachs.

Happily good sense won out in the end.  It's good stuff, but I like the oddball Authenticas 21 year old better.

But for those with the means to grab this one (and it is going fast), lots of chocolate and sherried cigarettes on the nose with dried fruits and menthol on the palate.

Glenfarclas 42 year old 1970 Family Cask - 56.9% ABV - $580
Yes, you read that right.  42 years old.  56.9% ABV.  Guess who took his sample home for quiet study?
Full tasting notes on this tomorrow!

I also had the opportunity to taste these two:

Since I'm a big Signatory fan, I had been eyeing both of these bottles online and in-store.  The Longmorn is a 10 year old bottled at 46%.  The Benrinnes is a 12 year old bottled at full strength, 58.2%.  Neither disappointed, though I really enjoyed the Longmorn much more than I'd expected.

I don't have proper notes on either as they were sampled at the tail end of this epic tasting, but I can summarize.  The Benrinnes was lightly citric, mildly honeyed, light on the oak, and very drinkable despite its high ABV.  The Longmorn was lovely and light, full of vanilla and baked treats.

I must pause this entry here.  In Part 2, tomorrow, I'll post reports on two of the whiskys and give final thoughts on the whole tasting.