Tasting

So the other night we held a scotch tasting with our friend Sue Lampson.  (Fortunately her nondrinker husband Alan was available to drive her home.)

The bottles I contributed are shown above, ranging from sweet/sherry/vanilla on the left to smoky and peaty on the right.

Sue brought her own box of goodies, and so we spent a pleasant evening sipping this and that.

The problem with spending an evening sipping a dozen or more scotches is that it’s difficult to remember afterwards what you liked and didn’t, but I can remember a few surprises.   The Dalwhinnie 15-year-old tasted better in company with other scotches than it did by itself.

We both liked Glenfarclas 12-year better than Glenfarclas 15-year, which was noticeably sharper in taste.  (Glenfarclas is my favorite Highland, but it was nice to have my opinion confirmed by another.)

A very pleasant discovery was the Glengoyne 18-year, a very fine Highland with a notable absence of peat.  (Those of you who hate peat might want to give it a try.)  The Glen Scotia 15-year was delightful.  Glen Scotia is one of three Campbelltown distilleries left in what was once the largest scotch-producing region of Scotland, and its distinctive and attractive taste made me wonder why all those other distilleries closed.

I also liked the Tomatin 18, but damned if I can remember why.

I don’t have a problem with hangovers, usually, at least not when I’m drinking the good stuff.  But for those of you who do, Caro Emerald has been there.